Q. I have 22 years of service under FERS and 10 years under straight CSRS before 1977. I will be 64 this month. The windfall elimination provision chart on the Social Security site estimates the WEP reduction based on age 62 (and the number of years paying into Social Security at that age). Does that mean that no matter how many more years I work, the WEP reduction will remain as it would have been at age 62 and less than 20 years paying into Social Security? Does it also mean the extra years worked will not count toward reducing…
Browsing: Windfall elimination provision
Q. I retired from CSRS with 30 years (U.S. Bureau of Mines closure). I started getting my government retirement the day after retirement because of forced retirement. I continued work in the private sector and, at age 66, started getting Social Security in October 2011. I had 26 years paid into Social Security and was hit with the windfall elimination provision. I was never told I could pay extra years into Social Security for some of the years that I was under CSRS until someone at the Social Security office in Pueblo, Colo., told me that. I do not know…
Q. I will be retiring from civil service under CSRS with 40 years of service. I will also be drawing my reserve retirement next year when I turn 60. I have three years and nine months of unpaid military service, and it would cost approximately $26,000 to buy back the service. I know when I turn 62, the Social Security windfall elimination provision will reduce my Social Security annuity. I have less than 20 years of significant earnings. I’m wondering if it is worth paying the $26,000 to buy back the three years and nine months.
Q. If I retired with 34 years of CSRS benefits and have now earned 40 quarters Social Security, will I be able to draw Social Security benefits?
Q. I retired from the FAA in 2003 with 21 years of service, and I receive 50 percent of my base pay. I also am qualified for Social Security. I bought back my military service. I know my Social Security benefits will be lowered as I receive a pension from OPM. I am planning on taking my Social Security benefits when I turn 62. Will I still receive my 50 percent pension from OPM?
Q. I am a former federal CSRS employee who lost employment when the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was closed in 1995. I had about 15 years of service and left my contributions in the system. I was born in July 1956 and am 56. When can I apply for a pension, and what can I expect? Would I take a deferred pension? Also, I have met my 40 quarters for Social Security and have been employed for about 17 years with the School District of Philadelphia. I am thinking about retiring when I am 62 but would like to know my…
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. 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…
Q. I’m trying to understand how my retirement income will be affected by the government pension offset and windfall elimination provision. I’m a CSRS Offset employee (55 years old) contemplating retirement in the next year with more than 32 years’ service. I also receive a monthly spousal annuity from my deceased wife’s CSRS service. I understand that when I turn 62, my own CSRS pension will be reduced by whatever Social Security amount I’m eligible for (should be more than 30 years of Social Security earnings), but I just read something indicating that my spousal annuity also might be reduced…