Q. I am a CSRS Offset employee and I think I will be subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision. I am currently receiving $845 a month Social Security (reduced for age as I am 63) and I think when the WEP is applied I will get $380. When my CSRS pension is offset for my Social Security, will the offset be calculated using $845, my original benefit, or $380, the amount that I am actually receiving? A. The offset to your CSRS annuity will be based on the Social Security benefit you earned while covered by CSRS Offset.
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Q. Does the Windfall Elimination Provision apply to anyone in CSRS Offset who is 55 or older and has 30-plus years of service upon retirement? A. The windfall elimination provision applies to anyone who receives an annuity — in whole or part — from a retirement system where he didn’t paid Social Security taxes and has fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. Anyone who is covered by CSRS Offset has at least five years of pure CSRS service in his work history, so the WEP applies.
Q: Does the Windfall Elimination Provision apply to anyone in CSRS Offset who is 55 or older and has 30-plus years of service upon retirement? A: The windfall elimination provision applies to anyone who is receiving an annuity – in whole or part – from a retirement system where he didn’t pay Social Security taxes and has fewer tha 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security.
Q: I am getting ready to retire. I worked for the government from 1968 to 1972, then worked in the private sector and earned my 40 quarters in Social Security. I returned to work for the federal government in 1984 as a Civil Service Retirement System Offset employee. I was told that because I earned my 40 quarters from the private sector that my government annuity would not be reduced: I will get a full government annuity and a full Social Security check. Is that right? A: By law, your CSRS annuity will be reduced at age 62 by the…
Q: I had 13 years of Social Security employment (max contribution) before entering the Civil Service Retirement System Offset in 1991. I am 64 years old and considering retirement at age 66. Do CSRS Offset years count in meeting the 30-year requirement to avoid the windfall elimination provision? A: All years of Social Security-covered employment in which you had substantial earnings count toward the 30 years needed to avoid the windfall elimination provision.
Q: I recently discovered that I would probably lose part of my anticipated Social Security benefits to the WEP because I lived and worked in Canada, as a Canadian citizen, before moving to the U.S. and later becoming a U.S. citizen. If I retire at my full retirement age, I will have 25 years of substantial earnings/contributions to U.S. Social Security, and will also receive payments from the Canada Pension Plan. The latter will total just more than $500 per month. Will my wife’s Social Security benefits, based on my earnings because she did not work the requisite number of…
Q: Can you explain the differences between the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset? A: The windfall elimination provision reduces (but doesn’t eliminate) the Social Security benefit of anyone who receives an annuity from a retirement system, such as CSRS, where he didn’t pay Social Security taxes and has fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. The government pension offset reduces the Social Security spousal or survivor benefit of anyone who is receiving an annuity — in whole or part — from a retirement system, such as CSRS (but not CSRS Offset), where he didn’t…
Q: I just received notice from Social Security that my benefits check may be reduced because of the windfall elimination provision. I retired under the Civil Service Retirement System Offset program Oct. 31, 2010. My time in service under CSRS was approximately five years, nine months. I withdrew the money that I put in after each job because at the time I did not expect to retire from civil service. My last withdrawal from CSRS was from the period of May 1981 to December 1982. I returned to government work in May 1984 and was placed in the CSRS Offset…
Q: I requested retirement calculations for mid-2014 and recently learned that after I left the government in September 1984, the retirement money I withdrew would have to be repaid in order to receive the benefits for that money. I withdrew $3,700; repayment with accumulated interest would be more than $22,000. I returned to the government in March 1987 under the Civil Service Retirement System Offset program. I thought I read that if a person who receives money under CSRS can also receive full Social Security benefits (no windfall) if that person has enough credits with Social Security (approximately 30 years).…
Q. I am retiring at age 56 under FERS with a CSRS component. I plan to continue working part time, paying into Social Security and will make approximately $10,000 per year. I plan to collect Social Security at age 62 when my FERS supplement ends. Will my Social Security benefit be affected by my CSRS component? A. Yes, if you have fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. Then your Social Security benefit will be affected by the windfall elimination provision.