Q. I am a CSRS Offset employee. I had seven years and 10 months of CSRS service when I left and took my funds out. I returned as CSRS Offset after a 15-month break, did not make a redeposit and now have an additional 26 years of service. I am looking at retiring in 4½ years at age 60. In addition, I am divorced (married 28 years and one month, not remarried). My ex-husband has always made substantially more. Based on the scenario stated, I am of the opinion that: 1. The windfall elimination provision will not apply since I…
Browsing: Windfall elimination provision
It’s easy to make mistakes when you are planning to retire. Some of the biggest mistakes apply to all employees; a few apply only to CSRS or FERS retirees. All can be costly. Here they are and what you can do to avoid them: Retiring on the spur of the moment. It can be disastrous, for two reasons. First, if you hand in your retirement application at the last minute, it may contain errors that delay processing or even cause it to be rejected. Second, decisions made in haste often come back to bite you. Once committed to a course…
Q. I will be 63 this month. I worked at the Postal Service from 1969 to 1981 as a letter carrier. I took the CSRS money out when I left in 1981. I worked in the private sector from 1981 to 1989. I came back to USPS in 1989, paid back the CSRS money and am now in CSRS offset. I have about 37 years in USPS and plan to work here another three years. Where can I find some info to help me decide whether to retire from USPS now and work in private sector or keep working at…
Q. Regarding the recent Supreme Court case that determined that the Affordable Care Act penalty for not having health insurance was a tax. May the reduction in a Social Security retirement benefit due to the application of the windfall elimination provision penalty be characterized as a tax?
Q. I have 34 years of service in CSRS and still work. I have 17 years of substantial payments in Social Security and starting collecting at age 66. Is there a maximum amount that my Social Security can be reduced by the windfall elimination provision, or is it possible to lose my entire Social Security payment upon retirement from government?
Q. I am a CSRS Offset employee who will be retiring in January. My spouse is a full CSRS retiree receiving an annuity. I am trying to decide if I should provide a survivor annuity for him on my retirement. 1. Because he is a full CSRS and affected by the windfall elimination provision, I was told by Social Security that he would not be eligible for Social Security spousal benefits on my Social Security account. Is this correct? 2. If I take the full 55 percent survivor annuity for my spouse and he does not apply for Social Security,…
Q. Husband, age 54, is retiring under Voluntary Early Retirement Authority on Dec. 31. He has 31 years with the Postal Service under CSRS and three years with the military and did not pay back his military time. He has 19 quarters earned for Social Security. He does not intend to earn the full 40 quarters of Social Security prior to age 62. If he earns the full 40 quarters after age 62 — say, at age 64 — what will happen?
Q. I am under CSRS. My service computation date is Nov. 13, 1983. I have 34 Social Security quarters paid. Can I pay the remaining Social Security quarters in lump sum, or do I have to work to contribute? Will this be to my advantage?
Q. My wife receives Social Security benefits under my contributions and from hers. She is not a federal retiree, but a retired teacher who had 20 calendar months uncovered, which was credited by the teachers’ pension as eight school months. The government pension offset was applied against her whole Social Security benefit. Does the GPO get applied in this manner, or should it be similar to the windfall elimination provision, which goes against only the portion of pension dependent upon the uncovered months?
Q. I am a CSRS employee who has been working for 33 years plus four years of military credit gives me 37 years of service. I also have more than 40 credits to qualify for Social Security. I will be 62 this month. What is my classification in terms of government pension offset, windfall, etc.? I know that since I will receive a government pension, my Social Security will be reduced, but by how much and how can I figure it out? I plan on retiring ay the end of this year or next year.