Browsing: WEP

Q. I’m a current CSRS employee with 34 years’ federal service and also have 15 years of “substantial earnings” for Social Security. My plan is to continue to work until age 70 under the CSRS retirement system. At age 66, can I apply and draw full Social Security retirement benefits? Is it correct that the WEP reduction will take effect only once the individual retires from federal service? I read that WEP does not affect an individual who continues to work and is drawing Social Security benefits. A. Yes, you can begin receiving your unreduced Social Security benefit when you…

Q. My substantial Social Security earning has been due to serving 38 years as a senior military reservist. I will have 34 years under CSRS in January 2013. However, 25 years were under CSRS before a three-year break in service. I came back as an offset employee in 2006. How will my Social Security be calculated in comparison to my retirement check? Will I still receive my full CSRS retirement check based on my high-3 and the full Social Security check since I meet the substantial rule with the years? How will this all play out? I will be 63 this month.…

Q. I am a federal employee under FERS. I was a police officer for 21 years (I receive a pension) and did not pay into Social Security, except for a few years when I worked part-time jobs and made the “substantial earnings limit.” I was hired as a federal worker in 1995 and have 22 years of “substantial earnings” toward Social Security. I am now 64 and planning to retire, except I can’t figure out how much, if any, I will receive in Social Security. I went to a FERS retirement conference last summer, and it was my understanding that the maximum reduction from…

Q.  I work for the Social Security Administration and I can’t get a clear answer on this one. I have 38 years of federal service, all under CSRS. I am eligible to retire now. I also have 34 quarters of coverage under Social Security. If I retire now and then become re-employed as an annuitant, am I covered under FERS? If so, are my wages then counted towards getting the six additional quarters of coverage I need to get a Social Security benefit? A.  If you are re-employed, you’ll automatically be placed in CSRS; however, if you’ve been separated from…

Q.  On March 26,  I will be 62 years old. I work for the Postal Service and am thinking about retiring ,My question is this: My wife is 67 and drawing her Social Security. If I retire from the Postal Service, will I be allowed to take spouse benefits? Also, how much will the Social Security be cut because I am drawing CSRS? My monthly gross amount from CSRS will be about $2,781 but that’s before health insurance and spouse benefits. I am also able to draw Social Security but I have only the 40 quarters. My wife is drawing…

Q.  My husband did eight years active duty in the Navy, and another 12 in the Navy Reserve. He also has 30-plus years with the U.S. Postal Service (under the civil service retirement plan).  He has also bought back eight years of his military time.  How will his retirement work with two civil service retirements?  He is eligible to retire from the Post Office now and to collect from his military at 59 1/2 years of age (in another 4 1/2 years).  Will there be some type of offset or can he collect both retirements with full benefits? He has…

Q: I am a 55-year old FERS employee eligible to retire as a special category FF/LEO with 27 years federal service. I have been thinking about finding a position teaching or working on the staff of a nearby university that is covered by the state retirement system (Ohio). It is my intention to work until age 65, so when I retire from the university I will be vested in their retirement system, too. The university offers a choice between a defined benefit and defined contribution plan. I have heard about things like the WEP and the Pension Offset Rule but…

Q.  I retired from CSRS in 1999.  Since then (2000-2011) I have had 12 years of “substantive earnings” under Social Security.  I was also a commissioned officer in the Air Force Reserve and served from 1976 to 2006.  During those 23 years that I was a civil servant and a reservist I earned military pay when I went on active duty.  In the years I was not mobilized or deployed I only served on active duty for two weeks plus 12 weekends.  I received Social Security credit for all of my active-duty service as a reservist.  However, for many of…

Q. Worked 33 years for the U.S. Postal Service under Civil Service Retirement System and four years in the Marine Corps. Back in the 1970s, I bought back my USMC time so I could draw both Social Security and civil service retirements as I worked two jobs. Now, with offset in place, I cannot draw Social Security due to USPS retirement. Can I get a refund for my buyback payment since I will never draw Social Security? A. As a CSRS employee, there wouldn’t be an “offset” that would cancel any Social Security benefit to which you might be entitled. Instead, you’d be subject…

Q. I am a federal government employee under the Civil Service Retirement System. I started Nov. 24, 1968. I have 42 years, 9 months. I have 40 quarters paid in Social Security. I have been to the Social Security office and asked about the amount of Social Security I would draw. The monthly total was $239 a month before age 66. Then it would be $249 a month after or at age 66. I have my CSRS benefit estimate report. I need to know how Social Security will affect my CSRS retirement pay. I would like to retire, but I…

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