Q. I am a federal employee who will get only CSRS benefits after retirement. I will make sure there are survivor benefits for my wife if I pass away first. My wife has Social Security. Will I get any survivor benefits from Social Security if she passes away before I do? Maybe I will get some benefits after any windfall deduction is made from survivor benefits.
A. The windfall elimination provision applies only to the earned Social Security benefit of someone who is receiving an annuity from a retirement system where he didn’t pay Social Security taxes. Instead, you’ll be subject to the government pension offset, which will reduce any spousal or survivor Social Security benefit by $2 for every $3 you receive in your CSRS annuity.
