Q. How can I find out the total value of my CSRS pension? Is there a methodology or interactive tool online where I enter my annual earnings throughout my career and a value is produced? I am a few years away from retirement and, from my annual personal benefits statement, I see my estimated monthly annuity based on options for when I retire and what survivor benefit I choose. But what is the total value today: past contributions + interest? My situation: totally CSRS (no FERS), no break in service, no extra contributions or withdrawals, just a straight 30 years…
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Q. I retired on a FERS pension in August 2008. I also began receiving the FERS special retirement supplement as of the payment made Jan. 4, 2010. I obtained a job in the private sector on April 12, 2011, but was laid off on Feb. 28, 2012. I will have received unemployment insurance benefits from mid-March through this month. My special retirement supplement was offset by earnings over the annual exempt amount in 2011. (The “overpayment” is being deducted from my current FERS supplement payment.) My earnings in 2012 are well under the annual exempt amount. Is the special retirement supplement offset by unemployment…
Q. My wife and I are retired. My wife has both a small civil service pension and Social Security. I had 30-plus years of Social Security earnings when I retired in 1998. If I survive my wife, will the reduced amount I would receive from her government pension affect my Social Security payment? I am asking about Government Offset Pension rules. A. The government pension offset applies only to the spousal Social Security benefit of someone receiving an annuity from a retirement system where he or she didn’t pay Social Security taxes, such as CSRS. It doesn’t apply to the earned Social Security benefit of…
Q. I qualify for a buyout with 25-plus years of service. If I take the buyout, it is my understanding that I must wait until my normal minimum retirement age of 56 to begin receiving the Social Security supplement. Would this prevent me from receiving increases in Social Security supplemental benefits that I would have received had I waited until 56 to retire? I believe I would get the increases at 62, in any event, when I could first draw reduced SS benefits. Also, what happens to my Thrift Savings Plan account? May I purchase an immediate annuity and/or take a…
Q. I plan to retire Nov. 2, 2013. I will be 66 years old, with 37 years of service. I am CSRS Offset for 30 of those years. I withdrew approximately $9,000 in 1982 (CSRS earnings) and will not be repaying it. (It’s now about $55,000 with a penalty of about $300 per month.) I know my retirement will be “offset” by about $800 in Social Security. My Social Security is estimated to be about $1,460 before the offset. Will I be able to collect the Social Security difference of approximately $600, or is my CSRS offset all that I’ll…
Q. Having read the Office of Personnel Management’s Retirement Fact 13, I am still somewhat confused. If I retire at 62 with over 32 years of service under CSRS Offset, and the CSRS calculation comes out to $5,000 per month with a Social Security amount with federal earnings (Computation 2) being $500 per month, and the Social Security Administration indicates my Social Security benefit with federal service is $1,500 and $800 without federal service (Computation 1), what would my monthly annuity be from CSRS and what would be the benefit amount from Social Security? A. The closest you’ll be able…
Q. I am eligible to retire in July (CSRS). In the event I retired and subsequently went to work in private industry, would my pension be subject to any form of offset based on those earnings? A. No.
Q. Can my wife and I use spousal benefits twice? I am a much higher earner and 3½ years older than my wife. My wife starts collecting benefits on her earnings at age 62. I simultaneously start collecting spouse benefits at age 65½. I start collecting benefits on my earnings at age 70 and my wife switches to spouse benefits at that time. Does this work? Will the earlier benefits based on wife’s earnings reduce the benefits based on my earnings at age 70? A. You’ll need to ask the Social Security Administration. Call them at 1-800-772-1213 and talk to one…
Q: A friend told me that her monthly Social Security benefit was reduced by $250 because of the profits made from the sale of a house that she inherited from her mother. Can this be true? A: The Social Security earnings limit only applies to earnings from wages or self-employment, and then only for those individuals who haven’t reached full retirement age. In the ordinary course of events, income received through the sale of a home wouldn’t be considered to be earnings. However, if she reported any portion of the proceeds as earnings on her federal income tax return (because…
Q: On www.ssa.gov/retire2/military.htm#2002 it states that between the years 1957 and 2001 Special Extra Earnings can be credited to your Social Security benefit for active-duty military service between the above mentioned years. Will this affect an adjustment to a CSRS annuity? My Post 56 payment was paid in full in 1986 to avoid interest payments. A: No, it won’t.