Benefits Newsletter: July, 2024

Under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), it is normally best to retire on the last day of a month.  If you retire on the last day of a month, your FERS annuity will then begin accruing on the 1^st day of the following month, which would be the next day. If you are covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS or CSRS Offset), it is normally best to retire on the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, or the last day of a month. Your CSRS annuity will then begin accruing the following day.

You can move money into your TSP account from other eligible retirement plans, such as a 401(k) or 403(b).  Consolidating your accounts can make it easier for you to track and manage your retirement nest egg, as well as simplify things for your beneficiaries. 

To transfer your money, you can take advantage of the TSP’s rollover concierge service, or you can handle the request on your own by using the self-service option in your TSP account. 

There is not a Federal short term or long term disability insurance program; however, there are various leave options available to employees under the leave program.  Additionally, the NIH Leave Bank is available to leave bank members.    

ANNUAL LEAVE – If you have annual leave that you have accrued but have not used prior to the end of your employment, you will be paid a lump sum payment for your unused annual leave balance in your last NIH salary payment. 

There is no payment for a time-off award.  A time-off award must be used before retirement, or it will be lost. 

Your eligibility to retire depends upon your age, years of creditable service, and the retirement system under which you are covered.   For information on the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS and CSRS-Offset), check the OPM website. For information on the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS, FERS-RAE and FERS-FRAE), check the OPM website. 

If you are getting married or divorced, or you are having or adopting a child, those are qualifying life events (QLE) that will allow you to make certain changes to your benefits outside of the annual Benefits Open Season.   For information on the timelines and the process, check the insurance information page. 

You may owe money to the retirement fund if one of the following applies to you:

Employees who performed active-duty military service after December 31, 1956 (after June 30, 1960, in the PHS Commissioned Corps), may need to pay a military deposit (including interest) to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) prior to retirement in order to receive retirement credit for their military service. The requirements are different for different retirement systems.