Question 1:
At age 57, I’ll have 34 years of service. Can I retire at 57 (my MRA), receive the FERS Supplement, and use a 1.1% multiplier or just 1%?
Answer 1:
No you cannot get a 1.1% multiplier if you retire before age 62. To be eligible for the extra multiplier you have to retire at 62 or later with at least 20 years of creditable service.
Question 2:
My spouse and I are both federal employees with about twenty years of service each. If one of us was to pass away in the near future (God forbid), would the surviving spouse be eligible to receive a survivors pension from FERS while she/he continues to work and they complete their 30 years of service? And if so, once the surviving spouse decides to retire and she/he requests their own FERS retirement pension, would the survivors pension continue to get paid along with their own FERS pension for the rest of their life? Wouldn’t this be considered double dipping?
If you decide to cover this scenario in a video, would it be possible to also explain what happens with the deceased spouse’s TSP, FEGLI, lump sum death benefit and their health insurance.
Answer 2:
When an employee dies before retiring then the spouse may be eligible for a monthly benefit if they meet a number of criteria. Some of the big ones are that the now deceased employee had to have at least 10 years of creditable service and you would have had to be married for at least 9 months.
The monthly benefit would generally be payable when the deceased spouse would have been eligible for a benefit.
The FEGLI benefits would be payable (assuming you are the beneficiary) and the TSP will pass to whoever the beneficiary is set to as well.
Question 3:
Hi Dallen, How often can a direct transfer (meaning non taxable event) occur from a traditional IRA to a traditional TSP account after retiring? Thank you, Jason
Answer 3:
In retirement you can make a withdrawal request every 30 days. This includes withdrawals straight to you and transfers to an IRA. They both count as a withdrawal and only 1 of either one will be allowed every 30 days.
