TRANSCRIPT:

Paul: Hello, my name is Paul Thornton. I work for United Benefits, and during this segment we want to talk about what happens when you’re going through a RIF: a reduction in force.

There’s two parts to the RIF. One, you’re going to go through what’s called a VERA. The VERA is the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. That’s where you’re going to get a monthly paycheck. Number two is the VSIP, which is the Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay.

Now your eligibility requirements to start the VERA, to be able to get out early, are these. You’re able to retire as early as 50 years of age as long as you have 20 years of service. Also, if you have 25 years of service, you can retire at anytime. The other thing that you need to know about the VERA, is how do I apply for it? First thing is you’re going to be offered is what’s called a buyout letter. So you’re going to wait till you receive your buyout letter. Once you receive your buyout letter, you’ll receive an actual survey. You will complete the survey. You will turn it in. That will start the VSIP, then you’re able to go back into your GRB platform and turn in your retirement paperwork.

What is the formula for VERA? You actually use the same formulas you use for your regular retirement. The only difference is you’re being eligible to retire at an earlier age if you have the years of service. So these are the formulas you use.

Next, we’re going to talk about VSIP. VSIP is your voluntary separation incentive pay. These are called buyouts. What is a VSIP? Simple, VSIP is a lump-sum of money that you’re going to receive up to $25,000, and these are for employees that are losing their position or the positions are moving to another area where you cannot relocate. These are used as an incentive for you to actually leave the federal government and these are called voluntary acts. The reason that is important, if you take your $25,000 buyout and then you go to try and find another government position, if you find that within five years you have to pay this $25,000 back. So if you are going to look for another job, you might not want to be interested in taking the VSIP.

What is the computation for the VSIP? This is the actual formula for the VSIP. It is also in your GRB platform so you can go into the GRB platform and you will see, there on the GRB platform, under retirement: you can go in and it will tell you how much of a buyout you will get or how much separation pay you would get.

Basic eligibility requirements to get the VSIP: you must be, actually, in a permanent job. So you’ve got to be employed in a job that was supposed to have no limitation until it went through this RIF. You have to be working at least three years to get it. That’s all it takes is three years to be able to actually get the VSIP. You must not be a reemployed annuitant. You must not have received a Federal buyout in the past. You must not be covered under a statutory reemployment rights or transfer to another agency because if you transfer to another agency you’re unable to take the VSIP, or the severance pay. You must not be a pending approval application for disability retirements, and if you have no misconduct problems then you are able to take the VSIP.

We have representatives that are in your areas all the time. At any time just reach out to United Benefits and we’ll be happy to set up an appointment to take care of your needs. Thank you very much and have a great day.