Q. I am a CSRS employee with 33 years of federal service and I am 54 years old. My agency (the Postal Service) is offering a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority at the end of January. I am a disabled vet with 80 percent rating. Should I take the VERA or apply for medical retirement? I have paid all required quarters for Social Security, and have a daughter still in school. Which method is more beneficial? I plan to apply for 100 percent Veterans Affairs compensation as service-connected injuries are more disabling. A. Based on your years of service, the only…
Browsing: substantial earnings
Q. I worked for the federal government from 1975 to 1983. I was under CSRS. I worked in private industry from 1984 to 2008. I returned to federal government in 2008 until present. I was placed in CSRS Offset upon my return to the federal government, and I am still under CSRS Offset. I read somewhere that if you have 30 years of substantial earnings where you paid into Social Security, the windfall elimination provision would not apply. My understanding is that since I have paid into Social Security from 1984 and will continue to pay into it until 2019,…
Q. I worked in high school and through college paying into Social Security and earned 28 quarters. From 1974 to 2009, I worked under CSRS and paid no Social Security. Upon retirement, I collected my monthly annuity from CSRS, then started working in private sector and will get my 40 quarters in January. I turned 62 in October. How is the reduction computed for my monthly Social Security payments? My monthly retirement is around $6,500 from CSRS. A. Your Social Security benefit will be affected by the windfall elimination provision. The WEP reduces the benefit of anyone who is receiving…
Q. I retired from civil service March 31 after 45 years and nine months under CSRS. Before that, I served three years in the military (1962-65), and other private industry jobs throughout the years went to Social Security to earn 40 quarters. At age 65, I started drawing a Social Security pension. Now, Social Security says it is reducing that check by half and I have to repay half of what was paid to me since April 1 unless I can prove it was not my fault I received the money. What? This all because I retired and started drawing…
Q. I have 33 years in and am under CSRS. I will be 60 years old in May. I served less than two years in the Army in my 20s. I am a WG-8 making almost $25 an hour. I receive correspondence statements from Social Security that if I retire at age 62, I would be eligible for approximately $300 based on a second job 12 years ago and jobs before joining the government in the 1980s. 1. Should I buy back the time I have in the Army? 2. Will the buyback help increase my Social Security? Or will…
Q. I’m retiring in January and am a 58-year-old CSRS Offset employee with 35+ years of creditable service. My service computation date is in November 1977, although seven years were temporary civil service prior to my permanent hiring in March 1984. 1. Will the windfall elimination provision apply to me? 2. If I buy back my post-1982 temp time, will that have an effect on whether or not the WEP will apply to me? My current Social Security statement shows my SSA earnings started in 1970, if that makes any difference. A. The rule governing the windfall elimination provision is…
Q. I retired on an early-out offer on Dec. 31, 2011, with 29.5 years of service at age 52. As a self-employed individual, I am paying both the employer and employee share (slightly reduced) to Social Security. Assuming another 15 years of work, that’s a tremendous amount to be paying into a retirement system with little or no benefit. I also have quarters from pre-CSRS employment. What, if any, Social Security benefit can I receive down the road? A. At age 62, you’ll be eligible for a Social Security benefit. Whether or not you apply for it at that time…
Q. I am a CSRS annuitant age 66.5 w 32+ years of federal government service that includes six years of military service. I retired in 2001 at age 55 and have been working full time, paying the maximum required into Social Security for the past 11+ years. I have not filed for Social Security yet, and I’ll probably work full time for at least another year before retiring for good. I am confused by CSRS Offset, especially the terminology. I am assuming the 32 years of government service, 26 civil+6 military, are what is referred to as my “offset service.”…
Q. I was in CSRS for five years and six months. Returned to the post office in 1993 under CSRS Offset. Reached 20 years under CSRS Offset on Oct. 1. Paid into Social Security for 32 years. What does my retirement look like? I am told I was put into a real bad retirement plan. A. I’ll tell you what your retirement will look like. Then you can go back to whoever told you that you were “put into a real bad retirement plan” and laugh in his face. As a CSRS employee, you’ll be eligible to retire at age…
Q. I worked for the federal government from 1966 to 1969 and from 1981 to 1985. I did not pay Social Security. I returned to work in 1988 and worked until 2010 and did pay Social Security. I was told by a girl at a Social Security office that I am not under the windfall elimination provision because I didn’t make enough money, yet another office tells me that because I worked for six years without paying SS, I am under the WEP. I am very confused. Should my Social Security benefits be calculated under the WEP? If they are,…