Q: I am 68 and still work as a CSRS Offset civilian. I have about 17 years of government service, 10 years as CSRS and seven years as CSRS Offset. I also have more than 30 years of substantial Social Security earnings outside of the CSRS Offset. I am single and all of my earnings for retirement and Social Security are mine. I am pretty sure I won’t fall into the Windfall Elimination Provision category but cannot determine how much the Offset will apply. My Offset income is substantially higher now than it was when I left the government in…
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Q: I have 30 years of service, 18½ under CSRS and 12 under CSRS Offset. When I began my career in 1979 I had four months under FICA, not CSRS. The four months will still count for service and calculating my annuity but unless I pay it back, 10 percent of the amount (which is $600 now) $60 will be deducted yearly from my annuity. Is it to my benefit to repay the $600 or have the monthly annuity reduced by $5 for rest of my retirement? If I live 20 years after retirement, $1,200 would have been reduced from…
Q: I just received notice from Social Security that my benefits check may be reduced because of the windfall elimination provision. I retired under the Civil Service Retirement System Offset program Oct. 31, 2010. My time in service under CSRS was approximately five years, nine months. I withdrew the money that I put in after each job because at the time I did not expect to retire from civil service. My last withdrawal from CSRS was from the period of May 1981 to December 1982. I returned to government work in May 1984 and was placed in the CSRS Offset…
Q: I requested retirement calculations for mid-2014 and recently learned that after I left the government in September 1984, the retirement money I withdrew would have to be repaid in order to receive the benefits for that money. I withdrew $3,700; repayment with accumulated interest would be more than $22,000. I returned to the government in March 1987 under the Civil Service Retirement System Offset program. I thought I read that if a person who receives money under CSRS can also receive full Social Security benefits (no windfall) if that person has enough credits with Social Security (approximately 30 years).…
Q: Please explain what CSRS Offset is. A: Civil Service Retirement System Offset employees are those who are covered by both CSRS and Social Security. In general, there are two categories of employees who are covered by CSRS Offset. First, those who had a break in service that exceeded one year and ended after 1983 and had at least five years of creditable service as of January 1, 1987. Second, employees who were hired before Jan. 1, 1984, acquired CSRS interim coverage between 1984 and 1987, and had at least five years of creditable civilian service by Jan. 1, 1987.…
Q: I retired under the Civil Service Retirement System Offset pension plan in 2001 (early buyout retirement at age 51 with 23 years of service). My husband passed away in August 2006. I started receiving a survivor benefit based on his Social Security earnings when I turned 60. My question is, should my CSRS Offset pension have been reduced by the amount of the Social Security that I am receiving based on his earnings, or does that reduction not take effect until I turn 62 and then is based on my Social Security benefit? The amount I am receiving as…
Q. Is there a difference between the Offset and the windfall elimination? Which of the two agencies is responsible for deducting which amount from which benefit? I am a CSRS offset employee who retired Sept. 1, 2010. I started getting Social Security benefits in January 2010. The Social Security Administration and OPM have sent correspondence notifying me that there will be some sort of reduction and each claims the right to do the reducing. I am confused as to the nature of Offset vs Windfall elimination and who is supposed to do the deducting. It is my understanding that one…
Q. I am a 58 year old CSRS offset employee and have 30 years and some months of creditable service. I started with the post office in 1980 as a sub mail carrier and converted to full time in 1986. I understand that when I retire and reach age 62 (if I am retired prior to then) my pension would be reduced by the amount of Social Security I would receive that is creditable to my CSRS offset service. How would I determine what that amount would be? And would I receive additional Social Security benefits from work outside the…
Q. Is a CSRS Offset employee retiring with less than five years offset service subject to the government pension offset on a spousal Social security benefit? I know this is true for FERS but have not been able to find any clear guidance for offset employees. I do not have enough Social Security quarters to qualify for Social Security payments on my own. My position will be eliminated due to BRAC and I do not have an enduring job offer. There is a VSIP offer on the table. Please help me make an informed choice. A. According to the Social…
Q: Is it possible for me to determine how much of an annuity I might expect to receive if I were to obtain a government job? I have approximately nine years of prior federal government service and I was under the CSRS retirement system. I also have two years of military time that I would like to include if possible. I would plan on buying in on my military time but not repaying my CSRS retirement that I withdrew at the time I left government service in 1985. I am 62 years old and would like to work between one…