Browsing: earnings limit

Q. Can you draw Social Security while working if you didn’t pay in 40 quarters but you reached full retirement age? A. No, you can’t. However, if you had 40 quarters, you could continue working and draw a Social Security benefit; and, if you had reached full Social Security retirement age (65 to 67, depending on your year of birth), you wouldn’t be subject to the annual earnings limit.

Q. I know that the Social Security supplement is reduced for any earnings above $14,640 (in fiscal year 2012). If I retire under FERS at my minimum retirement age but my wife keeps working at her job, will her earnings count toward that $14,640? Also, would distributions from my Thrift Savings Plan count toward it? A. Reg: The Social Security earnings limit applies only to your own earnings from wages and self-employment, not anything else. Mike: Your TSP distributions do not count as earned income.

Q. I will be 64 this year and am considering retirement as a Senate employee. If I retire and begin my annuity from FERS, can I be employed part time and not lose any of my annuity or benefits if I earn less than the earnings limit set by Social Security? A. With rare exception, if you retire and are re-employed by the federal government, the salary of your new position will be reduced by the amount of your annuity. So, before you accept another position, you’ll need to find out if it is exempted from this basic provision of…

Q. I am a CSRS Offset retiree. I retired last year and have been collecting my retirement check monthly since October 2011. Starting this month, I noticed that my retirement check is being reduced by $975. I called the Office of Personnel Management, and they told me I am at the age for collecting my Social Security offset retirement as part of my CSRS retirement. I explained to them I have elected to keep working for another year or so and will not apply for Social Security. I’ve also been advised by other folks that you cannot collect Social Security…

Q. I have 40 quarters of private-sector experience to qualify for Social Security. I will be 61 years old in October. I want to start collecting my Social Security at age 62. I am in CSRS. I had 30 years on June 3. Will I be able to get my full benefit of Social Security at age 62 and still work in my federal job? Also, I have had problems figuring out how much I will eventually get from Social Security when I retire due to the windfall elimination provision. I have all of my earning statements from the Social…

Q. I’m a federal employee with 22 years’ service, GS-15, turning 60 this month, in FERS, and deciding whether to retire Dec. 29, 2012, or Jan. 12, 2013. I understand I will be paid a lump sum for my leave over and above 240 hours in either case (I expect to have an additional 200 or so), but I’m concerned about two Social Security issues: Since my lump-sum payment will exceed the earnings limit for the retirement supplemental, will that payment after Jan. 1 reduce my supplemental SS payment in 2013? Will Social Security taxes be taken out of my…

Q. I plan to retire in 2½ years on Dec 31, 2014 (at age 60) from federal civil service under CSRS Offset with 33 years of service. I am contemplating working a part-time job, nonfederal employment, but wondered if I will have my annuity reduced due to additional earnings. Also, is there a maximum dollar amount I am allowed to earn annually beyond what I am paid in my retirement annuity before my retirement is reduced?  FYI, I worked four years federal service with an interim break of about five years before re-entering federal service for what will be 27…

Q. If I retire at age 51 with 27 years as a federal law enforcement officer and the FERS special retirement supplement is reduced by 5 percent per year that I am under age 62, does that then mean the FERS SRS will increase by 5 percent each year until I reach the age of 62 when Social Security actually kicks in? A. You’ll be happy to know that there won’t be any reduction in the special retirement supplement when you retire. Nor will there be any reduction in your annuity. As a special category employee, you are exempt from…

Q. I am now retired from federal civil service under CSRS with 33 years of service. I have contemplated working a part-time job, nonfederal employment, and maybe becoming self-employed but wondered if I will have my annuity reduced due to additional earnings. Also, is there a maximum dollar amount I am allowed to earn annually beyond what I am paid in my retirement annuity before my retirement is reduced? A. As long as you aren’t re-employed by the federal government, you can make as much as you want without it affecting your CSRS annuity.

Q. I am a disabled retiree, retired by the Army at 60 percent with 19 years, 11 months and 18 days of service. I am a FERS employee with 10 years’ civil service. I am 63 and considering retirement and buying back my military time. As 90 percent of my pay comes from the Veterans Affairs Department, it seems like a good idea. How does the Catch-62 clause affect me when I file for my Social Security? Will any other areas be affected by buying back my military time? How do these rules affect me if I work after I…