Q: I am 60 and just started to think about retirement. I have 23 years of federal service. I will have worked under CSRS Offset for 16 years on July 2010. I have an opportunity to go back to my previous employers (private industry) and will have 21 years of service after I meet the requirement to work five years to make me eligible for their retirement. Suppose my CSRS retirement is $30,000 per year. Suppose my Social Security for my CSRS Offset time is $10,000 per year. Then my CSRS income is only $20,000. But since I want to work I have to take a reduction in Social Security for my Offset time from $10,000 to $5,000. Will my CSRS be raised to $25,000 since I am only getting $5,000 from Social Security?
A: Your CSRS annuity will be permanently reduced by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while employed under CSRS Offset. It doesn’t change, regardless of what you do or don’t do after the offset is applied.
