FERS retirement at 62?

[Lindoug]

I retired with 760hrs and received check for $21,000.00 Used up a lot of sick leave towards end of my career cuz figured it was worth a heck of a lot more then the small difference it would make in my annuity.

Curious how you were able to amass 760 hours, when only 240 hours can be carried over in any given year? If there is a trick, I'd love to know it!

 

[tom1tom1]

Postmasters could carryover 560 hrs/yr

 

[weatherweenie]

I retired with 760hrs and received check for $21,000.00 Used up a lot of sick leave towards end of my career cuz figured it was worth a heck of a lot more then the small difference it would make in my annuity.

Good for you. I can only carry over 240 hours. Never have done that though. I would rather use my time off.

 

[PessOptimist]

Good for you. I can only carry over 240 hours. Never have done that though. I would rather use my time off.

For some of us that 240 just appeared one year and we have been doing our best to not lose any AL since. For some of us using 208 hour per year is not easy.
The thinking about retiring at the end of the leave year and not using AL the last year has roots in the long amount of time it has been taking OPM to finalize the annuity amount.
(240+(8x26=208)=448)x hourly rate on retirement day=11 weeks of pay. One consideration is to not have it paid in the last full tax year worked. Many considerations involved in choosing the retirement date.
PO

 

[Buffalo_Nickle]

If you are planning on retireing the 240 club is the place to be. To be able to cash that 240 hrs in really helps grease the OL' finacial transition skids!! Go Seahawks!

 

[ripper]

Or, start planning ahead and use your SL in the years leading up to retirement.

I'm curious as to how some on here seem to be able to use an "above normal" amount of sick leave when nearing retirement.

I have about 1600 hours of SL and would love to use a lot of it before I retire in the next year or two.

But in my office, more than 16 consecutive hours of SL automatically requires documentation from a doctor before you can return to work. In some instances, employees have been required to provide documentation following one or two days of SL.

 

[Valkyrie]

I'm curious as to how some on here seem to be able to use an "above normal" amount of sick leave when nearing retirement.

I have about 1600 hours of SL and would love to use a lot of it before I retire in the next year or two.

But in my office, more than 16 consecutive hours of SL automatically requires documentation from a doctor before you can return to work. In some instances, employees have been required to provide documentation following one or two days of SL.

these are the rules an agency must follow, 16 hrs they are violating the regs.
Sick Leave (General Information)

 

[weatherweenie]

these are the rules an agency must follow, 16 hrs they are violating the regs.
Sick Leave (General Information)

In our agency, National Weather Service, there is a clause that give managers too much power to question sick leave, IMO:
“Supervisors may require supporting documents for absences of three
days or less when an employee is a chronic user of short periods of
sick leave, or has no sick leave balance, or there is a reasonable
doubt as to the validity of the claim to such leave, or in other
special circumstances. If a physician was not consulted, a signed
statement from the employee giving the facts about the absence, the
treatment used and the reasons for not having a physician’s statement
may be accepted as supportive evidence by the supervisor.”

I was gigged on this when I used one day of SL that happened to be used around some AL that I had scheduled.

 

[alevin]

S/L, like annual, is subject to supervisory approval. The rules in my agency say Dr. excuse may be required to prove need for extended sick 3 days or more, supervisor discretion. I take S/L for healthcare appts mostly, rarely have actual illness downtime to use it on, never use just for the h*** of it. I don't get challenged even for the rare extended time like a full day off for doctor appt at a distance, because my sup knows I'm unlikely to abuse it. Like PO, I struggle to use all my use or lose every year as it is.

 

[OBGibby]

If you do OCONUS assignments you can bump your max annual leave accrual up to 360 hours. Been getting 8 hours per pay period for the last five years. I usually give back one or two weeks of leave a year.

 

[Maricar19]

Postal bargaining craft are allowed to carry over 440 hrs of AL while EAS employees are allowed to carry over 560 hours of AL.
If a potential retiree (planning to retire Dec. 31) carried 440 hours from previous year and didn't use any of current year's leave, he/she can cash a total of 648 hours of AL (440+208) or 640 hrs if pay period wasn't completed.
Management will be 560 + 208=768 hours or 760

 

[Maricar19]

Curious how you were able to amass 760 hours, when only 240 hours can be carried over in any given year? If there is a trick, I'd love to know it!

it is possible if you are a postal employee, esp. management. Our craft can cash a max of 440+208

 

[DrDetroit]

Really good thread. I didn't see it mentioned but for those at MRA+30 years you'd have to do the catch up math to see if staying until 62 is worth the .1. If you are getting the social security bridge, then that can offset the .1% pension gain at 62. Seems to me the supplement/bridge is one of the best retirement benefits we have, basically free money. What am I missing?

I will admit of all the benefits we get, that is the one I can see not being there when I retire. I'm not cynical enough to think SS won't be there, but if Congress is gonna slash benefits it seems like the SS supplement would be a huge target. If it were not available, I would definitely stay until 62. Otherwise, meh...

 

[konakathy]

I retired last year with 31 years and did the math and the extra .1% was not worth me hanging around another 4 years. I wanted out! I may or may not start my SS withdrawals at 62 and just maybe postpone and start to dip into my TSP until I reach 66.6 years and collect SS then. I'll see where I'm at financially, which way the markets and my investments are heading and then decide. Until I'm at that crossroad....I'm living like there's no tomorrow.

 

[weatherweenie]

I retired last year with 31 years and did the math and the extra .1% was not worth me hanging around another 4 years. I wanted out! I may or may not start my SS withdrawals at 62 and just maybe postpone and start to dip into my TSP until I reach 66.6 years and collect SS then. I'll see where I'm at financially, which way the markets and my investments are heading and then decide. Until I'm at that crossroad....I'm living like there's no tomorrow.

I have a co-worker who is not in the best of health, and he is staying in to get his extra .1%. I have tried explaining to him, is it really worth working shift-work for several more years just to get a few hundred dollars a month? To him it is. For me, get me the flock outta here!

 

[alevin]

I've run the math too. for me it's worth it to stay in til 62, bc I can stack another almost 75K into my tsp in those 3 years, not to mention deferring taxes on the same. and I can also squeak some additional into my outside roth accts each of those years, and finish getting agency quals that will enable me to do some post-retirement work in summers helping out with wildfire mgt until I'm 70'ish. which would also allow me to put 2-4K extra into Roth accts each year post-retirement. to meet my mini-farm land purchase-mgt/small biz post-retirement goals, working til 62 will help make it doable. pretty iffy otherwise.

 

[nasa1974]

That's the whole thing about retirement. You have to do the math. I may want to retire now but can I afford it? Or, is it worth hanging around another couple of years for an extra $1000 a year? You have to do the math.

 

[McDuck]

If you are getting the social security bridge, then that can offset the .1% pension gain at 62. Seems to me the supplement/bridge is one of the best retirement benefits we have, basically free money. What am I missing?

I agree but that supplement/bridge can go away if you get another job.
None of the supplement goes away if you make < $16k.
I around $16k, $1 is taken for every $2 that you earn.
So that around $48k income, your supplement is gone.

 

[Happy_Trails]

Excellent thread. I really appreciate the insight of those of have retired via FERS and can weigh in on the pros and cons of the timing of FERS retirements, sick leave credit, etc. A lot to think about - I am 5.67 years out from age 60 and will have 30.33 years in at that point.

 

[FAAM]

I agree but that supplement/bridge can go away if you get another job.
None of the supplement goes away if you make < $16k.
I around $16k, $1 is taken for every $2 that you earn.
So that around $48k income, your supplement is gone.

Additionally, if you qualify for MRA+30 for FERS retirement <62 and qualified with significant Active-Duty Military time you bought back, well, the "supplement" equation Does Not allow those military years to count (yes, even though we paid SS out of our Military Paychecks... its part of the law with Congress created/enacted FERS). So I'm MRA eligible at 34-years (with 9.3 years of that from US Army time I bought back), so I'd take about a 30% cut to my SS-Supplement payments till age 62 (compounded of course). This isn't "right" but likely won't change; and it factors into my waiting to retire.
I'm about 57; plan to work at least 2-more years, would like to get out then, but I'll only be 3-years away from 62 and +.1 factor, plus the problem with the Supplement above.