Q. I am a CSRS Offset employee planning to retire at the end of the year. Do you know how much of a percentage (penalty) I’ll have to pay out of my retirement check since I’ll be collecting Social Security? Will I be able to collect on my husband’s Social Security if he dies before me?
A. You can estimate the reduction in your CSRS annuity using the following formula: Divide the Social Security benefit amount provided by the Social Security Administration by 40 and multiply the product by your total years of CSRS Offset service rounded to the nearest whole number. Just be aware that this is an academic exercise. The amount you receive will be the same, it will just come from two different places: the Office of Personnel Management and the Social Security Administration.
If you have at least 60 months of coverage under CSRS Offset, you’ll be able to collect your husband’s Social Security survivor benefit.
