Retirements and Benefits
Non-reduction in Pay for Certain
Federal Civilian Employees on Active Duty in the Uniformed Services or National
Guard
A new law was passed for federal
technicians who are called to active duty in the uniformed services. This law
states that employees will receive a supplemental payment equal to the amount by
which civilian basic pay exceeds (if at all) military pay and allowances
allocable to the given period. Basically, if a federal technician earns more on
the civilian side than the military, they will receive a supplemental payment,
therefore will not lose income by going on a deployment/activation. The law was
effective 15 March 2009, however, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will
be issuing further guidance and regulations as soon as possible. They don't know
exactly how the budget and military/civilian reconciliation will work. Once they
give us further guidance it will be retro to 15 Mar 2009, so those technicians
who fall into this category should keep their orders and military/civilian LESs.
See that attached OPM Letter dated 3 Apr 2009.
Service
Computation Date (SCD) Changes for New Federal Technicians
Before in-processing, new employees are asked to bring in all DD 214s or Title
10 orders to adjust their SCD. Only Title 10 military service is creditable for
SCD purposes. The SCD is adjusted, giving credit for this Title 10 military
service and any previous federal civilian service. The SCD change is for Leave
and Reduction-In-Force purposes only. A military deposit is required for
retirement credit. A technician can see what their SCD is by looking at an SF 50
in block 31.
The Service Computation Date determines the annual leave rate accrual rate:
0-3 years = 4 hours per pay period
3-15 years = 6 hours per pay period
15 + years = 8 hours per pay period
Please see guidance letter regarding Military and Leave Without Pay U.S.
deposits available on HRO webpage.
Military
Activation of Federal Technicians
Technicians must be provided the option of using available leave, i.e.,
Military, Annual, Comp Time or LWOP, or any combination (except
sick leave) when placed on military orders before they go on LWOP U.S.
Technicians going on LWOP U.S. over 30 days must provide HRO with an SF 52,
along with a copy of the orders. Technicians who are activated and have a Thrift
Savings Plan loan must notify HRO so the loan may be suspended while on active
duty-mil to avoid a taxable distribution of the loan due to non payment. HRO is
also required for notify the TSP office upon return to duty.
Upon a return to duty, technicians have the opportunity to make up missed TSP
contributions while they were on LWOP U.S., and the government will pay their
matching, plus any interest. Please see tsp.gov
for further guidance on the process.
New Presidential Leave Guidance for Title 32 National Guard
Technicians
GENERAL
INFORMATION: The National Guard Technician Program
consists of two retirement systems:
- Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)
- Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
The Civil Service Retirement System covers National Guard Technicians employed
prior to 1 January 1984. If you are just entering the Federal system, you will
be in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Both CSRS and FERS provide the
technician a measure of income protection in case of disability. Both retirement
systems will provide for your family in case of death and will pay you an
annuity after your retirement. Each Technician contributes 7% of gross pay
towards retirement. For FERS employees, 6.2% pays for the Social Security
portion of retirement and 0.8 % is for the FERS retirement fund.
Please review The CSRS and FERS Handbook, Chapter 40, for it provides
information on various time frames for planning your retirement. The handbook is
located at:
www.opm.gov/asd/htm/hod.htm.
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM (CSRS): Your age and number of years of
federal service determine your eligibility for retirement. To be eligible for an
immediate annuity you must be:
Voluntary CSRS Retirement
- Age 62 with 5 years service, or
- Age 60 with 20 years service, or
- Age 55 with 30 years service
Involuntary CSRS Retirement - Involuntary Retirements occur if a
technician loses military membership for reasons NOT related to misconduct or
non-performance. When this occurs, and the CSRS technician is age 50 with 20
years of federal service, or any age with 25 years of service, he/she is
eligible for an immediate retirement annuity. However, there is a 2% reduction
in your retirement annuity for each year your age is under 55.
For more information concerning CSRS visit :
www.opm.gov/retire/html/retirement/csrs.html
FEDERAL EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT SYSTEM (FERS): The FERS retirement is a
three-tiered program including FERS, Social Security and the Thrift Savings
Plan. The rule of thumb to determine the FERS basic benefit annuity is 1 percent
of the high-three average salary multiplied by length of creditable service. For
example, if you are a FERS technician and you work for 20 years, your retirement
annuity will be 20% of your average “high 3”.
FERS Overview
For more information concerning FERS visit:
www.opm.gov/retire/pre/fers/index.asp
FEDERAL EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT SYSTEM (FERS)
Sick Leave Credit Becomes Law
President Obama signed legislation on October 28, 2009 that allows federal
workers who retire under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to
receive credit for sick leave when they retire.
The law allows FERS covered workers to receive 50%
credit for unused sick leave until December 31, 2013. Starting on January 1,
2014 FERS employees will receive full credit for unused sick leave at
retirement.
Current CSRS employees will receive full credit
for sick leave as they always have.
TSP Update for Federal Employees
Title: H.R. 1256 – Implementation of Immediate Agency Contributions for
Participants Covered by the Federal Employees’ Retirement system and Equivalent
Federal Retirement Plans
H.R. 1256 Act passed on June 12, 2009. This new law eliminates the waiting
period for employees covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
to receive Agency Automatic 1% and agency matching contributions.
All new federal employees will be immediately eligible for the agency 1%
contribution, plus agency matching contributions upon employment.
For more information, please go to www.tsp.gov
under TSP Bulletin 09-8 for more detailed information.
Military Deposit
Computing the Post-1956 Military Deposit for Employees
On LWOP-US Who Receive Civilian Pay During Their Active Military Duty
Military Deposits and
Leave Without Pay LWOP U.S. Deposit Requirements/Information
Service Credit Deposit Information for Title 10 Military Service (Military
Buy-Back)
Requirement for
Deposit of Leave Without Pay (LWOP) for Retirement Purposes