Washington, D.C. 20530

July 2, 2004

MEMORANDUM FOR JUSTICE MANAGEMENT DIVISION DIRECTORS¹

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has approved the Department's request for a VERA for the Justice Management Division (JMD) including the Working Capital Fund. A copy of the Assistant Attorney General for Administration’s (AAG/A) letter to JMD employees is attached. Please distribute it to your employees.

1. Any employees who have not been continuously on the Department’s rolls since at least 31 days before the date of our request, December 23, 2003;


2. Employees serving under time-limited appointments; and


3. Employees in receipt of a decision of involuntary separation for misconduct or unsatisfactory performance.

1. The employee must have been continuously on the rolls of a JMD organization since November 22, 2003; and


2. The employee must separate no later than September 30, 2004; and


3. The employee must have at least 25 years of creditable service (without regard to age); or


4. The employee must be at least age 50 and have at least 20 years of creditable service.

An employee under age 55 and covered by the Civil Service Retirement System will incur a penalty in the calculation of the annuity.

For the JMD, the early retirement window period has been established as July 6, 2004, through July 30, 2004. Employees must declare their intention during this time period and separate no later than September 30, 2004. VERAs will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. All requests for retirement estimates, and all retirement applications should be forwarded to Mary Lou Soffer in the Employee and Labor Relations Section of the Personnel Staff. Management may subsequently establish and publicize new or revised opening and/or closing dates, or a revised number of applications, when a change in management’s need to offer voluntary early retirement has occurred. In addition, subject to changes in the staffing or budgeting situation on which the authority was based, JMD may need to further limit offers after offers are announced.

Those retiring with a VERA must have been covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) and Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) programs (1) for the last five years of their service in order to continue such coverage in retirement, or (2) if less than five years, for all service since the employee was eligible for these benefits. However, for FEHB only, OPM will grant pre-approved waivers to individuals who meet the following criteria:

• covered under the FEHB program continuously since the beginning date of the Department’s VERA authority; and
• retire during the statutory VERA period; and
• take early optional retirement; or
• take discontinued service retirement based on an involuntary separation due to reduction-in-force, directed reassignment, reclassification to a lower grade, or abolishment of position.

An employee's decision to separate under a VERA is entirely voluntary. I want to assure you that this important decision is yours alone and that no employee will be coerced in making this decision.

If you meet these criteria and are interested in exploring further the possibility of voluntary early retirement, please contact Mrs. Mary Lou Soffer, your servicing retirement counselor, at (202) 616-3480.

¹This memorandum applies to employees in the Justice Management Division including employees in Working Capital Fund positions.

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