Q: I am a FERS employee, and I would like to know how OPM calculates the Supplement annuity (this is in addition to the FERS amount) for someone who retires with more than 20 years of service before their 62nd birthday. Do they base it on one’s salary or years of service?
A: The special retirement supplement approximates the Social Security benefit you earned as a FERS employee. It is paid to those who retire after their minimum retirement age with 30 years of service, at age 60 or later with 20 years of service, and to those who are are voluntarily or involuntarily retired when they reach their MRA. Here’s the formula you can use to get a rough estimate of what your SRS will be: Take your Social Security benefit estimate provided by the Social Security Administration, multiply it by your total years of FERS service rounded up to the next higher year, and divide the product by 40. Or you can use the more accurate software found at www.FEDbens.us.
