Q. I expected to retire with a CSRS Offset pension and a pension from a state public employees system not covered by Social Security. It appears that the windfall elimination provision is going to reduce my CSRS Offset Social Security portion to almost nothing. Can that be right? Your descriptions of CSRS Offset always say the benefit will be the same it will just be paid partly from CSRS and partly from Social Security. But windfall elimination appears to reduce the Social Security portion by 40 percent.
A. The windfall elimination provision does reduce the Social Security benefit of anyone who receives an annuity, in whole or part, from a retirement system where he or she didn’t pay Social Security taxes and has fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. If your Social Security benefit is based solely on your CSRS Offset-covered service, the WEP will reduce that benefit.
