Frequently Asked Questions

(This article appeared in the July/August 2006 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Doug Holbrook, Director

In the March-April edition, I addressed a number of questions asked by APWU retirees. Here are several more.

Q - What documentation should be in the Official Personnel Folder (OPF)?

There should be documentation showing:

• The beginning and end dates for each period of employment to be used for your benefits computation; 
   
• The effective dates for each promotion or within-grade increase during the period that will be used to compute your “high-three” average salary; 
   
• The pay rate and the dates of pay changes or earnings during employment periods when retirement deductions were not withheld from your salary; 
   
• The tour-of-duty during periods of part-time employment (if you worked more than the maximum number of hours than the official tour-of-aduty, the OPF should show the hours actually worked); 
   
• A record of time actually worked during intermittent (“when actually employed”) service; and 
   
• Dates of military service.

If any service is not verified or any of the required documentation is missing, you have the right to obtain assistance from your personnel officer.

Q - What other records should I check?

You should review the forms showing your designated beneficiary for the lump-sum payment of retirement contributions when no one is eligible for monthly payments. If you are in the CSRS, this designation is made on Standard Form 2808; if you are in FERS, use Standard Form 3102. Make sure the form shows that someone has been designated. If a copy is not available to review, you will need to file a new designation.

If there is no designation of beneficiary, benefits will be paid in the following order: Your surviving spouse; your children in equal shares; your parents in equal shares; the appointed executor or administrator of your estate; your next of kin under the laws of the state you last resided in. If you were automatically transferred to FERS coverage from CSRS, your designation will remain in force. If you were not automatically transferred to FERS, the designation you made for CSRS coverage will be cancelled and you will have to file a FERS designation.

Q - What is a “Minimum Retirement Age Plus-10 Annuity” under FERS?

This is a provision that allows you to retire with benefits beginning immediately if you have at least 10 years of service and are at least 55 (the Minimum Retirement Age). The annuity is reduced, however, for every month of your age before you turn 62. The reduction equals five percent per year (or 5/12 of 1 percent per month). To avoid the reduction, you can postpone payment by filing OPM Form RI 92-19, “Application for Deferred or Postponed Retirement.” You should submit the form two months before you want the benefit to begin.

Retirees and COPA

APWU Retirees continue to contribute to the APWU Committee on Political Action’s (COPA) fund in record amounts. During 2005, the retirees contributed $216,900. We sincerely thank everyone who helped us surpass our goal of $200,000, and we expect to collect even more this year. The members of our Retirees Department believe we can be a force to help promote legislation at the state and national levels. If you have been part of the force that contributed a record amount to COPA, you should be encouraged to participate at all levels of the union to ensure that Medicare and other health benefits will be available for current employees and future retirees.

Other News

On March 1, the APWU Retirees Department became a member of the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO). We are excited about the prospects of being part of this group of 54 national nonprofit organizations dedicated to America ’s older population.

Finally, we are pleased to welcome our newest chapter, the New York Metro Area Local’s “Moe Biller Retirees Chapter.”