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That depends on when you worked and whether you are covered by the Civil
Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System
(FERS).
Make a selection from the list of circumstances below which best describes
your situation and ask your local personnel service center for assistance
because they have your employment records.
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Your personnel officer will review the election opportunities to provide
benefits after your death to your husband or wife, ex-spouse, or another person
you designate as having an insurable interest in your continuing life. If you
do not provide for a monthly benefit after your death, your survivor will not be
able to continue coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB)
program. The advisor will also cover the requirements that each survivor must
meet to qualify.
When making an election to provide a benefit after your death, you must
obtain your husband's or wife's written consent to provide less than the maximum
benefit allowed. To designate an insurable interest, you must have a physical
examination at your own expense.
You local personnel service center is the best place to begin. They can
provide personalized assistance and they have your employment records.
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To understand the concept of Phased Retirement, consider two half-time employees who fill one full-time job. Employee one retires while employee two continues working. Employee one receives an annuity based on half-time employment, and employee two continues to work half-time for half-pay. Eventually, employee two retires, and receives an annuity based upon half-time service, including credit for the time worked after employee one retired. Now assume that employee one and employee two are the same person. That is in essence how Phased Retirement operates.
While there are additional computational details, these are the basics. At entry into Phased Retirement, the employee’s annuity will be completed as if fully retired and then divided by two. That annuity would be paid while the individual worked a half time schedule receiving half pay.
When the Phased Retiree fully retires, there will be a computation of the annuity that would be payable if the employee had been employed full time and then divided by two prior to adjustment for survivor benefits. That amount would then be added to the original Phased Retirement Annuity, and that combined amount would then provide the basis for survivor annuity adjustment and benefits.
The individual’s income during partial and full retirement appropriately reflects the individual’s situation. During the partial retirement period, the income will be between full retirement and full employment, and the Phased Retiree would be increasing their lifetime retirement income. At the time of full retirement, the individual would be appropriately compensated for the value of both full-time and part-time service, with an annuity greater than if they had fully retired at the time of transition to Phased Retirement, but less than if the individual had continued employment on a full-time basis during the period of Phased Retirement.
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See information here about
cost-of-living adjustments. Then,
check with your local personnel service center for an explanation about how the
cost-of-living increases apply to those retiring under the Civil Service
Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). They
can provide personalized assistance and they have your employment records.
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You should review your designation of beneficiary for the lump sum payment of
retirement contributions when no one is eligible for monthly payments. This
designation is made on a Standard Form 2808 for the Civil Service Retirement
System (CSRS) or a Standard Form 3102 for the Federal Employees Retirement
System (FERS). Make sure the form shows the person or people you want
designated. If a copy is not available to review, you may wish to file a new
designation.
If you transferred to FERS, any prior designation you made for CSRS coverage
is canceled. You may wish to file a FERS designation. If you were automatically
transferred to FERS coverage from CSRS, your designation will remain in force.
If there is no designation of beneficiary, benefits will be paid in the
following order:
- Your widow or widower.
- Your children in equal shares.
- Your parents in equal shares.
- Your appointed executor or administrator of your estate.
- Your next of kin under the laws of the state you reside in when you die.
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You can pay your premiums directly to the Office of Personnel Management. In
this case, we will tell you how to make these arrangements. You should not send
any payments until we do.
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Your Official Personnel Folder should contain a record of your current
Federal life insurance coverage on a Standard Form 2817, "Life Insurance
Election", and, if appropriate, your current life insurance designation of
beneficiary, Standard Form 2823.
If there is no designation of beneficiary, benefits will be paid in the
following order:
- Your widow or widower.
- Your children in equal shares.
- Your parents in equal shares.
- Your appointed executor or administrator of your estate.
- Your next of kin under the laws of the state you reside in when you die.
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The period of Phased Retirement will be treated as a period of part-time service in the computation of the survivor annuity. However, the Basic Employee Death Benefit will be based upon the full-time salary of the position.
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Participation is entirely voluntary, and requires the mutual consent of both the employee and employing agency. In order to participate, an individual must have been employed on a full-time basis for the preceding three years. Under CSRS, the individual must be eligible for immediate retirement with at least 30 years of service at age 55, or with 20 years of service at age 60. Under FERS, the individual must be eligible for immediate retirement with at least 30 years of service at MRA (minimum retirement age 55-57 depending upon year of birth), or with 20 years of service at age 60.
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Phased Retirement is a new human resource management tool made possible by section 100121 of Public Law 112-141, the "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act," or "MAP-21," approved on July 6, 2012.
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No unused sick leave can be used in the computation of the Phased Retirement annuity. However, at full retirement the unused sick leave will be taken into account. While the computational provisions are somewhat complex, the value of the sick leave in that computation will be the same as for an individual retiring from a full-time position.
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Deposits and redeposits (including for military service) must be satisfied (either by payments or annuity reduction, as applicable) prior to entry into Phased Retirement status. Any reduction in annuity or loss of service credit at the time of entry into Phased Retirement will be permanent for the employee. No deposits or redeposits can be made by the employee at a later time, including at the time of full retirement.
However, in the case of a Phased Retiree’s death-in-service, the survivors can make deposits or redeposits on the same basis as if the decedent had not been a Phased Retiree.
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Yes, if the employing agency agrees to the change. The Phased Retirement annuity will then terminate. Upon retirement, the individual’s retirement will be calculated under the laws then in effect, with the period of Phased Retirement treated as part-time service. Once an individual has gone back to full-time employment, they cannot elect to go back into Phased Retirement.
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The law provides that employees subject to mandatory retirement (including Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, Nuclear Materials Couriers, Air Traffic Controllers, Customs and Border Protection Officers, or members of the Capitol Police or Supreme Court Police) may not participate. However, “grandfathered” Customs and Border Protection Officers who are not subject to mandatory retirement may participate.
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Initially, individuals will only be able to transition to a half-time schedule. After there is experience with the program, OPM may issue regulations that provide for other work and retirement proportions.
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