PessOptimist's Retirement Story

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Downloaded my last LES today for pay due 1/17. They paid the lump sum leave amount as normal earned income. I expected that. What I did not realize was that they deducted SS (OASDI) and Medicare from the lump sum like it was normal pay. That is $2k I did not figure in to the final payout. I guess I should have, .gov will get theirs.

I was correct, did not work a full pay period at the end so did not get to sell that 8 hours leave back. Another several hundred dollars I will not get. Plus I gave up about 7 days sick leave.

So much for proper prior planning.

Advice is to retire at the end of a pay period and keep track of that sick leave. Take it no matter how much your bosses whine.

No regrets. Not getting up at oh-dark-30 and fighting traffic is great.

BTW the additional leave money would not have made up for kicking the first interim payment up to March. Anticipating getting my CSA number so I can set up my SOL account. I hope I have good luck with that and am not SOL.

Now if I could just learn how to play poker...

PO
 
Congratulations on your retirement!
Also, thanks for the information about the leave. I plan to take all my S/L before I retire (in 12 years...ugg)! Im keeping a balance of 300 hours for emergencies and not letting it get over that. Then in my last few years I will burn it all up.
Did not know about the end of pay period thing. I will remember that. I plan to retire December, 2030. It seems so far away!

As for the poker, stick with Blackjack. Best odds in the house! :D
 
Feeling antsy this Sunday evening. Hoping to get that SOL info this week. Hoping there is an interim payment made 2/1.

PO
 
Got a mostly blank LES from DFAS. In the remarks section it confirms I was separated 12/31/2018 and retirement data was sent to OPM on 1/16/2019. No claim number from OPM yet. I must be patient. I will be less patient if no money is deposited from OPM in two days.
Anyone who retired 12/31/18 received the claim number yet? Those already retired, how long did it take to receive the claim number?

PO
 
Welcome to the club PO.

I retired 2/28/2018 and received the following items dated:
Interim Pay Notification from OPM: 3/28/2018
Retirement Services Reference Card from OPM: 3/28/2018
Temporary Password for OPM Account: 3/29/2018

Received them a few days later. The first 2 will have your claim number. My retirement pay showed up in my bank account before I received the 3 items above.

BTW, you can check your TSP account to see if they consider you retired yet, by looking at either TSP Loans or Withdrawals under Online Transactions. You can't take a loan if you are separated.

A little nerve-racking the first month or so waiting on all this to occur, but it passes quickly. Enjoy your new life.
 
MrBill said:
Welcome to the club PO.

I retired 2/28/2018 and received the following items dated:
Interim Pay Notification from OPM: 3/28/2018
Retirement Services Reference Card from OPM: 3/28/2018
Temporary Password for OPM Account: 3/29/2018

Received them a few days later. The first 2 will have your claim number. My retirement pay showed up in my bank account before I received the 3 items above.

BTW, you can check your TSP account to see if they consider you retired yet, by looking at either TSP Loans or Withdrawals under Online Transactions. You can't take a loan if you are separated.

A little nerve-racking the first month or so waiting on all this to occur, but it passes quickly. Enjoy your new life.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Did the thing with TSP and they do know I am unemployed. Just being impatient and a little worried.

PO
 
I retired in 2010 and things were slow and not much communication. It is nerve racking until it all gets settled. But, you will get everything in the end. Back pay from the missing pay from from interim check etc. I had a good amount of pay from annual and sick leave to tide me over. Plus I did the 72t withdrawals from tsp. They were quick. Why can’t opm be like that?
 
clester said:
I retired in 2010 and things were slow and not much communication. It is nerve racking until it all gets settled. But, you will get everything in the end. Back pay from the missing pay from from interim check etc. I had a good amount of pay from annual and sick leave to tide me over. Plus I did the 72t withdrawals from tsp. They were quick. Why can’t opm be like that?
Click to expand...
I also retired in 2010 the same situation!!:banana:
 
PO, I retired 1-3-14 and everything flowed fairly smoothly except for the final check clearing up all the estimates which I didn't get until May, 2014. Quote below has various estimated dates and everything pretty much happened on schedule. Best of luck. Hard not to be nervous but it will work out in the end!

"Got a call from my retirement specialist with estimates of my first retirement check dates. The first "interim" retirement check is due around 2-10-2014 and the lump sum annual leave check is due around 2-18-2014. Hope he's right! A little spooky when those paychecks stop although I still have a half paycheck coming 1-21-2014. Will let you guys know how it works out." Got my Claim Number 2-3-14.
 
I received my Retirement Services Reference card with the claim number on 2/5/19. The letter was dated 12/17/18. The first interim OPM payment showed up today in the checking account. It is about 64% of the last estimated amount before FEHB deduction. Still waiting for the temporary passcode for SOL.

PO
 
I got the temporary password for SOL and was able to log on and update the required stuff. Though it shows $0 under payments I did get the following from the status page:


OPM authorized your retirement to be placed into interim pay. You will continue to receive interim pay until your retirement case is processed.


Notification of Retirement Received


OPM has been notified of your retirement. Once we receive your retirement application, your retirement case can be processed. 01/17/2019


Retirement Application Received


OPM has received your retirement application package from your agency. 01/18/2019


Interim Pay Issued


OPM authorized your retirement to be placed into interim pay. You will continue to receive interim pay until your retirement case is processed. 02/05/2019


Assigned to Specialist Incomplete


Case Finalized Incomplete


It also shows $0 under Life Insurance amounts though the 75% reduction is checked.


PO
 
PO, looks like you're well on your way! May take a couple of months of Interim Pay before everything is finalized. Anything beyond 60 days might be worth a call to OPM to check on things! JMHO
 
I got an e-mail from OPM today saying my status had been updated. Logged in and found this:

I am somewhat amazed at how quickly this happened. No info on what the final amount is going to be.

PO
 

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PO,
Did you get an OPM deposit this week (separate from the 3/1 deposit)? My retirement has been tracking yours closely, my case was finalized on 3/4 and yesterday I got a mystery deposit of about $2400 from OPM. I'm assuming it's for the retroactive amounts owed to me for the 2/1 and 3/1 annuity and FERS Supplement amounts, mostly the latter, but there's nothing explaining it in my Services Online account. I'd thought I'd get the retroactive amounts lumped in with my 4/1 deposit, but guess I was wrong.
 
Tsunami said:
PO,
Did you get an OPM deposit this week (separate from the 3/1 deposit)? My retirement has been tracking yours closely, my case was finalized on 3/4 and yesterday I got a mystery deposit of about $2400 from OPM. I'm assuming it's for the retroactive amounts owed to me for the 2/1 and 3/1 annuity and FERS Supplement amounts, mostly the latter, but there's nothing explaining it in my Services Online account. I'd thought I'd get the retroactive amounts lumped in with my 4/1 deposit, but guess I was wrong.
Click to expand...
My case was finalized on 2/29/19. I received an interim payment and a mystery payment on 3/1/19. The mystery payment was the retroactive payments.

My personalized benefits booklet arrived a few days later and does not really explain the computation. It states the gross interim payments will be listed below and does list an amount, only “Gross benefits due from 01/01/2019 through 02/28/2019 and Gross Interim pay, FEHP and fed taxes deducted’"from the adjustment. It all seems to add up correctly so far, you just have to search for it.

On the SOL site under “Annuity Statement” it shows the interim for 3/1, $0 for 2/1 and no mention of the adjustment. I am underwhelmed about the booklet and SOL site so far, you would think there would be a page that shows what they paid and deducted on what date.

Not so, so far. “We’re from the gubmint, trust us”.

As stated by others it seems to be normal to get the retroactive payment separately.

Good luck, I’ll keep posting as things evolve.

PO
 
A couple of new threads about retirement strategies now which are very informative. I chose to put this in my retirement story because…

The OPM SOL site shows my 4/1 statement with the amount including taxes, FEHP and the two FEDVIP allotments. The amount is NOT what the booklet I was sent states. I remain underwhelmed by this sacred booklet.

FEDVIP has been sending me letters about having to pay premiums in the interim before OPM starts paying them. So far, I got only one bill, for the vision plan which I paid. I am sure there is a dental plan bill coming.

Now that the OPM amount has been finalized, it’s time to start planning for income after the AL lump sum runs out. That happens in July and I gotta keep that cash flow coming to keep to the plan of having take home equal what it was when employed.

As mentioned before in one of the threads, the decision is taking SS then at 67y 3m or withdrawing from TSP and waiting until 70 for SS.

Another wrinkle to the story is that an insurance agent for one on my ancient whole life policies recently was handed my policy. He has reached out to me and I have consented to talk to him about financial planning. He has brought one of the company’s financial planners in to our weekly conversations and I suspect there may be some OJT going on here. They have made some good suggestions but have yet to get to the bottom line, what are they going to try to sell me? When we discussed TSP (which as usual they know nothing about) and the G fund paying 2.75% right now there was a lot of silence followed by “we will run some scenarios and talk next week”. A hint came this week when the financial planner suggested that I could turn my TSP balance in to a million dollars by age 70. Roughly between 16 and 21% per year. Not impossible but it has to have some risk.

Based on my own thoughts and one of their suggestions, comes yet another potential plan. The SO really wants to apply for SS by August. She is a little confused about her SS amount, mainly due to a friend’s statements about her own payments, based on a deceased husband. I have determined my SO’s PIA and my spousal benefits based on that. If she draws SS in August and I apply and restrict my payment to spousal benefit, my own delayed retirement credits will continue to accrue until I reach age 70. Then I apply for my own benefits. This is based on the below from the SS web site and not to be confused with the old “apply and suspend” rule. This applies to me as I turned 62 in May 2014. FRA was May 2018. From the SS web site.
Can I restrict my application for benefits and apply only for spouse’s benefits and delay filing for my own retirement benefit in order to earn delayed retirement credits?
If you turn 62 before January 2, 2016, deemed filing rules will not apply if you file at FRA or later. This means that you may file for either your spouse’s benefit or your retirement benefit without being required or “deemed” to file for the other. In your case, you may also restrict your application to apply only for spouse’s benefits and delay filing for your own retirement in order to earn delayed retirement credits. However, if you turn age 62 on or after January 2, 2016, you are required or “deemed” to file for both your own retirement and for any benefits you are due as a spouse, no matter what age you are.

If we do this, the “full withdrawal based on monthly payments” from TSP to keep up desired cash flow will deplete my TSP at age 88. Based on keeping it in the G fund and planning on 2% return. This from a TSP.gov calculator.

At age 70 I will apply for my own SS benefit and reduce the TSP monthly payment accordingly. At 70[SUP]1/2[/SUP] I must take MRD from TSP which based on the projected amount left in TSP using one of TSP.gov’s calculators will be about $1600 per month. This changes upward as I age. Changing the monthly payment to MRD at 70 projects the TSP to last well in to my 90s. The SS amount will be somewhere between $400 and $500 per month more based on the delayed retirement credits and possible SS COLAs.

I suppose the question is what will quality of life be like at 70 for me and 67 for SO?

Decisions, decisions. Decisions.

How is your retirement story going?

PO
 
PO,

This whole SS thing is confusing. I've decided to wait until I'm 70 because of WEP. It will give me a little more in my pocket and the break even point if I started to collect now isn't that big of a deal. My SO just turned 66 this month and we haven't totally decided what to do but I'm leaning towards starting her SS sooner than later. I think it all depends if I did the math right. :D

I knew we shared the same birth date I just realized we share the same birth year.
 
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