Q. I retired three years ago under CSRS Offset LEO. I had 20.5 years under CSRS offset, five years under regular CSRS, six years military time, which I brought back and paid Social Security. Additionally, I have contributed another three to four years to the Social Security system. During this time I had significant earnings. Due to my military injuries I have decided to go on Social Security Disability. I’m 53. Will my federal annuity be reduced? I have been told by several people that it won’t. What is the deal? A. Your CSRS annuity won’t be reduced until age…
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Q. On March 16th you answered a question with information concerning OPM checking only once to see if you were eligible for Social Security. Would you please expound upon that statement and tell us how that would affect a CSRS employee? I am just a few quarters shy of having 40 quarters and wondering if it means I would be better off waiting until I am 62 before completing the 40 since I will retire from CSRS before I am 62. A. I think you are referring to what’s popularly referred to as “Catch-62.” If a CSRS retiree served on…
Q. I recently reached the mandatory retirement age of 57 while being employed as a criminal investigator (Special Agent) with the U.S. Dept. of Justice – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). I was separated from the federal government due to my age of 57 on April 30, 2009. My gross pay used to be over $150,000 per year. My gross retirement pay, after over 25 years of service, is now $73,000 per year. I would like to apply for other federal jobs that I see advertised but am under the impression that I cannot because I am…
Q: My wife died last year. She was a retired educator with more than 30 years of service. She turned 60 in December 2009. She also had been receiving Social Security disability for almost two years before she died. I will be turning 61 in 2010; however I am still working with more than 30 years of federal service under CSRS. I am an outset employee because I left the federal government for two years and have been back since Jan. 6, 2009. Can I received her Social Security at age 62 and delay drawing mine until I am 65?…
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.
Q: I recently retired at age 56, air traffic control mandatory retirement, with 36 years in the Civil Service Retirement System. A desirable position for which I am qualified has become available with a local Transportation Security Administration unit. If rehired at TSA, would I be under the Federal Employees Retirement System or CSRS? If I’m under FERS, could I retain full CSRS annuity? If rehired into CSRS, what are some factors to consider: annual leave rate, recomputation of CSRS annuity, etc.? I would like to work until age 62, when my wife can retire and would be very close to maximum…
Q: In your Jan. 25 article “New year, same COLA,” you say that the Social Security withholding stays at $106,800, and that “if you are a Federal Employees Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee, any amount you earn above that amount won’t be subject to the 6.2 percent Social Security deduction.” However, I am a GS-810-14, Step 10, Forest Service employee under CSRS Offset and the National Finance Center withholds Social Security from my paycheck for the entire year. Withholding from my paycheck doesn’t cease at the $106,800 limit. This seems contradictory to what the article states.…
Q: Please clarify/elaborate on your response concerning a lifetime limit of 3,120 hours for rehired annuitants working without an offset in annuity payments. I am employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency, under the Federal Employees Retirement System as a contract specialist (GG-1102). DIA’s human resources department has informed me that I can continue to work as a rehired annuitant for up to five years without any offset in my annuity. I have had this same information provided by the Air Force human resources department. Is there a special exemption for GG-1102 positions, given that there is an accurate shortage of…
Q: Has the retired annuitant act — which proposes allowing federal employees to retire and work part-time as a retired federal employee without an offset of your pension — been passed into law? Where can I find more information on this subject? A: That provision was included in Public Law 111-84, which was signed by the president at the end of October.
Q. I would like a clarification. Would I receive separate payments for my Federal Employees Retirement System retirement, military retired pay, military disability and Social Security? Or will some or all potentially be offset? This is with the scenario that I do not sell back my military time and waive retired pay. Reading the below, I believe the answer is yes, but I just want to make sure for my long-range planning. Selling back military time Question: I am retired from the Army and receive both retired pay and disability pay. I am also a civilian employee under the Federal…