Q. I am a retired federal government employee since 2013. I paid into Social Security from 1966 through 1983 when the late President Ronald Reagan took all federal employees out of Social Security and placed us into Medicare. How do Medicare benefits help me? My time to apply is three months from April 2018. Will I be penalized due to receiving a very low Social Security check when I will be getting my Medicare card next year?
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Q. I am a FERS employee, eligible for early retirement due to 25 years on the job, but I am only 58 years old, so do not qualify for Social Security. Therefore, I am still working. Meanwhile, I would like to apply for Social Security Disability [SSDI]. If I am turned down, I understand I may qualify for FERS disability retirement. Also, would I still be eligible to get my Social Security benefits at age 62? Can I continue to work until I am approved for FERS disability?
Q. I am eligible to receive the special retirement supplement; however, I do receive rental income. Is rental income considered “ordinary income” that would reduce or eliminate the SRS?
Q. This is my last year receiving Supplemental Social Security (retired from the U.S. Postal Service as FERS in April 2016). I was born in the middle of the month of January. Will this supplement end in December of this year or will it include January 2018 – the month I turn 62 – and stop in February?
Q. I served 21 years and six months in the military, paying Social Security all the time. I also paid a little Social Security prior to going into the military. I went into civil service under CSRS in 1985. All of my Social Security was paid into prior to going to work under CSRS, so why should I have an offset after retiring from civil service after 20 years? I paid in the CSRS program and all my Social Security was paid under a different system that shouldn’t have anything to do with civil service and my Social Security.
Q. I’m retiring soon at the mandatory age for firefighters at 57 years old after 30 years of service. I understand the Social Security Administration supplement will be paid out until age 62. Can the supplement continue past 62 if I choose to wait to elect collecting Social Security until age 67, the full-retirement age? I’m staying at the fire department until the last possible day before the mandatory age requirement kicks in, but I’m concerned of a potential five-year gap and/or not receiving the supplement between ages 62-67. If the supplement stops entirely at 62, then I’d feel a bit…
Q. Social Security will go up 2.2 percent in 2018. Does the FERS supplemental Social Security payment increase the same (or at all), when regular Social Security payments are increased?
Q. I retired as a CSRS Offset employee in 1997 at age 50. Since federal retirement, I worked in the private sector paying Social Security on those wages. At age 62, OPM reduced my federal annuity by about 25 percent but hasn’t adjusted my annuity since, even though I’ve contributed near the maximum into Social Security during the eight years since. I see nothing indicating that the offset ratio is a one-time event. What recourse do I have?
Q. I am retired 23 years from the military, working now as GS and did not buy back time. By the time I am eligible for full retirement at 67, I will have about 15 years in FERS. Am I entitled to military, FERS and Social Security separate payments?
Q. There has been talk that the FERS supplemental is going to be done away with. Will it be replaced with another supplemental? What was the purpose of the supplemental in the first place? The cost of living has not gone down — it continues to go up each year. FERS employees will need some to bridge the gap before they can draw Social Security.