Federal / Military Pension Retirement?

[Maricar19]

Hi- is there a thread for military pension (USNR), and federal pension retirement?

Anyway, here's my situation:
1. I am 60 years old. I have 22 years USN Reserve which includes 9 years of active duty. I bought back my military time. I submitted my application for military retirement in January, 2019, but as of 6/21/2019, it is still being processed.
2. I also worked for a federal agency for 32 years (which includes the 9 years military buyback) and applied for federal retirement in April 2019 and also still being processed as of 6/21/2019.
3. Today, I received an email from OPM asking if I am already receiving military pension. I called her and asked her how does my military pension impact my federal pension? She said both agencies cannot pay for the same time served (I guess she meant the 9 years of active duty that I bought back). I asked her to explain further, but she said she is not that familiar with it. And after she reviews my packet, it will go to the next level who is familiar with this scenario.
4. Has anybody retired from the "reserve", and bought back military time? Was your military pension or federal pension reduced and not as you expected?
5. A month prior to submitting my retirement applications, I called DFAS ans asked how much I expect to receive for my military pension with 4300 points. I was given a rough estimate of $1000+/-. I also checked my federal agency website regarding my estimated annuity and it showed $1800+/- plus Supplement of $800+/-.

With the above estimates, I decided it was time to retire. Now, I am not sure I did a thorough research and I am afraid that either military or fed annuity might be reduced.

Anybody with this experience?

 

[ravensfan]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

It is my understanding that the Military Buyback Program is a benefit for all veterans with "active duty military service" time to receive credit for their military service time to be added to thier years of civil service time with the federal gov't and increases their retirement annuity. What this person told you is the exact opposite of the intent of the Military Buyback Program. I think this person is confusing Military Buyback with WEP (Windfall Elimation Program) which reduces your social security benefit because you are receiving a federal annuity.

I bought my military time back and retired from federal service when I turned 55. My only issue was that my HRO wanted to ensure I had bought my time back and if I had not, was given the opportunity to do so prior to outprocessing. There reasoning for doing this was that it would increase my federal annuity.​

As for the military retirement you are paid, based on your rank at retirement, number of years of military service both active duty and reserve and your total number of points accumulated during your career. Any other retirement (federal, civilian, social security) is not factored into your benefit.

Applying for federal retirement, I can understand how long it is taking. I retired in January and received my first annuity check in September. I did begin receiving a partial retirement in April, something like 80% of OPM's estimate and received a lump sum for all back pay in November.

As for your military retirement, that is strange. I applied on my 60th birthday and received my first check 2 months later.

Applying for federal retirement has always been a long process with excuses from OPM like lack of manpower, lack of training, transitioning from CSRS to FERS and CSRS Offset. They were working on cutting down the processing times when I retired 8 years ago but have made very little progress during that time. I am sure some of the retiree's here at TSPTalk can attest to that with their own horror stories. With the experience you have described, I just hope it has not now infected the military retirement process. That should be quick and painless.

I hope you are successful with resolving your issues as transitioning into retirement and securing "all" your benefits can be a daunting task and very stressful. Good luck!!!

 

[Maricar19]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Raven,

You are lucky that your military pension was processed in 2 months. I submitted military application in January 2019 and my 60th is on March,2019. I inquired last week and this is what I received. Luckily, we have 6 months emergency money tucked away.
No-ReplyUASKMNCC <No-ReplyUASKMNCC@ahf.nmci.navy.mil>
To:***@yahoo.com



Jun 17 at 11:25 AM


[FONT=&quot]
[FONT=&quot]Good day,



Retirements are worked on a first in, first out basis. We would like applications, 10-12 months before their effective data and try to process them within 6 months of receipt. There is a spectrum of processing time based on accuracy of the forms received. Your package was received on 4 FEB 2019. We appreciate your continued patience and understanding while our office works through our current backlog. Once your retirement with pay is processed you will be entitled to backpay in accordance with the eligibility date of your retirement with pay. Thank you!!

[/FONT]

[/FONT]

 

[Maricar19]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

I also sent an inquiry with "Ask the Experts" about my situation. And his response is the same as yours, Ravensfan. Now, I feel a little better.

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[TD]Hi- I submitted my military (USN Reserve) and federal retirement applications in January, 2019 and April 2019 respectively. I bought back my military time. So far, both are still being processed as of 6/21. Today, I received an email from OPM asking me if I am already receiving military pension. I told them not yet and I asked what is impact of receiving military pension to my federal pension? She said that both agencies cannot pay for the same time served. I didn’t know that my military pension as a USNR will impact my federal pension. Can you please enlighten me?
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  REG JONES on JUNE 21, 2019 9:52 PM
  Since you bought back your active duty time, that time will be included in determining your length of service and in your annuity computation. Your reserve retire pay has no affect on a civil service annuity. You can receive both with no reduction in either.
  

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[ravensfan]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Glad to hear the "Ask the Experts" folks were able to help and confirmed what I said. As for the military part of your retirement, I picked up on the word "backlog". When I retired militarily in 2016 there was no such thing as a backlog. Approximately 6 weeks prior to my 60th birthday I was mailed a package from the military retirement folks with instructions to complete the enclosed "Request for Retirement" forms and return the completed forms to them as soon as possible. Then about a week after I turned 60 I received notification of the amount of my retirement and when it would be EFT'd to my bank.

Apparently since I retired more and more folks are submitting their retirement applications and it has created a backlog. That is the same with OPM and your civilian retirement, only it has been going on for many, many years.

Good planning on your part to have a little nestegg put away until you begin receiving your checks. That was smart!

 

[dave123]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

After reading through this thread, I have a couple of questions that perhaps can be answered here. I hope I'm not hijacking anything.

I work for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I have a mandatory retirement coming up in June of 2020. It looks like I should start the paperwork soon? Even if it's mandatory?

Does anyone know, more or less, when I will most likely get my first check?

Thanx

 

[Maricar19]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Late Update:

I started receiving my regular Federal Annuity last 2019. What confuses me is that they are in my account either on the 30th or 31st, but never on the 1st. I thought, as FERS retiree, the annuity should be be on the 1st.

As to my Military pension, it is still being processed. It is now 8 months since they received my application on Feb. 4. I think DFAS should be like OPM where they give interim payments until the whole thing is processed. I understand that the payments will be retroactive, but what do I do in the meantime? I have exhausted my emergency fund since August.

I had no recourse, but to tap my TSP in September, which by the way took more than 14 days to process (from the time I faxed the form.) Faxed the forms 9/17 which according to their website should take approx. 10 days. Well, I called them on the 27th September because I didn't see any indication on my TSP account that it is being processed. Lo and behold, my application was kicked out and they assumed it was because of the volume of applications. To make the long story short, I didn't get my 1st installment until 07 October, although my TSP account status says" Disbursed on 04 October."

Unfortunately, bills need to be paid monthly - taxes, utilities, etc. Retroactive payment doesn't help.

 

[James48843]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Sorry to hear that your military is so delayed! I am in a similar situation- in that I have 4 years of Mil active that I bought back, and I will end up with a GUARD retirement of about $1300 (O-3E and 2750 points).

I got the postcard a year before my 60th birthday. I am now 9 months and have not filed for military yet. I was going to, only to find out my papers (20- year letter and points worksheet) were in a box at my new house I am buying already.

PLEASE ping me when your mil retirement finally comes. I can understand th first lady you worked with did not understand that Guard/Reserve pension is different and that you DO collect both for that.

I do NOT have 9 months worth of carryover money saved up- and will be having to tap my TSP within two or three months of retiring, if nothing else, to carry me through until both the FERS, FERS supplement , and Guard retirement are flowing properly.

Thanks for the update. Good luck!!

 

[ravensfan]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

James 48843,

If I am not mistaken, you should be able to go into DEERS to get a copy of your 20 year letter as well as a points summary. :smile:

 

[James48843]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

James 48843,

If I am not mistaken, you should be able to go into DEERS to get a copy of your 20 year letter as well as a points summary. :smile:

Nope.

I just went into the DEERS website to check, and I predate most everything. DEERS has my name and address, and absolutely nothing else in the documents section.

I predate the invention of the CAC card , so all of my military history is only located on parchment scrolls in the Valley Forge Personnel Archive.


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[James48843]

New Retirement Talk Page

Late Update:

I started receiving my regular Federal Annuity last 2019. What confuses me is that they are in my account either on the 30th or 31st, but never on the 1st. I thought, as FERS retiree, the annuity should be be on the 1st.

As to my Military pension, it is still being processed. It is now 8 months since they received my application on Feb. 4. ....

If you don’t mind me asking, was your military service extremely complex mixes of different units, active times, deployments, etc?

I ask because mine was real straight forward- 4 years of active Army, followed immediately (no break) by 4 enlisted in my State Guard, followed immediately (no break) by 12 years and 2 months in the same State Army Guard as an officer.

The activations I had all were part of my same unit, (enlisted), or other unit (while Officer) so my State had all the records to identify on a single NGB-22 record of separation and NGB-23 record of service points.

Is yours complicated that they may have trouble working everything?

I have been anticipating that the military filing for retirement was going to be the easiest of the two- just two forms (claim form, and direct deposit form), and a copy of the points statement and 20-year letter.

What am I missing?


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[DreamboatAnnie]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

After reading through this thread, I have a couple of questions that perhaps can be answered here. I hope I'm not hijacking anything.

I work for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I have a mandatory retirement coming up in June of 2020. It looks like I should start the paperwork soon? Even if it's mandatory?

Does anyone know, more or less, when I will most likely get my first check?

Thanx

Good question and it varies. I hear you could be getting "a" PARTIAL check fairly quick ( 1-2 months, depending on what date you retire) IF you put in your request at least 4-6 months before you retire. However, it can take 6-8 months for them to precisely figure your FULL monthly payment amount , which then allows them to issue a retroactive payment for the difference PLUS your FULL monthly payment. I hear some folks say the interim checks are maybe 50-60%. Bottom Line: You need to have some money put aside to live on until the full check is getting issued to you.

I do believe others on this site can provide better comment. I have not yet retired so I just am reporting what I hear.

 

[James48843]

New Retirement Talk Page

Ugh- I am so screwed.

I will need both my military guard retirement, and my FERS retirement in order to meet my bills. I can’t live 6-8 months waiting for the paperwork to go through.

Maybe I need to spend a couple of days printing my own money over at the US Mint...

Or just clean out the Federal Reserve accounts whilst waiting for the checks they owe me to start arriving. I’m sure if I just move a decimal point over a couple of places, it will take them a long time to figure out exactly where the mistake was made.....


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[Scout333]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Ugh- I am so screwed.

I will need both my military guard retirement, and my FERS retirement in order to meet my bills. I can’t live 6-8 months waiting for the paperwork to go through.

Maybe I need to spend a couple of days printing my own money over at the US Mint...

Or just clean out the Federal Reserve accounts whilst waiting for the checks they owe me to start arriving. I’m sure if I just move a decimal point over a couple of places, it will take them a long time to figure out exactly where the mistake was made.....


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Any chance you can accumulate a pile of annual leave between now and retirement? Usually get paid for A/L within 3 weeks or so. Works great for extra funds while waiting for OPM!

 

[James48843]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Any chance you can accumulate a pile of annual leave between now and retirement? Usually get paid for A/L within 3 weeks or so. Works great for extra funds while waiting for OPM!

Nope- not really. I had some medical issues the last couple of years, so I have burned down my sick leave balance to under 100 hours, and my annual also down to about 60 hours. At the current time I’m using about what I am earning, so I can’t really save up a big chunk of annual to carry me out. Like I say- I’m really feeling that I’m going to be in a tough spot.

My only choice is going to be to consume TSP in a monthly payout as steady income until the FERS, FERS supplement, and the Guard retirement all kick in to make up the replacement income stream.

I am thankful they improved the frequency of changes to monthly withdrawals on the TSP payout, so I can adjust it as needed in the days ahead. I’m thinking perhaps end of January 2020 until September 2020, by which time I’m hoping the retirement pay will get sorted out.

It’s gonna be a mess, I think.

(Unless I figure out how to get another in one stream going by then)


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[Tsunami]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

James,

If you do go the TSP monthly withdrawal route here's a little info. I did it last April and it went very smoothly. in my case, and normally, they're pretty quick and it takes about 5 business days between the date you fax the form to them to the date the first deposit shows up in your account. So if you want the funds to be deposited early in each month as I did, you'll want to fax your form about 3 or 4 days before the end of the month. More recently my wife sent in a form for a one-time TSP withdrawal. What a fiasco. If you're married one of the irritating parts of the process (and this goes for the monthly withdrawals as well) is that you have to have your spouse sign the form...OK, no problem, but you also have to have both your signature and your spouses notarized, a big pain....fortunately our bank was nice enough to do that for free for us and also fax the form...So when we did that for her withdrawal form we were jabbering with the banker and he accidentally put down the wrong date on one of his notary signatures, so the two didn't match...we didn't notice this error, and the form was faxed...after a week my wife followed up by calling TSP and was told, "oh, yeah, the notary dates didn't match so we rejected it"...they didn't bother to tell her this until she called!...they told her no problem though, just have the notary cross off the date and correct it and initial it and re-fax it...which she did immediately...and then waited another week...she called and they said, "oh, sorry, but our new rules don't allow for pen & ink changes...sorry we gave you the incorrect instructions last week...you'll need to start all over and send us a new form"....sheez....so we had to do that, back to the bank a 3rd time...and finally the withdrawal was processed about 6 or 7 business days later, last Friday.

While I'm hear I might as well update my own retirement story. One of two things I've been waiting on was to get the retroactive portion of my annual leave lump sum payment from the delayed 2019 COLA. My retirement office kept insisting (incorrectly) that retirees don't get that, but I kept sending them piles of links and proof that retirees do indeed get the COLA since per OPM rules you're annual leave is paid out as if you're still working...in my case I retired on 12/31/18 but had nearly 400 hours of A/L so it carried into March of 2019, and most of that was due the retroactive COLA piece....anyway, after 5 months of badgering my retirement contact, and then his supervisor, I finally got the supervisor to send my request to payroll (my agency was the NNSA part of DOE), and then 3 weeks later I got a check from DFAS and a separate statement from DFAS the same day, just last week. So it took 6 months overall but I finally got it, a whopping $250 or so after all the taxes...a tiny sum, but it was owed to me and I wanted it darn it. So now I'm just waiting for my annuity to be fixed by OPM. It's $19/month too low thanks to the clerk entering that I only had 4 hours of sick leave attributable to my CSRS years (it should have been 604 hours, a data entry error)...funny that it took them 2 seconds to make that error, but it's going to take them a "very very long time, you need to be really patient" is what I'm told when I've called them for status updates. I first sent them an email with documents attached back in March to prove my 604 hours of sick leave from way back in 1990 when I left the government (good thing I kept those documents)...then after 3 months I called and they said. "yeah, we got that, and it was eventually assigned to a specialist, but the specialist dropped it and isn't going to do it....so, sorry, you'll need to send a formal letter to make us do our job"....I'm paraphrasing that last little bit but that's really what I was told. Argh. Fortunately it's a minor amount so I don't need to worry about it, but it's aggravating nonetheless, and it will eventually add up to thousands of dollars lost if I don't keep harassing them to fix it.

 

[Maricar19]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

If you don’t mind me asking, was your military service extremely complex mixes of different units, active times, deployments, etc?
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I am not sure if mine is considered complicated.
I have 9 years of USN active duty, USN Reserve after that with 2 deployments to Kuwait/Iraq in 2005-2006 and 2007-2008. I am also claiming for the 2008 NDAA which states"Under the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, members of the Reserve Component who served at least 90 days during a fiscal year on a deployment in support of overseas operations such as the Iraq or Afghanistan campaigns are authorized to retire three months early for each 90 day period they served in any given fiscal year."
So maybe claiming my early retirement (Dec-Jan -Feb) made it complicated (?)

 

[Maricar19]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Update 10/22/2019:

DFAS called and was advised that my claim for early 3 months military pension was approved (based on NDAA 2008). So, instead of my military pension starting last March 2019 (when I turned 60 YO), it will start December 2018. I guess, the only question now is "when will I receive the retroactive pay?":laugh:

 

[Maricar19]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Late Update on my USNR Military Annuity:

I finally received my military annuity (retroactive from December 2018- November 2019) on December 11, less taxes and etc.

Just a refresher, I submitted my application January 2019, 3 months before my 60th birthday and was received by VA on February 2019.
I still do not fully understand why it took this long to process my annuity, over 10 months.

I have 20% approved disability, so I have a VA waiver for this. VA waiver is mandatory from what I have read. Any inputs?
The annuity is less than what I expected (maybe $70-$90 less.)

As mentioned earlier, we have been tapping our TSP since August because our 6 months emergency fund, lasted only 5 months (March-August).
Spouse will be turning 62 in a few months, so the FERS supplement will end, and Social Security will be claimed.
I still have a year and a few months before I turn 62, and enjoy my FERS supplement.

Advice to future military annuitants (Reservists), file your application at least 6 months before you turn 60 years old or as soon as you receive your eligibility notice.

Happy New Year!

 

[PessOptimist]

Re: New Retirement Talk Page

Late Update on my USNR Military Annuity:

I finally received my military annuity (retroactive from December 2018- November 2019) on December 11, less taxes and etc.

Just a refresher, I submitted my application January 2019, 3 months before my 60th birthday and was received by VA on February 2019.
I still do not fully understand why it took this long to process my annuity, over 10 months.

I have 20% approved disability, so I have a VA waiver for this. VA waiver is mandatory from what I have read. Any inputs?
The annuity is less than what I expected (maybe $70-$90 less.)

As mentioned earlier, we have been tapping our TSP since August because our 6 months emergency fund, lasted only 5 months (March-August).
Spouse will be turning 62 in a few months, so the FERS supplement will end, and Social Security will be claimed.
I still have a year and a few months before I turn 62, and enjoy my FERS supplement.

Advice to future military annuitants (Reservists), file your application at least 6 months before you turn 60 years old or as soon as you receive your eligibility notice.

Happy New Year!

Congratulations on finally recieving your annuity. You are correct that your military retirement pay wil be reduced by the amount of the VA disability pay at 20% rating. Concurrent Retirement Disability Pay is authorized only if the VA disability rating is 50% or greater. Several groups have been lobbying to get this changed for years. Prior to 2004 there was no CRDP so that's something. My thoughts are that the current rules will never change. Are you getting the VA pay yet? Not sure how all that works for reserves.

Here are some links to info about CRDP and CRSC.


https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/VA-Waiver-and-Retired-Pay--CRDP--CRSC.html


https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/crdp.html


https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/crsc.html


PO