Q. I’ve retired on disability and am 33 years old. I receive a measly $400 per month. I haven’t received my retirement plaque, let alone more pay. I receive $1,300 in Social Security. When I was working, I made over $53,000 per year. Where can I find a retirement lawyer for the federal government and why haven’t they sent me my plaque? I’ve been retired since 2011. I’ve been in appeal process with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs for my on-the-job injury.
Browsing: SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I’m under FERS and worried about a reduction in my Social Security benefits after retirement. My Social Security benefits are not calculated on an assumption of $110,000 a year until I retire. If I elect to retire with 31 years of service at my minimum retirement age of 56, will the years following my retirement without paying (or paying Social Security at a lower income level) reduce my Social Security benefits when I claim them at 62 or older?
Q. My mother retired from the Social Security Administration under CSRS in August 2009 and passed away in September 2012. Based on her W-2, her employee contribution amounted to $55,000. In September 2012, I submitted SF 2800 for any unused employee contribution. The final lump sum was less $800, but based on her contribution, I thought the amount was low. Under CSRS, is the employee’s contribution exhausted first?
Q. I started receiving Social Security benefits when I was 65 (my eligibility age would have been 66). I am now 68 and contemplating going back to work at a job that pays into Social Security. Will that have any effect on the windfall elimination provision that is not deducted from my benefits? I had 38 credits in Social Security when I retired.
Q. Last week in your column, someone wrote that the windfall elimination provision was going to reduce their Social Security by over $1,000 per month. From my understanding, I thought that the maximum Social Security reduction for this year is around $390 per month related to the WEP. As this is going to affect my Social Security when I apply in a couple of years, am I missing something here, or can the WEP reduce someone’s benefit at a higher amount such as $1,000 per month?
Q. Will the Social Security Administration withhold payments into the CSRS Offset portion of a federal annuity if the annuitant is between the ages of 62 and 66 (in 2013) and earns more than $15,120 per year? Or is Offset separate from the Social Security benefits that are discussed in SSA publication 05-10069?
Q. I took an early retirement incentive from the Postal Service beginning Jan. 31, after serving 23 years, at age 56. I have started receiving my annuity benefit from the post office, but have yet to get the special retirement supplement that I was supposed to receive. Do I have to communicate with anyone special, or do I just have to wait for things to be calculated?
Q. I have been receiving Social Security Disability Insurance for a total disability since 2008. From 1981 to 1989, I was a CSRS offset employee in the USPS. When I tried to apply for my CSRS pension, I was informed by letter that I had to wait until I reached age 62, which is unlikely, or withdraw the small amount I contributed as a lump sum. Is it not possible to apply for and receive my CSRS pension when completely disabled? I have read CSRS Pamphlet No. 7 and searched the website Q&A, and I am very confused.
Q. My father is receiving both a disability benefit and a monthly federal pension from CSRS. His wife is in a nursing home and has been on Medicaid since June 2011. Her Social Security is paid directly to the nursing home. She is given only a small amount and the nursing home keeps the remainder. If my father should pass before her, will the CSRS survivor annuity amount go directly to the nursing home, as well?
Q. I started work at 16 during the summer to help pay for college. From 1966 to 1974, I made very low incomes but contributed to Social Security. Then I worked for the Forest Service and became a CSRS employee for five years. I resigned and got a refund on my retirement because I did not think I would work there again. But because I had five years in, the Forest Service says I still have a vested interest in CSRS and will pay me $202/month for that vested service when I retire. Between 1990 and 1999, I stayed home…