Q. I know that the Social Security supplement is reduced for any earnings above $14,640 (FY 2012). My question is that if I retire at the end of February 2012, would I already lose some of the supplement since I would have already made over $20,000 by the end of February? Or would the earnings test be only for the period of March 2012-December 2012? A. No, you wouldn’t lose any of your special retirement supplement because you’d be protected by the “first year rule.” To learn why that’s so, go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10069.html.
Browsing: Earnings test
Q: I am eligible to collect Social Security in September on my deceased husband’s Social Security. My question is as follows: At what age will I still be under the earnings limit of $14,160 per year? Also, what is the definition of earnings (Salary, self employment, etc.)? A: You will subject to the earnings test until to reach you full Social Security retirement age, which ranges between 65 and 67, depending on your year of birth. The test applies only to earnings from wages and self employment. Up until the year in which you reach full retirement age, your Social…
Q: I am getting ready to retire. I worked for the government from 1968 to 1972, then worked in the private sector and earned my 40 quarters in Social Security. I returned to work for the federal government in 1984 as a Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee. I was told that because I earned my 40 quarters from the private sector that my government annuity would not be reduced: I will get a full government annuity and a full Social Security check. Is that right? A: By law, your CSRS annuity will be reduced at age 62 by the…
Q: I recently went into the Social Security office and was given three different answers by three different people regarding offsets and the windfall elimination provision. I received an increase in my Social Security monthly payment for 2011 based on my 2009 earnings. In 2009, I made more then the minimum and qualified for another year (26 years now) toward my 30-year full exemption from the offset and windfall, so should Social Security also have given me an additional 5 percent because I now have one more year of substantial earnings toward my 30-year exemption? I was told by the…
Q: A friend told me that her monthly Social Security benefit was reduced by $250 because of the profits made from the sale of a house that she inherited from her mother. Can this be true? A: The Social Security earnings limit only applies to earnings from wages or self-employment, and then only for those individuals who haven’t reached full retirement age. In the ordinary course of events, income received through the sale of a home wouldn’t be considered to be earnings. However, if she reported any portion of the proceeds as earnings on her federal income tax return (because…
Q: I retired at age 52 under a Federal Employees Retirement System law enforcement (1811) retirement. I am now 55 and am employed. I generally understand the earnings test that will apply to my FERS supplement beginning the year I reach my minimum retirement age, but I am not clear how it is calculated the first year. I will reach my MRA in 2011 at the age of 56. Are my earnings for the entire year of 2011 calculated, or do they only calculate the earnings after I turn 56? I have not been able to get an answer from…
Q: If I retire with 30 years of federal service under the Federal Employees Retirement System at my minimum retirement age of 56 and I go back to work outside of the federal government, will I lose my Social Security supplement? A: If you exceed the Social Security earnings limit, your special retirement supplement will be reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn. In 2010, that limit is $14,160.
Q: For those covered under the law enforcement provision of the Federal Employees Retirement System, is the Social Security earnings test applied toward funds received from their Thrift Savings Plan if those amounts exceed the earnings test for the special law enforcement officer/firefighter Social Security supplement after their minimum retirement age? A: No. The Social Security earnings test only applies to earnings from wages or self-employment.
Q. I retired under the early-out retirement program at CSRS; currently, I am working part time and paying in to Social Security. Am I eligible for Social Security disability? A. Putting aside the question of whether you are sufficiently disabled to meet the Social Security Administration’s stringent criteria for granting disability benefits, to even apply you would need to have a certain number of credits under Social Security, the number depending in large part on your age and the onset of your disability. For more information go to www.ssa.gov/retire2/credits3.htm.
Q. I have a rather complicated question concerning my FERS retirement. I took an early retirement under FERS at the end of 2009. I retired on Dec. 31, 2009 at the age of 59. Because of the pay periods in 2009, the last pay period of December actually ended on Jan. 2, 2010. This pay period therefore became pay period 1 for 2010. Therefore, my last pay check and annual leave show as earned income in 2010. My retirement date started on Jan.1, 2010. Since my last check and annual leave earnings show as earned in 2010, do they count…