Q. I would like to know if taking a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment under a round of base closure and realignment changes any of the issues with the minimum age requirement for receiving the FERS supplement. I thought I would receive the supplement, although I had not reached age 56 when I retired June 30, 2010. Information posted on the Navy’s Human Resources website reads:
“The annuity supplement is a benefit paid, until age 62, to certain FERS employees who retire before age 62 and are entitled to an immediate annuity. The supplement approximates the value of FERS service in a Social Security benefit. The general purpose of the supplement is to provide a level of income before age 62, similar to any Social Security benefit you may receive at age 62. The annuity supplement is subject to an earnings test and may be affected if you are employed after retirement.”
After the fact, I am being told no regarding the supplement because I am 52.
A. By law, the special retirement supplement can only be paid beginning at a retiree’s minimum retirement age, which ranges between 55 and 57, and then only if he retires on an immediate annuity, one that isn’t subject to the 5 percent per year age penalty for being under age 62 (the MRA+10 provision). Because you accepted an early retirement offer, you met that definition. And, as you’ve discovered, there is no waiver of the rules governing the SRS.
