Q: I know that I can draw my Federal Employees Retirement System annuity and my Social Security benefits. My question is, will my Social Security benefits be reduced if my annuity is more than the yearly limit of $1,480? A: The Social Security earnings limit only applies to earnings from wages or self-employment, not what you receive in your annuity. In 2010 and 2011, the earnings limit is $14,160.
Browsing: SOCIAL SECURITY
Q: Will federal retirees who pay Medicare through their federal pension because they have insufficient Social Security quarters ever receive a refund and correction for an improper raise in Medicare premiums in 2010? We, too, received no cost-of-living allowances. A: There wasn’t any “improper raise.” What you are referring to is the fact that when there wasn’t any cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits in 2010, an increase in Medicare premiums for Social Security beneficiaries was prohibited under the “hold harmless” provision of that law. On the other hand, there wasn’t any legal restriction to the required increase in premiums…
Q: I am a federal employee covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System. I am also paying Social Security taxes. Would I receive 100 percent of my retirement from both systems given that I retired at the stipulated age? Will my Social Security pension change my FERS pension? A: If you retire on an immediate annuity after reaching the right combination of age and service (62 years old with five years of service, 60 with 20, or at your minimum retirement age with 30), you’ll receive an unreduced FERS annuity and, if you retire before age 62, the special retirement…
Q: I am a federal employee and I am also receiving Social Security benefits. I understand that when I retire and start receiving my civil service annuity, my monthly Social Security benefits will be recalculated because of the windfall elimination provision. At the time I started receiving Social Security, my number of years of substantial earnings for WEP purposes was 23. Because I am a Federal Employees Retirement System transferee, my current salary is subject to FICA. Will the years subsequent to the initial receipt of Social Security will be added to my 23 years? In other words, if I…
Q: I have 33 years under the Civil Service Retirement System. Prior to that, I was with a private company and completed 32 quarters under Social Security. I will be 70 years old in June. My separation notice under the Base Closure and Realignment Act will be issued in June, and I will have to leave my job by Sept. 15. What are my best options to qualify for Social Security (40 quarters)? I understand there will be offset payments. Should I continue work two more years, finding another job after Sept. 15, and forget Social Security? A: You can…
Q: I’m a disabled federal retiree drawing a federal retirement. I paid into Social Security while on National Guard status for 30 years. I’m currently working and paying into Social Security and will have enough quarters to draw Social Security payments at age 62. I understand there is an offset that will apply to my retirement. I have received a Social Security statement every year; my past statement shows I will draw around $750 at age 62. Is this my retirement amount after the offset, or do I need to reduce this amount by the offset amount? If that’s the…
Q: My husband was federal technician and served in the Air National Guard. The military discharged him because of health reasons. So he lost his federal technician job. He now receives Civil Service Retirement System disability benefits. He applied for Social Security disability. Social Security counts his CSRS disability as a public disability, so his benefit is offset and his payment is reduced to $31.00 a month. Now that he is over age 55, can he change his CSRS retirement to a CSRS annuity or discontinued service retirement? Social Security stated that if he is receiving a CSRS annuity or…
Q: What percentage of my benefits are lost if I miss paying into Social Security for two years? A: Unknown and possibly unknowable. Social Security benefits are calculated like federal retirement benefits. They are based on the total number of years of Social Security-covered employment, not to exceed 35. The dollar amount of your actual earnings during those years, stated in constant dollars, is then used to determine your average indexed monthly earnings, or AIME, which is then plugged into the Social Security formula. The Social Security Administration has a number of benefits calculators here that you can plug your own…
Q: After reading all the horror stories about the windfall elimination provision and Social Security demanding payback of erroneous payments, I’m writing to verify my Civil Service Retirement System Offset and WEP reductions. I have 22 years of CSRS service, from 1973 to 1995, put in 13-plus years of nonfederal work, and then was re-employed with the federal government as a CSRS Offset employee in 2008. I plan to retire at 62 with 27 years, 8 months of federal service, with about five years of that under CSRS offset. My personnel office says that I am not subject to the…
Q: Is the Federal Employees Retirement System supplement (Social Security) sent to retirees as a separate payment, or is it combined with the annuity? A: The special retirement supplement is included in a retiree’s monthly annuity payment.