Less than One Year to Retire
There are several ways to contact us:
How might I be indebted to my
employer?
You should resolve any financial indebtedness to your agency. Examples of causes
for indebtedness include:
- outstanding travel advances,
- overpayments of salary,
- indebtedness for failure to return government property or for damage to
government property, or
- advanced leave.
When and
how do I waive my military retired pay?
If you want to waive your military retired pay to receive credit for military
service in the computation of your benefit, you should write the Retired Pay
Operations Center at least 60 days before your planned retirement. Send
your waiver to:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service
U.S. Military Retirement Pay
P.O. Box 7130
London, KY 40742-7130
You can "fax" your request to 1 (888) 469-6559.
Suggested wording for your request is as follows:
"I (full name and military serial number) hereby waive my military
retired pay for Civil Service Retirement/Federal Employees Retirement System
purposes effective (the day before your annuity begins).
I hereby authorize the U.S. Office of Personnel Management
to withhold from my CSRS or FERS annuity any amount of military retired pay
granted beyond the effective date of this waiver due to any delay in receiving
or processing this request."
What is the maximum
benefit I can receive?
The basic Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuity cannot exceed 80
percent of your high-3
average salary, excluding your unused sick leave. Generally, you reach the
80 percent limitation when you have 41 years and 11 months of service, not including
accumulated sick leave. Fewer years of service may result in a computation
that produces the maximum benefit under special computation formulas such as
for law enforcement personnel.
Your service beyond the years which provides the maximum benefit will not be
used to compute your annuity. Instead, we will automatically refund the
retirement contributions you made during those years. Interest is paid
on this refund payment at the rate of three percent per year, compounded annually.
You can use the refund to purchase additional annuity, as if the contributions
and interest are voluntary
contributions.
However, if you have federal civilian employment periods when you did not contribute
to either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees
Retirement System (FERS), we automatically apply excess contributions toward
any deposit
due for these employment periods.
How do I find out if I am eligible
for Medicare coverage?
You should contact the Social Security Administration
at least three months before your 65th birthday to apply for benefits. The Social
Security Administration will have records pertaining to your eligibility for
Medicare coverage. If they do not, and you or your employer need to get
a statement of your earnings for this purpose, you can write to:
General Services Administration
National Personnel Records Center
Civilian Personnel Records
111 Winnebago Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63118
You should provide the following information in your request:
- your name, as shown on your payroll records;
- date of birth;
- Social Security Number;
- mailing address;
- years for which earnings are needed;
- name and location of employer for each year;
- reason for request;
- written signature; and,
- a statement that all other sources of information have been exhausted.
When should I choose
my exact retirement date?
If you have not already done so, you should choose your exact retirement date.
Afterwards, your benefit can be estimated based on the exact date.
The best place to obtain assistance is your agency's local personnel service
center. They can provide personalized assistance and they have your
employment records. They will provide you with information on when your
benefit payments can begin based on your proposed retirement date. You
will also find out how this date affects factors used to determine the amount
of your retirement benefit, such as your length of service, high-3
average salary, and the proration of cost-of-living adjustments.
When should I
complete my application?
You should carefully read the information that is part of your retirement
application, and complete and submit the forms. You do not need to submit
a separate letter of resignation. A completed and signed retirement application
is equivalent to a letter of resignation.
If you are eligible for a retirement benefit, you should not resign, intending
to submit a retirement application later. This is because if you die after separating
but before filing the application no life insurance, no survivor benefit, and
no survivor health insurance coverage would be available to your survivor(s).
You should, however, complete all the other required "exit procedures."
Read more about applying
for retirement.
Should I check on my military
service deposit?
Your personnel office will verify with your payroll office that the deposit
to give you credit in your annuity for military service you performed after
1956 has been paid, or that arrangements have been made for complete payment
before you leave the agency's rolls.
Should I sign up
now to receive my retirement payments by direct deposit?
If your employer sends us your retirement records electronically, via the
Data Exchange Gateway (DEG), your account information for direct deposit will
be sent to us automatically. No further action from you is required. Otherwise,
include your request to receive your payments by direct deposit with your retirement
package. You can do this by submitting a letter or a Standard Form (SF)
1199A with your application. You must get the SF 1199A, Direct Deposit
Sign-Up Form, from your financial institution.
Direct deposit is available to retirees residing in Canada but, generally,
it is not available to those whose permanent address for receiving payments
is outside the United States. However, retirees living outside the U.S. can
arrange to have their payments electronically deposited in a U.S. bank.
How long does it take to withdraw money
from the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)?
It may take up to eight weeks to process a withdrawal after all properly completed
withdrawal forms and separation data have been received by the TSP Service Office.
Further, the TSP Service Office cannot process a withdrawal election until they
receive an Employee Data Record from your payroll office indicating that you
have separated.
An unpaid TSP loan may delay disbursement of the TSP account balance.
Your employer will provide you with information about your withdrawal options
and the option to keep your money in the TSP. If you choose not to withdraw
your funds, in the event of your death the TSP Service Office would pay the
funds based on your written designation form on file. If you have not
completed a designation form, payment would be made to your survivors as follows:
- Widow or widower.
- If none of the above, child or children and descendants of deceased children
by representation.
- If none of the above, retiree's parents or to the surviving parent.
- If none of the above, the executor or administrator of the retiree's estate.
- If none of the above, to any other of the retiree's next of kin who is entitled
under the laws of the state in which the retiree resided at death.
Read more about the
Thrift Savings Program.