Q: Are the Federal Employees Retirement System and special retirement supplement annuities subject to federal income tax? If they are, and your FERS annuity is greater than $15,000, will the special retirement supplement be reduced? A: The special retirement supplement is subject to federal (and, where applicable, state) taxes. However, your special retirement supplement would only be reduced if you had earnings from wages or self-employment. The Social Security earnings test doesn’t count other sources of income, such as annuities.
Browsing: special retirement supplement
Q: I have been working at the U.S. Postal Service for 26 years. I am 58 years old, and I will retire very shortly. I know that I cannot collect the special retirement supplement under these conditions, but will I start to receive the supplement when I turn 60? Or does retiring under the Minimum Retirement Age +10 provision require me to forfeit the SRS totally? A: No one who retires under the MRA+10 provision is eligible to receive the special retirement supplement. That’s the law.
Q: I have 24 1/2 years with the U.S. Postal Service under FERS. I paid the deposit for seven years of military time and 2 1/2 years with the Federal Aviation Administration. I am 58 and have reached minimum retirement age with 34 years of total service, but only have 24 1/2 years as a FERS employee. Will my Social Security special supplement be calculated to include my military and FAA time of 9 1/2 years? A: Your special retirement supplement will be based solely on the time you were employed under FERS.
Q: I am a Federal Employees Retirement System employee in an 1811 covered position and have been a civilian employee for eight years. I was hired when I was 43 (I’m currently 52). If I retire 12 years from now as an 1811 under the LE retirement provision, I will be 63 years old. Will I be eligible to get the special retirement supplement until I qualify for full Social Security benefits? Full Social Security benefits in my case will be when I reach the age of 66 years, eight months — three years and eight months after I will…
Q: I am a federal law enforcement officer under the Federal Employees Retirement System. I have 23 years of service and can retire at age 50 just prior to completing 25 years. My human resources department did my calculations for me (I have tried to estimate my own for the last few years) and I have a question about one item. They computed the average of my high-3, gave me the numerical figure and took out money for health and life insurance. Then they added $400 for a FERS annuity. Now here’s the problem: A co-worker claims that is our…
Q: I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System and currently have 8-plus years of federal service in a covered position (1811, with an age waiver). I am 52 years old. I would be 63 when I retire under the special provisions for law enforcement employees. I retired from military with 20 years of service and plan to “buy back” my military time for FERS retirement purposes. After I buy back my military time, and if I decide to retire with only 15 years of federal service (approximately eight years from now; I will be 60 at the time and…
Q: I am a Federal Employees Retirement System employee. I’m planning to retire in 2011 with 12 years of service at the age of 60 years, 4 months. I would like to know if I am eligible for a special supplement from Social Security. Also, am I subject to a penalty of five percent? A: No, you won’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement. No one who retires under the Minimum Retirement Age+10 provision is eligible for the SRS. Yes, your annuity will be reduced by five percent for every year (5/12 percent per month) that you are under…
Q: If you were to retire at the end of the year, and received your annual leave balance the following year, would this affect your special retirement supplement? A: No, it will not.
Q. What is the “special retirement supplement benefit?” If you cannot explain it completely & concisely, where I can find everything there is to know on this subject? A. The special retirement supplement (SRS) is paid to FERS employees who have reached their minimum retirement age (MRA) and retired on an immediate annuity. It approximates the amount of Social Security benefit they earned while employed under FERS. It is paid out of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund until age 62, when they become eligible for a Social Security benefit. The SRS can be reduced or suspended if a…
Q. I have a follow-up question to your response of March 1 regarding a FERS retirement supplement question, which states in part that: “When your earnings in one year exceed the earnings limit, your special retirement supplement will be reduced in the following year.” What if you earn over the limit in the year you turn 62? You won’t be receiving the supplement in the following year, so it can’t be reduced. And, if I understand correctly, the reduction can only be applied to the supplement (and not the “regular” FERS annuity). Does that mean that for all practical purposes…