Q. I retired in 2007 on voluntary early retirement with a little over 31 years of service. I switched from CSRS to FERS in 1998. I will reach my minimum retirement age of 56 in 2014. Each statement that I receive from Social Security shows my estimated payment less than the year before because I am not working. Will the supplemental payment that I receive from OPM at 56 be based on the Social Security statement from the year I retired or from the year that I begin drawing the supplement?
A. The amount you receive will be more like the former than the latter. That’s because it will be based on a unique formula, which applies only to your earnings while covered by FERS. To see how the formula works, go to www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C051.pdf.
