Q. I am under CSRS Offset. My retirement plan has always been to retire and get a non-civil-service job. My idea was that the CSRS, even Offset, pension would be my bread and butter and the other job, probably part time, would be a supplemental. What I have read about CSRS Offset seems to indicate that it won’t work. As of age 62, I will get some money from CSRS and some from Social Security. But if I am working, won’t that stop me from getting the Social Security?
A. If you are retired before age 62, when you reach age 62, your CSRS annuity will be reduced by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while a CSRS Offset employee. If you receive earnings from wages or self-employment that exceed the annual Social Security earnings limit, your Social Security benefit will be reduced by $1 for every $2 you receive above the limit. In 2012, that limit is $14,640. In the year you reach your full Social Security retirement age, the reduction will be $1 for every $3 you earn above a different limit. In 2012, that limit is $38,800. There is no reduction beginning in the month you reach full retirement age.
