Q: I am retiring soon under the Federal Employees Retirement System and my spouse is already retired under the Civil Service Retirement System. Should I die before her, will she be able to collect unreduced Social Security survivor’s benefits? A: No, she won’t. Her survivor benefit will be subject to the government pension offset provision of the law, which will reduce that benefit by $2 for every $3 she receives in her CSRS annuity.
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Q: What is this Special Retirement Supplement check? I have been retired since 2002 from the Veterans Affairs Department and receive my retirement pay from the Civil Service Retirement System. A: There isn’t any check. The Special Retirement Supplement approximates the Social Security benefit earned by employees who were covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System and is included in their annuities. It’s intended to bridge the gap between the age at which they retire and age 62, when they become eligible for a Social Security benefit.
Q: As a federal firefighter covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System, I have to retire at age 57. I have been told that that under FERS, we get a Social Security supplement and as such we are limited in what we can earn after retirement. Is this true? I know that when one retires and draws Social Security, one is limited to $14,160 per year in earnings from other sources. Is this the case when we are forced to retire at 57? A: Yes, it is. In 2010, if you were to earn more than $14,160 from wages or…
Q: Could you tell me if the payout on Base Closure and Realignment Leave and the payout for annual leave is the same? I was told that the BRAC payout is taxed at a higher rate. A. Both are taxed at the same rate. The IRS considers lump-sum payments to be regular income, with deductions being taken out for federal taxes and, where applicable, state taxes and Social Security.
Q: I a Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee and I am trying to decide whether to retire Dec. 31, 2010, or Jan. 1 2011. I am in the Senior Executive Service and will have over 800 hours of annual leave for a lump-sum payout. If I retire Dec. 31, is that lump sum considered part of 2010 income or 2011? I believe I will not pay Social Security tax on the lump sum if it falls in 2010, since I usually have this covered by September of each year. A: Your lump-sum payment is considered to be earned income…
Q: Is the $14,160 earning limit on early retirement gross, or net? I am self-employed and have expenses. I do not net more than $14,000. A: The earning limit is the gross amount of your income, not the net.
Q: In your Jan. 25 article “New year, same COLA,” you say that the Social Security withholding stays at $106,800, and that “if you are a Federal Employees Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee, any amount you earn above that amount won’t be subject to the 6.2 percent Social Security deduction.” However, I am a GS-810-14, Step 10, Forest Service employee under CSRS Offset and the National Finance Center withholds Social Security from my paycheck for the entire year. Withholding from my paycheck doesn’t cease at the $106,800 limit. This seems contradictory to what the article states.…
For employees, 2010 is a mixed year for benefits. For retirees, it’s pretty much a bust. General Schedule employees received a 2 percent pay increase, with 1.5 percent going to all employees and the remainder being distributed through locality pay. If you want to compare how you made out against employees in other areas, go to the Salaries and Wages page on the Office of Personnel Management Web site. The maximum taxable earnings for Social Security withholding stay at the 2009 level — $106,800. So, if you are a Federal Employees Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee,…
Q. I have never been able to find the formula for calculating the FERS Special Supplement for those employees who retire at their minimum retirement age under FERS. As I transferred from CSRS to FERS during a previous open season, I would like to know if the Windfall Eliminations Provision is applied when calculating the Special Supplement. I will have less than 20 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. So will the 40 percent multiplier (rather than 90 percent) be applied to the first component of my Social Security calculation? A. The WEP doesn’t apply to the special retirement…
Q: Can you apply for Social Security disability after you have retired under the Federal Employees Retirement System from the Postal Service, or should you have applied for disability under Social Security before your retired? Also, does Social Security request your medical information from your doctors, or do you have to get this information to them yourself? A: If you are applying for disability retirement under FERS, you have to apply for Social Security disability benefits. If you don’t, the Office of Personnel Management won’t process your application. If you are retiring on a nondisability annuity, you may apply for…