Q: I am a Vietnam vet and receive disability payments from the VA based on the illnesses caused by Agent Orange. I was rated at 50 percent. I was in the Army for three years. I also plan to apply for Social Security disability due to other disabilities that are not service related. Will my benefits from the VA be reduced because I do this? A: No.
Browsing: SOCIAL SECURITY
Q: I am a retired CSRS federal employee with 35 years of service. I also earned 40 quarters under Social Security and receive about half of the Social Security benefit I would get if I were not getting CSRS retirement pay. My wife did not work enough to have 40 quarters, but I understand that she is entitled to half my Social Security benefit. Is she entitled to half my nonreduced Social Security, or half my reduced Social Security? A: Her spousal Social Security benefit would be half of your reduced Social Security benefit. If you were to die first,…
Q: I serve in the Air National Guard and as a full-time technician (dual status). I have been nonre-enlisted in the military at 58 and will have to leave the civilian technician position (GS-11) on April 11. My service comp time date is Jan. 18, 2000, which includes a five-year military buyback. Will I be eligible for the Social Security supplement when I leave/retire in April? Basically, if I cannot serve in the military I cannot hold the position. I have a projected income of about $1,200 monthly from Social Security at age 62. I will receive a “guard pension”…
Q: I elected to receive federal workers’ compensation payments in lieu of my federal annuity; I know I cannot receive both, and the workers’ compensation is a higher amount. I have also been receiving Social Security payments. Now the Social Security Administration has informed me that they’ve overpaid me more than $9,000 because, they say, the windfall elimination provision is triggered by my eligibility to receive the federal pension, whether I actually receive it or not. Information on the Social Security Administration website is ambiguous. In at least one place, they say the WEP applies if one “gets” a federal…
Q: I was planning to retire with FERS this year with 30 years of service at age 59. My husband died, so I have had to rethink my plans. My research has shown that I can draw on my husband’s Social Security at a reduced rate when I turn 60 next year and then switch to my Social Security when I turn 66. Will I still be entitled to the special retirement supplement through my retirement and will the supplement drop when I turn 62? A: You will still be able to receive the special retirement supplement until you become…
Q: Can a widow who is drawing her CSRS retirement from the postal service also draw her recently deceased spouse’s Social Security at the same time? A: Because she is receiving an annuity from a retirement system where she didn’t pay Social Security taxes, she will be subject to the government pension offset provision of law. As a result, her Social Security survivor’s benefit will be reduced by $2 for every $3 she receives in her CSRS annuity.
Q: I will retire as a CSRS-Offset participant in December of 2011 with 34 years of federal service and 30 years and six months of “substantial earnings” of Social Security credit. Will I be affected by the WEP? A: No. Although the windfall elimination would apply to you because you’ll be receiving an annuity in part from a retirement system where you didn’t pay Social Security taxes (CSRS, not CSRS Offset), the fact that you have at least 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security will mean that there won’t be any reduction in your Social Security benefit. But…
Q: As a FERS employee, if I take the early age 62 retirement and my wife waits to draw hers until I draw mine (she will be 67 then) will she still receive half of mine if her full benefit is less than half (she has the minimum credits) or do we have to wait until I reach my full retirement age? If she draws hers at 62, would she not get half of mine because I’ll only be 57 and still working? A: You’ll find the answers you’re looking for and more at www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/quickcalc/spouse.html
Q: I have been retired from FERS since 2007. In 2007, I received an estimate of what my Social Security benefits would be at 62. I am now past 62 and have not worked nor have I paid into Social Security for 2008, 2009 or 2010. Will my Social Security benefits be reduced because I have years after 2007 showing no Social Security wages? A: Your Social Security benefit will be based on your average indexed monthly earnings during the time you were employed and paying Social Security taxes, no matter when they occurred. It won’t be reduced because you…
Q: My husband died after 35 years of federal service. I receive a survivor benefit. He had been on workers compensation for about 15 years, so he did not retire per se. When he died they took him off workers compensation and restore him as an employee, so I receive 55 percent of his salary. When I turn 65 will I also be able to receive Social Security. I was not a government employee, but I paid into Social Security. I have heard that because I am receiving a survivors annuity, I will not be able to receive my Social…