Q. I am a retired GS-1811 (federal law enforcement) CSRS retiree (2005) with 25 years civil service and 7 years military I bought back. I’m 59 now and when I reach 62 or older and want to collect Social Security, I know my CSRS retirement will be reduced, but by how much? I used SSA.gov/estimator and got the figures, but there was no place to enter the fact I have a federal retirement. Do the figures I received on SSA.gov/estimator already factor my federal law enforcement retirement?
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Q. I worked for an independent federal agency from 1977 to 1989, which had its own retirement system that was neither CSRS nor FERS. I had a break in service for one year then returned to work for the federal government (Transportation Department), where I was erroneously placed in FERS by human resources. In 2006, following a FERCCA ruling that took over 2½ years, I chose to be placed in CSRS Offset rather than FERS. I paid Social Security as a federal employee (plus through part-time jobs dating back to 1970) until I retired in 2010 with 32 years of service. I…
Q. I worked in the Postal Service from 1970 to 1977. I got back my retirement money, almost $5,000. I started working for the Veterans Affairs Department Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1994 and was put in the CSRS Offset program. As of May, I will have been here for 19 years. I paid back my two years of military time. I asked someone in personnel whether I should pay back my Postal Service time and she said no. She said that some of your money comes from the Offset and some from Social Security. She said…
Q. I am a postal employee in FERS. I received a document from my human resources department, which states that my retirement eligibility date is May 19, 2016 (I was born in 1960). Does this mean I will receive the special retirement supplement even though I began employment with the Postal Service on Feb. 8, 1988, which only gives me 28 years of service time? I thought the FERS annuity supplement had the requirement of 30 years service time and age 56 for me. I have to make a decision by Dec. 3 as to whether or not to take…
Q. Is the cost-of-living adjustment computation made before or after the survivor annuity reduction is made? If I retired with a $50,000 retirement, approximately $5,000 per year would be deducted. Would the increase be adjusted to the $50,000 amount or the $45,000 amount? A. Cost-of-living adjustments are only made to your base annuity, not the amount you would have received if you hadn’t elected a survivor annuity.
Q. I am an 82-year-old CSRS retiree who wants to know what benefits would be available to a new spouse age 19 if a man my age were to marry that age woman. Would she receive an annuity, and what percentage, based on my annuity? A. There would be two reductions in your annuity to pay for the survivor benefit. One would be the standard reduction to provide a survivor annuity (approximately 10 percent of your unreduced annuity). Second would be a permanent actuarial reduction to pay the survivor benefit deposit. That deposit equals the difference between the new annuity…
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 retired from the Veterans Affairs Department two years ago after 35 years of service. My service was interrupted for several years and, when I came back, it was under the CSRS Offset plan. I will turn 62 in October, but I do not want to start drawing my Social Security at that time. Will my retirement check be cut (the offset amount) even if I do not choose to start drawing my Social Security? A. The law is clear. When you become eligible for a Social Security benefit at age 62, your CSRS annuity will be reduced by…
Q. I retired in 2002 with 32 years of service and receiving a CSRS annuity. I am 65 and do not have the required 40 quarters to collect Social Security. My retirement annuity is being reduced for “full surviving spouse’s annuity.” Will my wife, who is 61 and plans to draw Social Security next year (over $600 a month), be able to draw her full Social Security and the CSRS survivor annuity even though I was not eligible for Social Security, if I pass away before her? A. Yes, she would be able to receive both with no reduction in either…
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…