Q. My wife worked for the Defense Department for 16 years and was let go as a result of a mission move. She was under the CSRS retirement system, and we never pulled the money out. She has worked in the private sector for 13 years and doesn’t expect to return to government employment. When she reaches 62 she plans to take a deferred retirement. Will her Social Security benefits be reduced based on her receiving a CSRS retirement annuity?
A. Her Social Security benefit will only be reduced if she has fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. To see what are considered to be substantial earnings, year-by-year, go to http://ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.
