Q: I’m 55 years old. My health required me to retire after working 24 years for the DoD at FRC-E. I worked under the CSRS due to my employer’s mistake, which was discovered on my retirement. FRC-E paid all required SSI funds to make me current as a CSRS Offset employee, and I have been approved by SSI for Medicare. I was told I would receive half of my retirement payment from DoD and the other half from SSI. I get the DoD’s portion but cannot convince SSI to pay anything. What can I do to correct this problem, or have I misunderstood the process?
A: Yes, you did misunderstand the process. As a CSRS Offset disability retiree, you will receive your full CSRS annuity until you reach age 62. At that point, your CSRS annuity will be offset by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while covered by CSRS Offset. You’ll receive the same amount of money; it will just come from two different places, OPM and the Social Security Administration. The only way that could happen earlier than age 62 is if you had been approved for Social Security disability benefits. If that were to happen, the offset would occur on the first day of the month in which you were approved for those benefits.
