CSRS Offset annuity calculation

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Q. My retirement plan is CSRS Offset. I will have 32 years of civil service time in December. I have been a GS-6, Step 10 for the past seven years. Before that, I was a GS-7, Step 9, and before that, I was a GS-5, Step 10. If I work until I have 35 years of service, what will be the percentage of my high-3. Some people say 60 percent, and 80 percent if I work until I have 40 years of service. Is that correct?

A. Nothing those people told you is correct. Stop listening to them. To receive a CSRS annuity that would equal 80 percent of your high-3, you’d have to have 41 years and 11 months of creditable service. If you retired with 35 years of service, your annuity would be 66.25 percent of your high-3.

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Reg Jones was head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management. Email your retirement-related questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

14 Comments

    • No, I can’t. However, assuming that you are a FERS employee I can give you the formula used to compute that annuity:

      .01 x the average of your highest three consecutive years of basic pay x your years and full months of service.

  1. Federal EOD Date 12/1980
    Left DOD 11/1998 GS-08/7

    DC Government 6/25/2012
    Now 6/25/2017 five years age 63.

    Does my Federal time count?
    How would my Retirement Annuitant be calculated?

    Can – I retire now?

    Will OPM work with DC Government Retirement in processing my retirement Annuitant?

    Is there any money back in my Federal Retirement or TSP? I withdrew $25k from my TSP.

  2. @Mary McLain: So you have 18 years as a Fed, probably CSRS since you started in 1980. If you left your money in the CSRS retirement system (which I hope you did), you are eligible to file for a deferred CSRS annuity from OPM. You need to download OPM Form 1496-A, complete it, and send into OPM. The form can be obtained from OPM at: https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/opm1496a.pdf

    If by chance, you are FERS (would have paid Social Security as well as paying into FERS), you would download form RI 92-19: https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/RI92-19.pdf

    As far as TSP, you can get your money from TSP whenever you like. Visit TSP.gov for more information. https://www.tsp.gov/LifeEvents/career/enteringRetirement.html is a good place to start. You can also call them.at: 1-TSP-YOU-FRST (1-877-968-3778)

    • Feeling Better now with this response – closer to what I needed to be on track & pursue – what I had perceived to bey case.

      Thanks for circling back to me.

      Much Appreciated.

      Oops – one last

      Original EOD Date 12/1980 DOD Army

      Left DOD 11/1998

      DC Government EOD 6/2012

      12/2019 Target Retirement Date

      Need to know numbers based on 12/2019 verses 12/2017 & 12/2018.

      Should DC HR in process me under CSRS or given me the option as opposed to just putting me into FERS? Was I in process correctly into DC Government given the facts & lifetime reinstatement rights. My years of tenure Federal Government & Age?

  3. I am not familiar with DC Govt or how they treat career Federal service. If they also use CSRS and FERS, then you should be CSRS-Offset, because you had more than a 1 year break in service. They should have offered you the option, instead of just placing you in FERS. I would show them your last SF-50 as a Fed and point out your retirement system was CSRS.

    If you were erroneously put in FERS, they should offer you the option to change to CSRS-Offset. This actually happened to me when I was reinstated. I sent an email to HR, explaining the situation and stating I had not chosen FERS and wanted to be put in CSRS-Offset. It took a few months, but it was corrected. It’s a big difference in your retirement annuity. CSRS pays about twice the annuity as FERS.

  4. I am retiring under CSRS offset with 35 years of federal civil service, DoD/DoN. I have been collecting SSA since I was 68 years old and I am 70 years old. I was old by SSA I would have had penalty if I did not collect. I am GS9/5. I am not waiting for GS 11 and Gs12. I have TSP contributing at 10%. Tell me what are the benefits I should keep and pay every month. No spouse.p

    • If you are enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, you’ll want to have deductions taken from your annuity. The same is true if you decide to enroll in Medicare Part B. You would only have to have deductions taken out for any Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance premiums if you decided against allowing it to automatically reduce to the 25 percent level. Finally, you’d need to settle on the amount you want to have deducted to cover federal income taxes and, where applicable, state income taxes.

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