Q: I am receiving a CSRS annuity and Social Security. The social security was reduced by WEP. I am now eligible for a supplemental annuity because I worked as a re-employed annuitant for over three years. I will need to pay the deposit in order to get the supplemental annuity. Will the supplemental annuity further reduce my Social Security? If yes, how can I calculate the reduction? I need to know if it will pay me to accept the supplemental annuity. A: No, it will not further reduce your Social Security benefit. That benefit is based solely on your years…
Browsing: SOCIAL SECURITY
Q: I’m a CSRS employee. I am 70 and I have 44 years of federal service. I also have 39 quarters toward Social Security. When I retire, will I receive retirement funds paid in after 41 years, 11 months? Also, if I get another job to get the 40th quarter will my wife and I receive Social Security? A: When you retire, you will be given the option of receiving a refund of any retirement contributions you made after you had 41 years and 11 months of service or of using that money to buy additional annuity that isn’t subject…
Q: I plan to retire as soon as possible after my Dec. 22, 2011, birthday at age 55 with 34 years service. I understand there are special issues this year for those of us retiring at the end of the year and the way the holiday falls this year. I generally carry over 240 hours each year. I currently have more than 3.5 months SL and will be accruing four hours each pay period this year. How will my annuity be affected by the SL? I’m thinking I’d be better off using it. Can you give me a ballpark figure…
Q: I am a 62-year-old federal employee, about to retire under CSRS after 35 years of employment. My husband is 65 and has worked in the private sector for 40 years. He is receiving a monthly Social Security payment. If I elect a survivor benefit for him, would his Social Security benefit be reduced because of the survivor benefit upon my death? A: No, it would not be reduced. He’d be entitled to his earned Social Security benefit and the survivor annuity you elected for him, without a reduction in either.
Q: I am 64. I spent two years in the military from 1975-77. I became employed by the Veterans Administration in 1981 and left in 1991 with about 10 years of creditable service under the Civil Service Retirement System. It is my understanding that at age 62 I could have applied for a deferred annuity, but did not do so. I am employed and anticipate stopping work in three years (age 67-68). Is there any advantage to delaying the initiation of my annuity (as is the case for Social Security)? Will this increase my monthly annuity and any possible spousal…
Q: I am a retired civil service worker. Could someone tell me why I pay more for Medicare than people who draw Social Security? This is plain discrimination. I think it’s time for a class-action lawsuit. A: Those who receive a Social Security benefit are covered by the “hold harmless” provision of the Social Security Act. The law protects more than 70 percent of Social Security beneficiaries from paying a higher Part B premium, in order to avoid reducing their net Social Security benefit. Those not protected include higher income beneficiaries subject to an income-adjusted Part B premium and beneficiaries…
Q: I am FERS and will have 31 years of service with MRA soon. This means I will be paid the Special Retirement Supplement (SRS) at the 70 percent rate (calculated as if I were 62). I was born in 1961, so my full retirement age for Social Security is age 67. SRS is payable until age 62. Can I elect not to start receiving Social Security benefits at age 62? Will a gap in receiving benefits from SRS to Social Security (say I elect age 65 to apply for Social Security) affect my Social Security benefits when I apply…
Q: I am a FERS employee. Which dollar amount or line from the Social Security benefit estimate should be used when doing an estimate for expected Special Retirement Supplement when retiring under age 62? A: The special retirement supplement is based solely on the Social Security benefit you earned while employed under FERS. To estimate what the amount would be, take the Social Security benefit estimate provided to you by the Social Security Administration, multiply it by your years of FERS service rounded up to the next higher year, and divide the product by 40.
Q: Why do spouses get a Social Security check along with their husbands when the spouses never worked a day to pay into it? A: Because that’s the law and has been since it was passed in 1935. While it was assumed that a single retiree or disabled worker could survive on a Social Security benefit, a family could not. Therefore, benefits were extended to the spouses and children of retired or disabled workers.
Q: I retired from the federal government on 12/31/2010 (at age 74) under the CSRS annuity plan. For many years, I also received Social Security benefits. I know there is an “offset” provision and my SS benefit will be reduced substantially. My question is: Will OPM notify SSA of my retirement automatically? Or do I have to tell SSA of my retirement? A: You don’t have to do anything. OPM and the Social Security Administration routinely do computer matches to identify retirees whose work histories require that their Social Security benefits be reduced.