Some say the world will end with fire.

Others say with ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those that favor fire.

But if I had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate,

To say that for destruction ice,

Is also great and would suffice.

Robert Frost



"YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID" - Ron White



"Good things come to those who wait, but, only the things LEFT by those who hustle." - Unknown (at least by me)



"Life is wonderful, without it you are dead." - Hy "Pete" Peterson - Park City and Kenecott Miner



"Don't worry about those people in your past---there is a reason they are not in your present." - Unknown



"Life's tough - it's even tougher if you're stupid." - John Wayne



"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary!" - Vince Lombardi



"If you aren’t living on the edge, you’re probably taking up too much space.” ~ Attributed to Jim Whittaker by Doug ‘Swani’ Swantner, Alaska Smokejumper and Air Attack Base Manager (Ret.)

About Me

My photo
I am married and have seven children and twenty grandchildren. I retired January 1, 2010 after working 39+ years for the Forest Service...NEW CHAPTER IN MY LIFE HAS BEGUN!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

DISGUSTED

I sent this to ASC for help yesterday:

I plan to retire on January 1, 2010. I requested some help in determining the number of months of sick leave I will have remaining on the books at that time that can be counted toward my retirement. I got the e-mail below in answer to the question (and I think that was a totally unacceptable response) so I have gone into the retirement information on the web and filled out the required forms for retirement. I have not yet put in the SF-52 Tracker but do need to know who I send my Certified Summary of Federal Service to so it can be certified. I would also like to have all of my forms reviewed to assure they are correct before I submit them with my final retirement packet.

I currently have 3416.25 hours of sick leave and will earn an additional 44 hours if my calculations are correct for a total of 3460 hours. I have tried to figure out what this means as far as retirement eligible months and believe that it is 19 months and 27 days. My first question is are these calculations correct? My second question is do the 27 days count toward retirement time? I have heard that only full months count.

There is an error in my leave balance at NFC. In pay period 24 I donated 60 hours of use or lose annual leave to NAME on the _ National Forest and in pay period 26 I donated 16 hours to NAME on the _ _ National Forest. The 60 hours donated to HER were taken off correctly. The 16 hours donated to THE SECOND PERSON were deducted two times at NFC leaving a 16 hour difference between paycheck and NFC balances. I would like to have this corrected - I called 1-877-372-7248 option 2 and explained this to someone but was told I had to do a leave audit before it can be fixed - I cannot do a leave audit but it needs to be corrected before I retire since that is worth over $700.00 to me on my lump sum payment.

I need to have someone help me get this information correct before I submit my retirement papers.

I got this answer back through another person with nearly the same name that got the response from ASC:

Thank you for contacting HCM Contact Center regarding your issue.

We have resolved and closed your case. Following are the case resolution details:

Case Number: 491926
Case Title: R4 - Employee requests Retirement Counseling
Case Solution ID: 320375

Case Solution Summary:
What is the process to apply for retirement?

Case Solution Details:

The retirement web site contains helpful information about the retirement process: what to expect, the forms you need to complete and mail to us, as well as information on accessing and printing the forms.
RETIREMENT PROCESS INFORMATION:
To get started with your retirement, please review all of the information on the web site that pertains to your particular retirement plan before you begin completing your forms.
Go to the retirement section on the ASC-HCM Web site
Select your retirement plan (either CSRS or FERS)
Inside of each plan, there is a section ‘Ready to Retire’; ‘What I Need to Know’; ‘What Forms Do I Need’; etc.
52-Tracker:
Other things to do before completing your forms:
Initiate your retire! ment action by creating a personnel action in the SF-52 Tracker. (You will find retirement under “separations” in the drop-down menu.
Review your service history for errors in the Retirement Calculator.
Check the Employees Personal Page (EPP) for current amounts of life insurance so that you can decide which options to carry into retirement.
If you are a FERS employee and will be eligible for the FERS annuity supplement, enter your social security year-by-year earnings information in to the retirement calculator. That way the annuity supplement estimate on the final retirement estimate we provide will more closely match the actual figures from OPM. Otherwise, your last year’s earnings with the FS will be used to estimate the supplement, but can be very different from the actual figures calculated by OPM.
Completing your forms:
You will need to complete the following application forms:
(SF-2801 CSRS or SF-3107 FERS), the certif ied summary of service
(SF-2801-1 CSRS or SF-3107-1 FERS), and
the Post Employment Restrictions Form (Conflict of Interest).
If you are eligible to continue your federal life insurance, you will need to complete SF-2818. There may be other forms applicable to your individual situation as well.
How to print:
Be sure to print the forms using the middle print button that appears at the top of the screen when a form is opened. DO NOT USE the print button on your task bar as it will not print the actual form.
If you have problems printing the forms using this middle print button, check the following as it may resolve this problem:
Go to tools
Internet Option
Advanced Tab
Scroll down to the Security section
Uncheck the box that says “do not save encrypted pages to disk”
OK or Apply
TSP Accounts:
If you currently have a TSP account, you should not submit forms electing your withdrawal options at this time. Someone from TSP will contact you directly after NFC notifies them that you are retired. This will occur 2 to 4 weeks after the effective date of your retirement.
General TSP information outlining your options will be provided with your final letter and copies of your retirement forms that we will send you shortly before your retirement date.

Your Last Week:
During your last week of work you will need to complete the AD-139. Send a copy of the completed form to us. In addition, please code your T&A as “final” in the header and also code the Status End date. Process it as normal through your supervisor and send us a copy. If you have errors in your leave balances, (compare Paycheck data with your Leave and Earnings Statement) we may need to do a leave audit.



Please let us know if the proposed solution does not resolve your issue. You have the opportunity to reopen this case within 15 working days from the date of this notification. After 15 days you must open a new case.


CAN YOU FIND THE ANSWER TO MY QUESTIONS IN THERE - NOPE - NOT A SINGLE ANSWER!!!!!




LOOKIN' FORWARD TO RETIREMENT - - YOU BETCHA!!!

6 comments:

Nene said...

Probably because they were too lazy to read your letter. They just saw it was about retirement and sent the standard form. :0+

Amber said...

this sounds very much like an automated response, definitely reply back so they can reopen the case and this time hopefully you will get a live person

Dee Ice Hole said...

Yeah you are both right but this is the third time I have requested some help and received the exact same crap - yup it's time to go.

Debby said...

This is exactly why I don't work in HCM. They have been here for 3 yrs and still as messed up as they were when they came. At least it only took B&F a year to get their act together. You couldn't give me a GS-15 to work in HCM.

Lindsay Logic said...

It's so annoying when people can't read. I'd definitely reply to reopen the case. Annoying.

PsychDoctor said...

I hate that everything is automated...It is the same when trying to work out problems with insurance companies.