Q: I am a CSRS Offset employee and will be eligible to retire in 2014, age 55 with 37 years of service. I have always heard that CSRS Offset is the cream of the crop for retirement systems, but I truly do not understand why it is better than just the Civil Service Retirement System. I understand that I will be collecting my CSRS pension from age 55-62 (when I am eligible to receive Social Security benefits), and at that time my CSRS will be offset by the Social Security benefits. My understanding is I will continue to receive the same pension, it will just be coming from two different sources. Have I missed something?
A: I never heard anyone say that CSRS Offset is “the cream of the crop for retirement systems.” Perhaps the person saying that had in mind the fact that you’d not only receive the same amount of money as if you were a pure CSRS employee but also that you would be exempt from the government pension offset. The GPO generally eliminates the spousal Social Security benefit when a pure CSRS employee’s spouse is covered by Social Security.
— Reg Jones
