MSPB Reduces Overpayment Schedule for FERS Annuitant
01/07/2013
By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com
The MSPB, in an interesting decision, reduced the repayment obligations of a FERS annuitant. The case, Boone v. OPM, 2012 MSPB 132 (2012), involved a petition for review of an initial decision which had affirmed OPM’s decision that a FERS annuitant had been overpaid in annuity benefits. The appellant in Boone had sought a waiver of the overpayment of the retirement benefits through OPM and the MSPB.
While the MSPB in Boone ultimately decided not grant the waiver to the appellant on the basis of the facts in the case, it did however order that overpayment benefits be repaid at a much reduced rate. The MSPB found that because the appellant’s monthly expenses exceeded her monthly income that it must reduce the monthly repayment amount to OPM. In this case, the repayment obligations, through the appeal, were reduced from $98 a month to $5 a month, a significant reduction. I have attached a link to this MSPB case. Boone v. OPM
When OPM orders repayment regarding retirement benefits that have been paid it is important to obtain advice from counsel to determine whether or not a waiver is possible, and if not whether or not one qualifies for a reduction in the repayment schedule to OPM. Our law firm handles these types of federal retirement matters and can be contacted at either www.berrylegal.com or by telephone at (703) 668-0070.