Q. I have never been able to find the formula for calculating the FERS Special Supplement for those employees who retire at their minimum retirement age under FERS. As I transferred from CSRS to FERS during a previous open season, I would like to know if the Windfall Eliminations Provision is applied when calculating the Special Supplement. I will have less than 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. So will the 40 percent multiplier (rather than 90 percent) be applied to the first component of my Social Security calculation?
A. The WEP doesn’t apply to the special retirement supplement. You can estimate the amount of the SRS using the following formula: take the Social Security benefit estimate provided to you by the Social Security Administration, multiply it by your total years of service covered by FERS (rounded up to the next higher year), and divide by 40. For a more accurate estimate go to www.FEDbens.us and use the convenient software program found there.
