Kansas

Employee Intranet

Employee Questions/Concerns - Summary and Guidance

Links for a few resources provided require Adobe Reader.

Insurance

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Health care coverage during retirement	http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/eligibility/annuitants.asp
Health benefits and life insurance after retirement	http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/eligibility/annuitants.asp
Under FERS, how much will health insurance cost me and my spouse after retirement?	http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/eligibility/annuitants.asp
Cost of health benefits after retirement	Retirees pay the same amounts as active employees; retirees pay premiums monthly; active employees pay bi-weekly
Extending health benefits into retirement	http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/eligibility/annuitants.asp
How much health insurance is needed after retirement?	http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/medicare/index.asp
Long Term Care	http://www.opm.gov/insure/ltc/

Benefits

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Survivor benefits options	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/post/faq4.asp#survivingspouse http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-5.pdf (PDF)
Spouses result due to death	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/post/faq4.asp#survivingspouse
Under FERS, is it possible to retire earlier than age 62 or 65 and still retain good benefits? If so, what are all of the options and the ramifications of each?	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/pre/faq11.asp
Dollars are paid into FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), health/life insurance, Medicare, etc. What occurs at the time an employee retires in each of these areas? Are there any actions that an employee should be taking throughout their career, outside of contributing to these accounts, which would be beneficial at retirement?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF)

Social Security (SS)

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
SS benefits/eligibilities	http://www.ssa.gov/planners/calculators.htm
How does SS affect a FERS retiree?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF)

Taxes

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Federal and state income taxes on retirement pay	Personal Financial Advisor
Are taxes automatically taken out of a government pension?	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/post/faq5.asp
Federal and state tax requirements	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/post/faq5.asp

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Process

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
If an annuity is not taken and an employee does not want to roll the annuity into another Individual Retirement Account (IRA) can the money stay in a TSP and continue to draw interest? If so, can money be drawn out when needed and in any amount?	http://www.tsp.gov/features/index.html
TSP rollovers after retirement	http://www.tsp.gov/features/chapter13.html
Are taxes automatically taken out when money is withdrawn from a TSP?	http://www.tsp.gov/features/index.html

TSP Investments

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
How TSP works for retirement benefits	http://www.tsp.gov/features/chapter14.html
Payments compared to lump sum withdrawal	http://www.tsp.gov/features/chapter13.html
Expert advice is needed on whether it is better to contribute as much as possible to a TSP or not so much into that and more into a personal Roth IRA.	Personal Financial Advisor
Deciding whether to buy an annuity with TSP dollars	http://www.tsp.gov/features/chapter14.html
How to retire with lots of money	Personal Financial Advisor

FERS

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
FERS fact sheet	http://www.opm.gov/retire/pre/fers/index.asp
Why is there no credit for accumulated sick leave?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF)
Does a “High 3” determine part of ones retirement benefits? If a demoted in pay occurs (such as during reorganization) does that affect the retirement benefits level?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF)

CSRS

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
When can an employee with 30 years of civil service on 8/9/2010, who won’t be 55 until 1/25/2016, actually retire?	http://www.opm.gov/retire/pre/csrs/eligibility.asp
SS retirement benefits available for civil service retirees	http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10045.html

Retirement Process

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
How are retirement benefits computed?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF) http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-7.pdf (PDF)
When is the appropriate time to retire?	http://www.fedsmith.com/article/1307/how-much-income-do-you-need-retirement.html
How and what goes into figuring dollar amounts for retirement?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF) http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-7.pdf (PDF)
How can an employee increase retirement pay and what kind of money can be expected?	Personal Financial Advisor
How does annual and sick leave figure into the equation?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF)
What happens to accrued sick leave?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-8.pdf (PDF)
What happens to annual leave?	Annual leave is paid, lump sum, after separation.
Annuities, reductions, calculations etc.	http://www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/pamphlets/forms/RI90-1.pdf (PDF)
Need to work with someone who can provide a close estimate (bottom line figure) of what comes out of a check at the time of retirement?	Personal Financial Advisor

Timelines

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Overview of FERS from mid-career planning to retirement and thereafter	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/faqs.asp
Training geared towards what needs to be done immediately prior to retirement and issues one needs to be aware of following retirement	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/faqs.asp
Year-before-retirement guidance including month by month activities, decisions (TSP, insurance, etc.) available options regarding benefits, TSP disposition, paper work needed benefits, responsibilities, etc.	http://www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/pamphlets/forms/RI83-11.pdf (PDF)
When will a retiree start receiving their retirement?	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/faqs.asp
Shortened timeline for getting retirement details completed	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/faqs.asp
Is it possible to retire when becoming eligible or is it necessary to work a little longer? Is several years advanced planning needed?	Personal Financial Advisor
"Reminders or FYIs" of "life events/actions" that could trigger an employee to review benefit plans to see what alternatives are available (i.e., the ability to change life insurance coverage when there is the birth/adoption of a child)	http://www.opm.gov/insure/lifeevents/index.asp

Retiring Soon

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Quick refresher on retirement planning	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/faqs.asp
Seminar covering conversion of retirement benefits for part-time employees and for those who are new or missed the last seminar opportunity	Human Resources (HR) plans to sponsor retirement seminars so that every employee has had an opportunity to attend one by Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. All continuing employees who will become eligible to retire during or before 2018 have been provided that opportunity. The next group to be provided such an opportunity will be those mid-career employees eligible to retire after 2018.
Public or private refresher on retirement planning	Individual questions should be directed to HR or the agency proponent for the program involved. The Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, and most state agencies have customer service telephone numbers in the local telephone directory.

Mid-Career Planning

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Preparatory retirement questions	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/faqs.asp

Other

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Wills, financial planning, long term care, survivor benefit options, insurance options, taxes	Personal legal/Financial Advisor

Early Planning

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Beginner's guide to retirement with topics like: Explanation of retirement rules Explanation of "High 3"	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF) http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-1.pdf (PDF)
How to achieve retirement goals Things not to do	Personal Financial Advisor

General Comments

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Types of retirement? Reduction in Force (RIFs) and retirement?	http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/pre/faq11.asp
When is an employee eligible?	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI90-1.pdf (PDF) http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-1.pdf (PDF)
Voluntary contributions	http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-10.pdf (PDF)
Refresher on the retirement training several years ago	Refresher training is as expensive as the original training. The current budget situation prevents this. The plan is to provide initial training to all employees prior to scheduling any refresher training.
A question/answer format similar to what the state conservationist (STC) does in “Ask the STC”	The “Ask the STC” Web page provides answers to anonymous questions. The level of detailed information necessary to answer questions about retirement issues usually requires extensive discussion before a correct answer can be provided. Such a discussion can't take place anonymously.

Articles

Employee Questions/Concerns	Answer Currently Available at:
Latest new about retirement	http://www.fedsmith.com/
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association	http://www.narfe.org/home/
Federal Employee Financial Planning and Retirement	http://www.federaldaily.com/financial/index.htm

< Back to Human Resources Management

Last Modified: 01/12/2010