Q. I am an unmarried federal employee. I max out my contribution to the Thrift Savings Plan. I plan to work until at least 62, which will give me 21 years of service, or possibly until 65 with 24 years. As a federal employee in FERS and with TSP, what is the best way to provide income for two siblings when I die? I am not opposed to taking a reduction in monthly benefits if that is the best way to do so. My home will be paid off in 2014. I have no other debt and live on about…
Browsing: annuity reduction
Q. My wife is a CSRS Postal Service employee with four years of military time and will retire in February with 36 years total. She did not pay back her military time. She was told by the post office that Social Security would deduct the money from her check when she reaches 62. 1. My wife does not plan on trying to collect Social Security at age 62, so will they still lower her retirement check? 2. I was told during a civil service retirement seminar that if she waited until age 68, she could go back to work and…
Q. As a CSRS Offset employee for retirement purposes, what are the dollar limits on either federal employment or private employment after retirement and receiving your pension? Are there tax implications? A. If you return to work for the federal government, in most cases your annuity will be reduced by the amount of your Social Security benefit. On the other hand, working in the private sector would have no effect on it. Note: When you are eligible for a Social Security benefit at age 62, two things will happen: First, your CSRS annuity will be reduced by the amount of…
Q. I will have 28.75 years with the Postal Service in FERS when I’m eligible to take the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority offered for Jan. 31. With half of my eight months of sick leave, I will have another four months credited to me. I will be 56 years old in January, so this is a real birthday present! I understand that my FERS annuity will not be reduced because of the VERA. So, if my annuity is not reduced before I would retire with 30 years of service because of the VERA offer, is there any incentive to keep…
Q. I worked in high school and through college paying into Social Security and earned 28 quarters. From 1974 to 2009, I worked under CSRS and paid no Social Security. Upon retirement, I collected my monthly annuity from CSRS, then started working in private sector and will get my 40 quarters in January. I turned 62 in October. How is the reduction computed for my monthly Social Security payments? My monthly retirement is around $6,500 from CSRS. A. Your Social Security benefit will be affected by the windfall elimination provision. The WEP reduces the benefit of anyone who is receiving…
Q. I am a CSRS Offset employee. I am 65 years old with 32 years of federal service and will retire Jan. 3. I will turn 66 in March. When I retire, $675 will be deducted from my monthly annuity — not much left to retire on. The benefit counselor told me to apply for Social Security now to start receiving in January. If I do that, would my Social Security be reduced since I’ll be two months short of being 66 years old? A. While it’s true that your CSRS annuity will be reduced by the amount of Social…
Q. The FERS book says you can retire at age 62 with five years of creditable service. If you worked as a regular employee, part time, 30 hours a week for five years, could you retire at age 62 with five years of part-time work; if so, would this affect your annuity payments ? A. While your part-time work would be treated as full time when it comes to determining your years of service, your annuity would be prorated to reflect the actual time you served. The methodology is at www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C055.pdf. Just scroll to Part 55B2.
Q. I have been offered an opportunity in FERS. I retired from the Navy Reserve in 2009 with 25 years of creditable service. I will not be drawing this pension until age 58 (credit for post-9/11 active-duty lowers from 60). How would making a deposit for military service work? Like active-duty retirees, would I then waive my reserve retirement? Would the decision simply be a calculation to see which retirement would yield the biggest pension? I retired as an O-5 and would be entering FERS at grade 13. I am 49 years old and would work until at least 62.…
Q. I retired on an early-out offer on Dec. 31, 2011, with 29.5 years of service at age 52. As a self-employed individual, I am paying both the employer and employee share (slightly reduced) to Social Security. Assuming another 15 years of work, that’s a tremendous amount to be paying into a retirement system with little or no benefit. I also have quarters from pre-CSRS employment. What, if any, Social Security benefit can I receive down the road? A. At age 62, you’ll be eligible for a Social Security benefit. Whether or not you apply for it at that time…
Q. I was in CSRS for five years and six months. Returned to the post office in 1993 under CSRS Offset. Reached 20 years under CSRS Offset on Oct. 1. Paid into Social Security for 32 years. What does my retirement look like? I am told I was put into a real bad retirement plan. A. I’ll tell you what your retirement will look like. Then you can go back to whoever told you that you were “put into a real bad retirement plan” and laugh in his face. As a CSRS employee, you’ll be eligible to retire at age…