DazedandConfused /m1440 - I appreciate the kind words. I have always tried to keep PEN, and our forums, clean and safe. I must admit that I have lost a ton of readers because of this, but so be it.

I appreciate all of PEN's regular visitors and will continue to work hard at keeping PEN clean and useful. As always - if you see anything that is offensive...all you got to do is let me know.

I'll echo Rick and Dazed statements...

Yes, we are posting here, because we are now retired.
But, we have been around long enough participating on this forum,
and a few others, to appreciate all of the information sharing, and
knowledge that we have received over the years....

The younger folks who understand still ask us for our opinions
Unfortunately, some don't want to even hear them.

Be kind to your elders

Hello, I was wondering if someone could help me, or if not put me in touch with someone who can.

My Dad worked for the Post Office for ~ 20 years. In the mid 90's he got very sick and couldn't work anymore. He just died in September and would have been 62 in February.

My Mom is still paying lots of bills from when my Dad was sick, and is having a hard time making ends meet. She has never received any money from my Dad's Post Office retirement since technically he never retired, I think he was on some kind of extended sick leave. He did pay into the retirement system and she has check stubs proving this. She is trying to claim his retirement now but is being told they have no record of it.

What can we do? Any help is greatly appreciated; if it makes a difference he was also a disabled Vietnam Vet.

Thank you for reading.

SpaceKat /m1443 - You would need to ask an attorney your questions.

There are so many variables - did your father just quit his job and never file for disability with anyone? was he a full time employee? did he take sick leave and if so how much? If he did none of these, then how did he survive financially? and what insurance paid for his medicals?

You see - there are just too many unanswered questions for a novice to help you with...but, an attorney could help you.

You may to write or call OPM - office of personnel management. This is the agency that manages all retirements from USPS. Look them up at www.opm.gov

Good luck.

/m1443 Have your mom take copies of whatever Postal stuff she has to the VA office nearest your area and explain her situation. The VA is usually very helpful, and they're free.

SpaceKat /m1443 -- my condolences on the passing of your father.

Like Rick Owens said in /m1444 there are a lot of things unknown, and since you are not familiar with the system, you don't know how to ask the right questions.

One observation I have is that if he left the post office in the mid 90's there is no way he was on any kind of extended sick leave until Sept 2009. He worked for the post office for about 20 years so the maximum amount of sick leave he could have had is about a year, and that would be if he never took a day off sick in those 20 years.

The only was I can think of to get paid for those years until he died was to take a disability retirement. That would be in lieu of regular retirement. Then he would have had to take a reduction in his disability retirement check to leave a survivor's annuity. He may not have done that.

Who is the "they" telling you there is no record? There should be a record even if there is nothing left. The federal government never throws out records. Rick Owens asked the key question: what was the source of whatever money he was receiving until Sept 09? Start there.

Edited by author 01-28-2010 10:15 AM
/m1443 SpaceKat, your mother will need to contact OPM http://www.opm.gov/retire/ to determine if your father withdrew his retirement contributions. I know you are trying to piece things together for your mother, but if he was receiving anything from CSRS he should receive a 1099R within the next few days, and that will be a great starting point. If you do not receive the 1099R still contact OPM to determine his status. Of course your mother should have already contacted Social Security http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ As Egark stated the only way your father could have been receiving a check is if he was on disability retirement. No matter what money he was receiving he should receive a 1099 from the source. Good Luck
Also check out http://www.postalemployeenetwork.com/postal-employee-death.htm

Got my 1099R yesterday, and I don't owe as much as I expected. I can throw 4K into an IRA and eliminate the tax owed.

Dazed....that's how we do it too.....
And by 'we' I mean me and the wifey....
'We' get the benefit of dropping any taxes due to zero,
And 'she' gets the benefit of having another $2,500, or $3,000
deposited in 'her' IRA....I'm glad she still loves me!....LOL

Mark, calculating the increase I get in refund, it costs me $2809 to invest $4000 into my 2 IRAs. If I didn't do the IRA I would be getting $408 back, with the IRA I get $1599 back or a gain of $1191.

IRS Schedule M -- Confusing! The facts: I'm retired under CSRS, spouse still works and so has earned income. I couldn't really get past the first question on the form, so I called the IRS today and waited my turn. The person whom I spoke to said that even though one person has a job and earned income from it and the other person doesn't have earned income but an annuity, for the purposes of this form the answer to 1a is "Yes" based solely on the fact that we are "Married, filing jointly." He said that "what's his is yours and what's yours is his," so therefore we start with the $800 credit and go from there. I was under the impression that since I don't have earned income, the answer would be "No" and I'd have to separate his money from mine and do the worksheet for him alone though there's nothing to indicate in the instructions to do so. Absolutely nothing on the IRS website, written instructions, etc. makes this point clear, because when the question asks if you and your spouse have WAGES then naturally it seems the answer would be "NO" since only one of us actually had wages. I think (cautiously ha ha) that I might be able to get through the form now. He said don't worry, if I get it wrong they'll send me a letter and let me know. Now THERE'S a comforting thought!

Dazed and Mark - I must admit that I am NOT tax literate...am I missing something here?

You say "I can throw 4K into an IRA and eliminate the tax owed." Do you mean that you put this money into an IRA during 2010 and it reduces your 2009 taxes owed?? can that be done?

Rick /m1452 - yes. You can make a deposit until April 15, 2010 and count it for 2009.

Edited by author 02-03-2010 07:52 PM
/m1452 Rick, the kinds of compensation that are eligible to fund a Traditional IRA include wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses and other amounts paid to the individual for services performed for his or her employer. You cannot fund an IRA from your CSRS pension, but you must surely make income from the website, so that should qualify as self employed. There must be a way for you to use this to your advantage. I don't know if you qualify for a SEP.

I went to work again after I retired from USPS in 2005.

Thanks Dazed and Egark - yes, I do have supplemental income outside my CSRS retirement.

So, what happens if on April 1, 2010 I take $4k and stick it into an IRA and then on May 1, 2010 withdraw this money? (does wherever you deposit this money for an IRA allow that money to withdrawn - I do realize that a penalty would be charged) - Or can I just place this cash into a credit union share account and call it my IRA?

BTW: I really do not have an IRA - I do have CD's.

/m1455 Rick, the account must be an IRA account, unlike a regular share account which generates 1099s and interest that is taxable. You may be able to make the deposits and withdraws that you talk about, but your income for 2010 would be increased by the 4k.