Over the last several weeks, there have been thousands of federal employees who have received notice that they are or will be involuntarily separated from federal service. Those employees who have 20 or more years of creditable federal service may be eligible for a discontinued service retirement (DSR). A discontinued service retirement means that an employee is eligible to retire and be able to immediately start collecting their CSRS or FERS annuity. Ed Zurndorfer discusses the DSR option and rules for CSRS and FERS employees more…
FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System)
Taxation of Lump-Sum Payment of Refunded CSRS or FERS Contributions
Federal employees who leave federal service before they are eligible to retire can apply for a refund of their CSRS or FERS retirement contributions. Ed Zurndorfer discusses the federal income tax consequences of the lump-sum distribution of CSRS and FERS retirement contributions. more…
FERS Postponed Retirement
Ed Zurndorfer outlines the postponed retirement option for those in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) including the strategy to minimize or eliminate the annuity reduction. Several practical examples are included more…
How Will The Social Security Fairness Act Affect Federal Employees & Retirees?
While currently the Social Security Administration is evaluating how to implement the new law repealing Social Security’s Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, here’s what federal employees, retirees and spouses should know (and do) now. Includes online tool to estimate how much of their Social Security benefits have been — or would be reduced — due to the WEP and GPO more…
FERS Deferred Retirement Option
Ed Zurndorfer discusses the option for FERS employees who elect to leave federal service before they are eligible for an immediate (and unreduced FERS annuity) retirement and may be eligible to receive their FERS annuity at a later date more…
FERS Early Retirement Option
Ed Zurndorfer discusses the early retirement option available to eligible FERS employees in the form of a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) (with no employee “buyout”) or a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) (with a lump-sum payment). more…
FERS Retirement Options for Special Provision Employees
Ed Zurndorfer outlines the retirement options for FERS employees who are classified as Special Provision employees. Special Provision employees include law enforcement officers (LEOs), customs, border and protection officers (CBPOs), firefighters (FFs) and air traffic controllers (ATCs). more…
FERS Retirement Option: Voluntary/Optional Retirement
Ed Zurndorfer explains the immediate voluntary/optional retirement option available to those covered by the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) more…
Considerations for Lump Sum Annual Leave Payment When Retiring at End of Year
Many federal employees retire at the end of December or early January before the start of a new leave year in order to maximize their lump-sum payment for unused annual leave hours. Ed Zurndorfer presents a comparison of two retirement dates for an employee retiring at the end of leave year more…
Federal Retiree COLA History: CSRS COLA and FERS COLA
The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) history for CSRS and FERS from 1999 to 2025 more…