Q. I qualify for a buyout with 25-plus years of service. If I take the buyout, it is my understanding that I must wait until my normal minimum retirement age of 56 to begin receiving the Social Security supplement. Would this prevent me from receiving increases in Social Security supplemental benefits that I would have received had I waited until 56 to retire? I believe I would get the increases at 62, in any event, when I could first draw reduced SS benefits. Also, what happens to my Thrift Savings Plan account? May I purchase an immediate annuity and/or take a…
Browsing: special retirement supplement
Q. I am 59 with 23 years’ service under FERS. If I retire now, will I receive the special retirement supplement of 50 percent of expected SSI until 62? A. If you retire now, you won’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement and you’ll be subject to the 5 percent per year penalty for being younger than 62 because you’d be retiring under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with between 10 and 29 years of service). If you want to avoid the age penalty and receive the SRS, wait until you reach age 60 to retire.
Q. I am a disabled retiree, retired by the Army at 60 percent with 19 years, 11 months and 18 days of service. I am a FERS employee with 10 years’ civil service. I am 63 and considering retirement and buying back my military time. As 90 percent of my pay comes from the Veterans Affairs Department, it seems like a good idea. How does the Catch-62 clause affect me when I file for my Social Security? Will any other areas be affected by buying back my military time? How do these rules affect me if I work after I…
Q. I’m planning to retire under the FERS MRA+10 provisions at age 59, with 27 years of continuous federal service. I have the option to take an immediate annuity or to postpone receipt of my annuity until age 60 to avoid part of the age reduction penalty for early retirement: 5 percent per year for each year under age 62. Do I understand the following alternatives correctly? By taking the immediate annuity at age 59, I would be penalized 15 percent, but only for one year, until I turn 60. If I postpone until age 60, there would be no penalty to my annuity. Also, if I take the immediate…
Q. I’m a Defense Department employee under FERS. I have about five years before I can retire. I would like to apply for special pay or Social Security when I retire. Would that affect my being able to work part time, or would I have a limit placed on my income? A. If by special pay you mean the special retirement supplement, you don’t have to apply for it. It will automatically be added to your annuity when it is finalized. Moving on, both the SRS and the Social Security benefit are subject to the Social Security earnings limit. If you have…
Q. I’m a FERS postal worker. My in-service date is Nov. 20, 1984, and my birthday is April 17, 1957. I have 2,080 hours of sick leave. Do I have to wait until Nov. 20, 2014, to retire and receive my Social Security supplement, or, on Jan. 1, 2014, will my sick leave count toward my service time? A. Sick leave cannot be used to make you eligible to retire. It can be added only after you have met the age and service requirements. Then it will be included in the computation of your annuity.
Q. I need clarification regarding the blog “2012 outlook eases slightly with COLA’s return” and the FERS annuity supplement. If I retire under FERS with 6c law enforcement coverage at age 51 and my minimum retirement age is 57, at what time will I be subject to the earnings test and my supplement reduced if my earnings exceed the permitted amount? Your comments about “two exceptions” make it sound as though those under 6c are not subject to the earnings test at all, before or after the minimum retirement age. Yet your last sentence, “In either case, when you reach…
Q. I have 30 years of federal service: two years in CSRS, in which I did not get a retirement refund; four years in the Coast Guard, where I made a deposit for my time; and 24 years under FERS. When I retire under FERS at my minimum retirement age, 56, will the two years under CSRS be considered FERS and used toward my special retirement supplement calculation? A. Yes, because those two years were automatically converted to FERS time. If you had worked under CSRS for five or more years, they wouldn’t have been. Instead, you’d have a CSRS…
Q. For early retirement before age 62, what are the requirements to qualify for the special retirement supplement? How is the SRS amount calculated? If I apply for the SRS, will it reduce my benefit when I apply for Social Security at age 62 or 67? A. If you retire under a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay, you would be entitled to receive the SRS when you reach your minimum retirement age. The SRS will continue until age 62, when you are eligible for a Social Security benefit, whether or not you apply for it. Receiving the SRS, which is…
Q. I am a federal air traffic controller facing forced retirement at age 56. There is a Social Security “bridge” supplement to cover the gap between 56 and the age when I can draw full Social Security. Is any portion of my retirement subject to earning restrictions? A. Yes. Your special retirement supplement will be reduced or suspended if you earn more from wages or self-employment in a calendar year than the annual Social Security earnings limit. In 2012, that limit is $14,640.