The following is a question submitted by a Federal Times readers about retirement and other issues facing the federal workforce. It is answered by Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service and a Federal Times columnist since 1995.
Question: My husband and I, both federal employees, enjoy reading Reg Jones column on retirement, pay, and leave issues affecting federal employees.
I have a retirement question. I am under CSRS and have 45 years of federal service. My situation is murky because I worked part-time while raising my children. I know that I receive full credit for time-in-service, and I know my annuity will be prorated based on the time I worked part-time.
I am wondering whether full-time work past the 42-year mark will be of benefit to my CSRS annuity calculation (that is, mitigate some of the reduction due to earlier part-time service). Or does anything after 42 years basically not count for purposes of my CSRS annuity calculation?
Reg’s Response: CSRS employees who have 41 years and 10 months of full-time service are entitled to the maximum annuity payable - 80 percent of their high-3. By working 45 years, you’ve already reduced the gap created by your part-time service. You need to go to your personnel office and ask them to provide an estimate of what your annuity would be and how close you are to reaching the 80 percent limit.
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Reg Jones is the resident expert on retirement and the federal government at Federal Times. From 1979 until 1995, he served as an assistant director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management handling recruiting and examining, white and blue collar pay, retirement, insurance and other issues. Opinions expressed are his own.
Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service, is our resident expert on retirement and the federal government. From 1979 to '95, he served as an assistant director of the Office of Personnel Management handling recruiting and examining, white and blue collar pay, retirement, insurance and other issues. Opinions expressed are his own.
