Q. I plan on retiring at the end of June 2014. I will be 61 years old with 28½ years of service for the Internal Revenue Service under FERS. Am I eligible to receive special retirement supplement until February 2015, when I will be 62 years old? Is the supplement amount equal to what I will receive from Social Security at age 62? Or is it calculated differently? By receiving supplement, will my Social Security amount be affected or lowered compared to if I didn’t receive the supplement?
A. You will be entitled to the special retirement supplement until you reach age 62. The SRS will be based solely on the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while a FERS employee. At age 62, you’ll be entitled to a Social Security benefit based on your entire Social Security-covered employment history. As a result, it will be higher than the SRS.
