Q: I am a 53-year-old military technician who has a Service Computation Date of 28 years civil service under FERS. I just lost my military position due to a medical condition. I applied for a FERS medical disability due to loss of my position for medical reasons and was denied because I qualify for Discontinued Service Retirement. Since I haven’t reached my MRA of 56, should I still be retired under a medical disability? If I don’t qualify for a medical and retire under a DSR, will I receive the Social Security supplement, or will I have to wait until…
Browsing: SOCIAL SECURITY
Q: I found the following information on the OPM website: After the first 12 months, 40 percent of your high-3 average salary minus 60 percent of your Social Security benefit for any month in which you are entitled to Social Security disability benefits. However, you are entitled to your “earned” annuity, if it is larger than this amount. Does this mean that if my normal annuity would be higher than the subtracted amount then there would be no offset for Social Security? A: No, it doesn’t. The offset will still be 60 percent of your Social Security benefit, regardless of…
Q: When I started receiving Social Security retirement, my Social Security employment history was just under 30 years and so a modest WEP was applied to my benefits. Early the next year, with my 30th year W2 in hand, I was able to have my Social Security benefits recalculated to an amount absent the WEP. I also have a modest CSRS pension from about 11.5 years of service. When I reached age 62, but before I began taking Social Security benefits, a CSRS offset was applied, as I understand is a requirement of law. However, now that it can be…
Q: I am 62 years old, and my Federal Employees Retirement System disability retirement benefit has been recalculated to a regular annuity. I am still on Social Security disability. Will Social Security offset the amount that I will be getting in my annuity? A: No, it won’t.
Q: I recently went into the Social Security office and was given three different answers by three different people regarding offsets and the windfall elimination provision. I received an increase in my Social Security monthly payment for 2011 based on my 2009 earnings. In 2009, I made more then the minimum and qualified for another year (26 years now) toward my 30-year full exemption from the offset and windfall, so should Social Security also have given me an additional 5 percent because I now have one more year of substantial earnings toward my 30-year exemption? I was told by the…
Q: My question deals with my wife’s Social Security survivor benefit upon my death. I am 70 years old and my wife is 68. Both of us started taking Social Security when we were 62. I receive $1,663 in gross Social Security payments a month, and my wife receives $136. I worked in private industry and retired. My wife worked for the Defense Department and retired under the Civil Service Retirement System, never paying into Social Security. My question is, with these figures, if I died today, what would my wife be entitled to? A: Any Social Security spousal benefit…
Q: A friend told me that her monthly Social Security benefit was reduced by $250 because of the profits made from the sale of a house that she inherited from her mother. Can this be true? A: The Social Security earnings limit only applies to earnings from wages or self-employment, and then only for those individuals who haven’t reached full retirement age. In the ordinary course of events, income received through the sale of a home wouldn’t be considered to be earnings. However, if she reported any portion of the proceeds as earnings on her federal income tax return (because…
Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System Offset retiree (15 years in offset) and turned 62 in October. I [was] scheduled to receive my first Social Security benefit Dec. 22. I have contacted the Office of Personnel Management on several occasions requesting to know how much my annuity will be offset, but no one seems to know. My annuity still has not changed. Is it normal for OPM to be late in changing (offsetting) annuities of CSRS Offset retirees? How will overpayments of my annuity be handled? A: Because you aren’t due for your first Social Security benefit check…
Q: I retired at age 52 under a Federal Employees Retirement System law enforcement (1811) retirement. I am now 55 and am employed. I generally understand the earnings test that will apply to my FERS supplement beginning the year I reach my minimum retirement age, but I am not clear how it is calculated the first year. I will reach my MRA in 2011 at the age of 56. Are my earnings for the entire year of 2011 calculated, or do they only calculate the earnings after I turn 56? I have not been able to get an answer from…
Q: I was hired after 1983 to a nonmilitary position. I left federal employment with a 40 percent Federal Employees Retirement System disability annuity. I was recently approved for Social Security disability. It is my understanding that per Federal Law 5 U.S.C. 8452(a)(2) that my monthly FERS disability check will be reduced by 60 percent of my Social Security disability benefit. That doesn’t seem fair. Isn’t there a bill pending in Congress that repeals this? Do you know which bill I should refer to when I contact my Congressman? A: That’s the law and, to the best of my knowledge, no…