Q: I took the VER that was offered for postal clerks on Oct. 31, 2009. I have received three very small interim annuity checks since then. Processing is taking forever. I assume it will all come out in the wash. I am 60 with 25+ years in FERS. Will I receive the SRS? Do I have to make a special request either to OPM or to Social Security for that? Can I use the 26/40x the figure on my SSA statement to figure the amount? The statement I have is dated July 2009. In addition, I’ve had a part-time job…
Browsing: Special retirement supplement
Q: What is this Special Retirement Supplement check? I have been retired since 2002 from the Veterans Affairs Department and receive my retirement pay from the Civil Service Retirement System. A: There isn’t any check. The Special Retirement Supplement approximates the Social Security benefit earned by employees who were covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System and is included in their annuities. It’s intended to bridge the gap between the age at which they retire and age 62, when they become eligible for a Social Security benefit.
Q: As a federal firefighter covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System, I have to retire at age 57. I have been told that that under FERS, we get a Social Security supplement and as such we are limited in what we can earn after retirement. Is this true? I know that when one retires and draws Social Security, one is limited to $14,160 per year in earnings from other sources. Is this the case when we are forced to retire at 57? A: Yes, it is. In 2010, if you were to earn more than $14,160 from wages or…
Q: Is the Special Retirement Supplement check taxable each month? A: The Special Retirement Supplement is included in your annuity payment and is taxed at the same rate.
Q. I have never been able to find the formula for calculating the FERS Special Supplement for those employees who retire at their minimum retirement age under FERS. As I transferred from CSRS to FERS during a previous open season, I would like to know if the Windfall Eliminations Provision is applied when calculating the Special Supplement. I will have less than 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. So will the 40 percent multiplier (rather than 90 percent) be applied to the first component of my Social Security calculation? A. The WEP doesn’t apply to the special retirement…
Q. The U.S. Postal Service has given employees retiring voluntarily on Oct. 31, 2009 an amount of $15,000. Will the first check of $10,000 have everything taken out for federal and state taxes, Medicare, Social Security, health benefits, etc? When would my first annuity check start? I am a Civil Service offset employee with 12 years under FERS. I had a total of 30 years of both civil service and FERS but I left and came back to the USPS in 1997 (7 years). I took out the money in the retirement fund and so lost 20 years credit to…