Q. Can you please explain “catch 62”? Also, can you qualify for Social Security after age 62 if you fall under the parameters of catch 62? In other words, do Social Security or CSRS check your eligibility only once at age 62, or do they check periodically after age 62? Can your CSRS pension be re-examined if you qualify for Social Security after you reached age 62, i.e. age 65?
Browsing: CSRS
Q. My deceased wife was a FERS employee for 15 years before resigning. She passed away four years ago. I rolled over her TSP into mine. (I am retired CSRS.) I did not claim her contribution to FERS. Will I receive any of her retirement annuity once she would have become eligible to retire?
Q. I retired under CSRS and chose a survivor benefit for my wife. My wife worked in private industry and contributed to Social Security and started collecting a Social Security pension. My last letter from OPM said my wife would receive a survivor benefit of $670 per month. How would the offset provision affect her monthly income in the case of my demise?
Q. I am a CSRS retiree, and I am not eligible for Social Security. I have provided for a full survivor annuity if I die before my wife. She is self-employed and will be eligible for a Social Security benefit when she retires. Will her Social Security benefit be reduced at that time due to her survivor annuity? Will her survivor annuity be reduced because of her Social Security benefit?
Q. The following statement was made in an answer to a question ask about post-1956 deposit: “You can’t get a refund of the deposit you made for your active-duty service. What’s done is done. If you retire at age 62 and aren’t eligible for a Social Security benefit at that time, you’ll never have to worry about losing those years and having your annuity recomputed.” I will retire at age 60 and have paid in a post-1956 deposit. I am in CSRS and will have 41 years and eight months with the post-56 deposit (eight years, six months of military…
Q. Is there a calculator where you can enter your service type (FERS vs. CSRS), military buyback years and months, current high-3 and projected retirement age to get an accurate retirement estimate? A. You’ll find what you’re looking for at www.fedbens.us.
Q. My husband resigned from a Defense Department agency (non-civil service) after 29 years to work in the private sector. He was under CSRS, never converting to FERS. Before his resignation 10 years ago, he spoke to the agency’s personnel retirement representatives and was told he would still be able to collect retirement but only after he reached the age of 62. They told him that he should start the retirement paperwork six months from his 62nd birthday. Is this information correct? Does he lose the 2 percent for each year under the age of 62 he was when he…
Q. I am buying back my active-duty military service time to be applied to my federal retirement annuity amount. What factors determine the 3 percent rate for the military deposit? In other words, how is 3 percent derived as opposed to some other percentage?
Q. I am a CSRS-covered employee nearing retirement. My spouse is a nonfederal employee and has been covered under my FEHB family plan for my entire career. I would like to elect a survivor benefit for an amount to cover her future FEHB premiums only. What amount of survivor benefit should I elect to cover her premiums, no more and no less? A. First, a reminder. By law, you have to elect a full survivor annuity for your spouse unless he or she agrees to a lesser amount or none. That agreement must be presented to OPM in a signed…
Q. I am a CSRS retiree. My husband still works and is under Social Security. When he dies, will I receive anything from his Social Security? I am aware there is something called the government pension offset, but I don’t understand it. Can you explain? A. Your Social Security spousal or survivor benefit will be reduced by $2 for every $3 you receive in your CSRS annuity. To better understand the government pension offset and the reason it is a matter of law, go to http://ssa.gov/pubs/10007.html.