Q. I am retired under a combination of CSRS (14 years) and FERS (12 years). My CSRS annuity is $3,000 a month and my Social Security is $600 a month. If my spouse dies, can I get any part of his $1,600 monthly Social Security? A. If you are a federal retiree who elected to switch from the Civil Service Retirement System to the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) on or before June 30, 1988 or you if you switched after that date, including during the open season from July 1, 1998, through December 31, 1998, the fact that you had at least…
Browsing: FERS
Q. I am currently 54 years old under FERS and considering early retirement in the next 3 – 4 years. I am also retired from the military and bought my service time. I currently do not carry any Federal Health Care Benefit; I use my military benefit. Once I retire from federal civilian service my retirement pay from the military will stop; does this have any effect on my military health benefits? A. It’s my understanding that waiving your military retired pay will not affect any other military benefits to which you are entitled; however, to be sure, you’d need to…
Q. What happens to the special retirement supplement if I worked until age 62? … even though I am eligible to retire at age 56, with 31 years of service? Do I lose the SRS completely? It would total about $106,000 between ages 56-62. A. The only purpose of the special retirement supplement is to help a FERS retiree bridge the gap between his retirement and his eligibility for a Social Security benefit. It you work until age 62, you won’t get it or need it. Note: Even if you were to retire before age 62, began receiving the SRS, and had earnings…
Q. I am a FERS employee and I plan to retire in the near future. As I have a CSRS component, I will be impacted by the Windfall Elimination Provision when I begin to draw Social Security. As my spouse is also a FERS employee, it is possible that my spouse benefit for Social Security may exceed my own benefits. I will turn 62 eight years before my spouse. And we both plan to draw Social Security when we each turn 62, respectively. I understand that I will not be eligible for a spouse Social Security benefit until my wife…
Q. My problem, as noted below, is that I have combined legislative, military and federal service. I purchased my military service years ago, while in the legislative branch. I know the legislative branch calculates their annuity at a higher rate than do other federal agencies. I’m not sure what that rate is and I have yet to find a calculator that can factor in the combined time/pay to come up with a annuity estimate. My question is, how is legislative service calculated and how is it factored into my ultimate annuity? For the sake of discussion, my basic info is…
Q: I plan to retire at 60 years old with FERS. If I take the lump sum, will my health insurance still be valid and will the agency still pay its portion? Please give all scenarios (even the bad ones). A: I assume by “lump sum,” you mean accepting a Voluntary Separation Incentives Payment. If I’m right about that, you are eligible to retire, and you have been continuously enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program for the five years before you retire, you will be able to continue that coverage in retirement. If you are an employee of…
Q: I am a federal law enforcement officer covered by FERS with more than 20 years of service under FERS, but I have not reached the minimum retirement age of 50. Due to plans to transfer me, I must either separate myself from my family, find another job or retire early. My question concerns the viability of the early retirement option. If I retire at 47 with more than 20 years as a federal LEO, what happens? Do my benefits get deferred and, if so, to when? Is there also a financial penalty and, if so, how much? A: You…
Q: My wife only worked for 11 years and based on the annual statements she receives from the Social Security Administration, she can only expect to receive about $300 a month at age 62. She is 5 years older than me and I plan on retiring under FERS at age 60 and drawing my Social Security at 62. Recently someone mentioned if her full amount was less than half mine she would get half of mine. This sounds like a better deal, but trying to get the facts on this from the SSA Web site without a background in cryptography…
Q: As a federal firefighter retiring under FRES at the mandatory age of 57, can I continue working in another agency? For instant, transferring into fire prevention, which does not apply to the mandatory retirement or to another federal agency outside of the federal fire service. If so, would I still receive the firefighter retirement computation? A: Once you have 20 years of covered service, you have locked in your eligibility to retire under the more generous computation formula for firefighters. You can continue working where you are in any job or work for another federal agency without affecting that…
Q: I am retiring soon under the Federal Employees Retirement System and my spouse is already retired under the Civil Service Retirement System. Should I die before her, will she be able to collect unreduced Social Security survivor’s benefits? A: No, she won’t. Her survivor benefit will be subject to the government pension offset provision of the law, which will reduce that benefit by $2 for every $3 she receives in her CSRS annuity.