Q. My family and I are covered by the federal Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) program through my federal position. My wife, who is older, will be 65, (I am 57) in a couple of months and has just filed for Medicare Part A coverage. I asked the local BCBS representative for our agency when and whether she would need to file for Medicare Part B part. The representative said when I retire, my wife would need to file for Part B coverage. Would having and paying for Part B with the BCBS policy be redundant coverage?
Browsing: retirement
Q. I will turn 62 next year and at that time I will also have 20 years of federal service as a FERS employee, 14 with USPS (hired 1985) and six with Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (2011 – current). My high-3 years were 1997-1999 when I was a manager, and I have no expectation of bettering that even in non-adjusted amounts with Census employment. Since the high-3 was so long ago, the inflation-adjusted amount would be over 1.5 times the 1997-1999 amount (using the same adjustment Social Security uses). Is the high-3 adjusted for inflation?
Q. I’m a Defense Department employee looking to retire in 2019. I attended an Air Force retirement seminar today; I’m not an Air Force employee, but they they allow Defense Logistics Agency employees to attend. The young man presenting the TSP training informed us that we could not or should not transfer funds from our TSP into a Roth IRA when retiring. He said I would incur a large tax that must be paid out of pocket not from my TSP transfer. He provided us with several option for TSP: full withdrawal. an annuity. a TSP monthly payout. an IRA rollover. He said the…
Q. I’ve been working and contributing to Social Security since age 13. I turn 62 in December 2016. I have a full military retirement of 20 years with 40 percent disability (soon to be increased), and I’ve got 20 years in the U.S. Postal Service — paying into Social Security the entire time for both government jobs. Does the windfall act apply to me? If it does, how so? If I were to turn down my USPS retirement, how would that affect Social Security if the windfall does apply to me?
Q. My start date with the U.S. Postal Service was December 1986. This is my 30th year. I am now 58 years old. I also worked prior to USPS and have more than 40 quarters in with Social Security. I am under the FERS system and understand that my contribution to TSP will factor into my annuity. I know nothing about USPS retirement and have heard words like “windfall elimination offset” and that I cannot get Social Security that was earned before the USPS. How can I find out when is the best time I should retire for maximum benefit and what would my actual…
Q. I turned 65 last October and was under the impression that I had to sign up for Medicare. I am a retired Federal Aviation Administration employee with Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance. I have three prescriptions and a regular, semi-annual medical exam. With BCBS I pay $25 co-pay for each office visit. My co-pay for my quarterly prescriptions with only BCBS is around $22. I am paying $365 every quarter for medicare and it eliminates my semi-annual co-pay for physical exams and reduces my quarterly prescription co-pay to $5 — so roughly $200 in routine medical expenses with BCBS and…
Q. I plan to retire Dec. 31, 2017, and sell back any accumulated annual leave. For tax purposes, will the lump-sum payout be considered CY17 or CY18 income?
Q. I am a FERS employee and will be 61 in July 2016. Will I still lose 5 percent a year for every year I am under 62? I currently have 25 years and 4 months of service.
Q. I currently have federal Blue Cross Blue Shield basic coverage. I am 65 years old and have Medicare Part A. When I retire and keep my FBCBS coverage, do I have to enroll in Medicare Part B ?
Q. I am 69 years old and will be 70 in November. I haven’t received notice that I have to withdraw money — or how much for that matter — from my TSP. I am still working as a military civilian, and I don’t plan to retire anytime soon, as my TSP only has $54,000 — not enough to retire on. When I receive notice after my 70th birthday, will it be before the end of 2016 when I turn 70? Should I plan to begin the withdrawals before the end of 2016? And with my Social Security, I am now in the 25…