Q: I have been retired (CSRS) for more than 15 years. Because I had enough quarters from moonlighting as a teacher, I also collect Social Security with the windfall reduction. Since retirement I have worked as an educator and may soon reach 30 years of substantial contributions to Social Security. What impact, if any, will this have on my CSRS retirement payments? What impact, if any, will it have on the Social Security payments made to me? How will this impact survivor benefits? A: The fact that you’ve continued to earn Social Security credits after retirement won’t have any effect…
Browsing: CSRS
Q: I am a CSRS employee thinking of retiring next year. My husband is on my BCBS policy. My retirement adviser said that when I retire I have to decide whether or not I want to keep my spouse on my policy. If so, then I need to claim the minimal survivor benefit for him. However, when my husband turns 65 he may want to go to Tricare for Life as he is a retired Naval officer. If he does that, then can I cancel the minimal survivor benefit? My advisor says no. Also, if my husband decides to use…
Q: My husband will be retiring from the federal government in about 21 months and has been told that cannot elect the monthly survivor annuity (he is under CSRS) if his spouse is a federal employee. Is this true? He was told that this is “double-dipping.” A: What he was told isn’t true. Unless there is a court order assigning the survivor annuity to a former spouse, he is free to elect a survivor annuity for his current spouse, regardless of whether she works for the federal government, the private sector, or not at all.
Q: For years I have seen $0 applied in the ‘earnings’ column on my annual Social Security statement because I am a CSRS employee. CSRS wages are not considered as ‘earnings’ under Social Security and do not earn any Social Security benefit. However, I did worked a number of year in the private sector before I began my civil service employment, so I am now eligible for a small Social Security benefit based on that record alone. Since I am 62, I would like to begin to get that reduced Social Security benefit check, even though I still working as…
Q. I was hired Aug. 15, 1983 ,and was placed in CSRS and have been in CSRS ever since. I now hear that employees that had less than five years in CSRS before Jan. 1, 1984, were supposed to have been converted to FERS. Am I in the wrong system? A. No, you’re in the right retirement system. The five-year rule only applies to retirement coverage determinations made after January 1, 1987, when an employee was covered by CSRS and Social Security. If such an employee didn’t have five years of CSRS coverage on Dec. 31, 1986, he would have…
Q. I was employed by the Defense Department from 1961-1966 and then by the NSA from 1966-1975. I took a lump-sum payout of the retirement benefit at that time. I am now 67 years old. Is there any option to buy back into the system? A. You would only be able to do that if you went back to work for the federal government.
Q. I am employed by the Postal Service and covered by CSRS. I turned 66 this past spring and applied for and now receiving Social Security benefit checks. I applied at my local office and was told that as long as I keep working, I am not subject to WEP but when I retire, it will kick in and I must inform them. Is this true? A. Yes
Q. I am 57 years old. I have 38-plus years of federal service, (four military, 34-plus CSRS). I am considering retirement, but I have a complication. My wife was just diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. The outlook overall is not good. Our question is about the survivor annuity. If we choose to cover her in the event that I die first, then we would receive a reduced pension. What happens if she should pass on first? Does my pension stay reduced or is it restored to 100 percent of what I would have received without the survivor annuity? A.…
Q. I am CSRS and contributing to the CSRS Volunteer Contributions. I am curious, that when I retire and use this saved money for additional annuity it should be tax-free, since I have already paid federal tax on it. Can you confirm this please? I do understand that when I get the additional retirement CSRS annuity it will not be added into my regular annuity, but rather be a separate annuity and not subject to increase for annual COLA. Mostly, I want to confirm that I will not be paying federal tax on VC money again. A. While the money…
Q. I am currently working in the U.S. Postal Service under CSRS for 32 years. I will be 62 in January and have paid into Social Security for more than 10 years (forty quarters). Social Security sends me yearly letters stating how much I can draw at retirement. Will I be able to draw at 62 if I’m still working at the post office. Am I eligible to draw any Social Security at all if my CSRS is over $14,000? A. You would be able to apply for Social Security benefits while you are still working but it wouldn’t be…