Q: I receive survivor annuity benefits because my husband, who worked for the post office for 25 years, died in 1993. He didn’t have Social Security. Will my annuity benefits be affected if I begin collecting my own Social Security at age 62, or if I decide to wait several years to begin collecting full-time Social Security benefits? A: The fact that you are receiving a civil service survivor annuity will have no effect on your earned Social Security benefit, no matter when you decide to start collecting it.
Browsing: SOCIAL SECURITY
Q: I am a FERS participant with 20 years of 6c law enforcement employment. If I retire at age 50 and stop working, but my spouse continues to work, will that affect the amount of the Social Security supplement I receive? A: No, it won’t. FYI. As a special category employee, if you retire before you reach your minimum retirement age, you may earn as much as you want from wages and self-employment without it affecting the amount of your special annuity supplement. After you reach your MRA, you’ll be subject to the annual Social Security earnings limit.
Q: As a CSRS civil servant, when I retire Social Security informs me I will receive approximately $588 per month at age 66. Most of my Social Security benefits were earned before civil service. I understand that once I retire, my Social Security will be cut to around $325 per month. My wife is eligible for Social Security and is projected to receive approximately $1,150 per month. Due to CSRS retirement, when my Social Security is reduced to around $325, can I have my Social Security increased up to half of my spouse’s $1,150? That would put it back to…
Q: I will have 29 years at the U.S. Postal Service, plus 2,200 hours of sick leave, three years in civil service and 27 under FERS in 2012. Am I eligible for the Social Security supplement at age 56? Does that decrease my FERS annuity or add to it? A: If you meet the age and service requirements to retire on an immediate annuity – in your case, your minimum retirement age plus 30 years of service – you’d receive the special retirement supplement. The SRS approximates the Social Security benefit you earned while employed under FERS, and is added…
Q: I am 64 and I have worked under CSRS with no break in service for 28 years. I worked in the private sector before entering civil service. I earned my 40 quarters for Social Security eligibility before starting civil service. Will I be able to draw my Social Security upon CSRS retirement or will I be penalized? A: Yes, you will be able to receive a Social Security benefit. However, it will be reduced if you have fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security.
Q: I am a retired federal employee and I was receiving a monthly annuity of $4,200, but when I recently turned 62, OPM reduced my annuity to $3,550, and told me it was because I was eligible to collect Social Security benefits, even though I am not collecting Social Security benefits and do not plan to do so until I am at least 65. I did have two years of active military service, which I paid for while I was working, so that those two years would be figured into my annuity calculation. It appears to me that the federal…
Q: I am getting ready to retire. I worked for the government from 1968 to 1972. I left the government and worked in the private sector and earned my 40 quarters working in the private sector and made my substantial earnings for Social Security from the private sector. I returned to work for the federal government in 1984,and was in CSRS Offset. I was told that since I earned by 40 quarters from the private sector, my government annuity will NOT be reduced. and I will get a full government annuity and a full Social Security check. Is that right?…
Q: I am an employee under the Civil Service Retirement System Offset program, and I plan on retiring at age 64. I know my annuity will be reduced for the period of time I was an offset employee. I have dealt with the local Social Security Administration office and I am concerned; they had no idea what the offset is. Does the Office of Personnel Management deal with SSA experts for the offset? A: OPM and the Social Security Administration have a file-matching system that allows OPM to accurately reduce a CSRS Offset annuity by the amount of Social Security…
Q: I will be 59 years and 8 months old with 37 years, 7 months of federal service on my target retirement date of Dec. 31. I only earned 33 quarters of Social Security; to earn more credit on Social Security, can paid annual leave be considered as Social Security income for the year 2012, because the paid annual leave is not included as Civil Service Retirement System income for the year 2011? If so, what is the procedure to report it as Social Security income? And will this only be applied at the end of the year of retirement,…
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…