Q. I’m a CSRS offset employee. Will I draw a Social Security check and a pension check from my agency each month? I have more than 31 years with the U.S. Department of Labor, and I’m retiring in a couple of weeks. A. No, you won’t. You’ll receive a monthly annuity payment from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and, when you are eligible for a Social Security benefit at age 62, your CSRS annuity will be reduced (offset) by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while a CSRS offset employee. That amount plus any additional Social Security…
Monthly Archives: October, 2012
Q. I am a retired federal employee and receive a $5,300 monthly CSRS annuity. I do not qualify for Social Security. My wife gets $600 a month in SS benefits that she earned working. If I die, will her survivor benefit of $3,200 a month be reduced by the $600 a month she receives in SS? A. No, She’ll receive her earned Social Security benefit and her CSRS survivor annuity, with no reduction in either.
Q. I retired on an early out in 2005 after more than 28 years of service. I saw a question about Social Security eligibility for retired postal carriers Aug. 17. I was told by SS that I could get about $300 since I have about 60 quarters. But I was told by someone else I would be reduced in my CSRS annuity payments by that amount. It is called offset. Could this be true? How does the offset work? A. No, your annuity won’t be offset. However, because you were a CSRS employee, you will be subject to the windfall elimination…
Q. My husband and I are federal civilian employees. I have been covered under his FEHBP for many years. Do I need to move it over to my own coverage for my last five years of government service? A. No. You need only to be covered by the FEHB program, not enrolled in it.
Q. I meet the five-year requirement for maintaining FEHB coverage once I retire. However, after I retire, can I switch the policy to my wife, also a fed, as the primary policyholder to get the pre-tax benefit? Will that affect my future eligibility? A. Yes, you can. And no, it won’t affect your future eligibility.
Q. I am a FERS employee and plan to retire at age 60 with more than 20 years’ service. I will have been enrolled in FEHB for more than five years and want to know: If I elect to not have a survivor on my annuity, will my spouse, who receives a monthly military retirement from the U.S. Navy and has Tricare for Life, be able to keep the FEHB after my death? A. No. Your spouse has to be both covered under the self and family option of your FEHB plan and receiving a survivor annuity. As a FERS…
Q. I’m getting ready to retire. What is the maximum annual leave I’ll be paid for? I am capped at 240 hours but will have close to 400 when I retire. A. If you retire before the next leave year begins, you’ll receive a lump-sum payment for all your accumulated and unused annual leave.
Q. As a FERS civil servant, if I am covered under Tricare for the last five years before retirement, and I enroll in FEHB just before retiring, can I maintain FEHB in retirement and can my active-duty spouse be covered under FEHB if we choose to do so after I’ve retired? A. Yes.
Q. If I retire early and can receive the Social Security supplement at age 56, how can I find out from Social Security how much I will be getting each month in the supplement? A. You can’t. You’ll have to go to www.ssa.gov/mystatement and get an estimate of your Social Security benefit at age 62. When you have the figure, plug it into the following formula: Social Security benefit estimate x your total years of FERS service rounded to the nearest year ÷ 40.
Q. I am a USPS retiree receiving an estimated annuity from USPS. I am 63½ and am thinking of applying for Social Security. I have more than 40 quarters of Social Security deductions outside USPS. I also have more than 40 quarters of Social Security deductions within USPS under the CSRS Offset retirement system. How will this situation affect my Social Security benefits and/or annuity? A. If you have fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, you’ll be subject to the windfall elimination provision. It will reduce but not eliminate your Social Security benefit. That’s because part…