Q: If I choose to take the Social Security supplement, is it true you get 75 percent of what you are eligible for at the age of 62? At the age of 62, will my benefit be reduced because I drew dollars from there? If so, how much? Example: If my SS statement says $1,000.00 at the age of 62, will I receive $750.00 each month? At the age of 62, will I receive $1,000.00 each month? Thank you. A: First, you don’t have a choice. If you are eligible for the special retirement supplement, you’ll receive it in your…
Browsing: special retirement supplement
Q: Does the SRS that I receive at MRA come out of my Social Security benefits? And, if so, would that mean my benefits at 62 would be reduced since I would have received a portion beforehand? A: No. The special retirement supplement is designed to bridge the gap between the point when you start receiving it and age 62 when you are first eligible for a Social Security benefit. The SRS is paid out of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, not from the Social Security Trust Fund.
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 will retire on Sept. 30. Does the federal salary I earned the first nine months of this year count against the special retirement supplement? Or will only future earnings count towards the annual Social Security earnings limitation? A. Because of what’s called “the first year rule,” in most cases your special retirement supplement won’t be affected by your earlier earning. To see how it would play out in your case, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10069.html.
Q. I’m in a LEO job 26 years, 51 years old. (started when I was 25). If I retire now, I’m entitled to the supplement (provided by OPM, not Social Security), yet it is computed on my 26 years of federal service divided by 40. My question is what happens to my five years of Social Security service prior to my 26 more years of SSA service? A. The special retirement supplement is designed to approximates the Social Security benefit you earned while employed under FERS and is paid out of the civil service retirement fund. While non-FERS Social Security-covered…
Q. I am a federal employee with 35 years of service. I switched to FERS in 1987, and have been working continuously. I am age 56 1/2, I have reached my MRA and would like to retire. My spouse worked his entire life and contributed to Social Security, but now at age 60 has been disabled and is drawing Social Security disability. My question regards the “special retirement supplement.” When would I start receiving it, and will it be reduced because of my spouse’s situation? A. You’d receive the special retirement supplement concurrently with your annuity. It would approximate the Social…
Q: I will have completed 20 years under the Federal Employees Retirement System in mid-2015 at the age of 58. Because I wish to continue contributing to and receiving Federal Employees Health Benefit, I do not want to go the deferred annuity route. If I retire with 20 years service at age 58, will I be able to receive my annuity and the special supplement until age 62? If so, will I be able to work in a private sector job and still receive my annuity and supplement? A: You aren’t eligible to retire. Unless you are a law enforcement…
Q: If offered an early out by an agency, which presumably would allow for the special supplement to apply (the Office of Personnel Management website only says you “may” be entitled to), how is that computed? From what I read on the OPM website, the base amount figured on a 40 year pay into Social Security divided into the number of years of Federal Employees Retirement System service (in my case 24/40). Does the base figure assume I paid into Social Security up through 62 years of age (even though I haven’t); or the figure what I actually have paid…
Q: I retired at the end of 2007 but continued to work part time until February . I “failed” my first earnings test in June 2009, and my supplement was suspended that August. My earnings for 2009 were similar to 2008, but my earnings for 2010 will be below the threshold for a supplement reduction. When and how will my supplement get turned back on? A: According to the Office of Personnel Management, special retirement supplements are reviewed when it receives information on the annual survey they sent to retirees or from either the Social Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service…
Q: Why are Federal Employees Retirement System retirees penalized for wanting to work? Why does a rule apply to our retirement when the money does not come from Supplemental Security Income? I have worked for over 30 years and I should receive my retirement check without any penalties or limits. A: Since your FERS annuity cannot be reduced if you continue to work, you must be talking about the special retirement supplement. The SRS approximates the Social Security benefit you earned while employed under FERS, As such, it follows the same rules that apply to a Social Security benefit. If…