Q: I am 65 years old and will be 66 in January. I am contemplating retirement from the federal government. I worked in the private sector for more than 20 years and switched over to the government in 1985. I am under the Civil Service Retirement system. I was informed by a co-worker that my Social Security benefits, which I am counting on heavily to support my family, will be reduced substantially because I am under CSRS. Is this true? A: Your Social Security benefit would only be affected if you have fewer than 30 years of Social Security-covered employment.…
Browsing: windfall elimination provision
Q. I am retiring on Sept. 30. I am 55 years old with 34 1/4 years of employment, including my military time. I paid back my military contribution. In a retirement class we were told that when we turn 62 that the feds will reduce our CSRS retirement by the amount of Social Security we are entitled to. I thought that only applied if you paid into Social Security as a government employee. I earned my 40 points outside of federal employment. I was also wondering about the military payback. I got hit for my Desert Storm service of nine…
Q. I am 64 years of age and in CSRS. I also have four years of military time, which is being calculated into my retirement time with the federal government. I requested my retirement package that I am completing today and have scheduled an appointment to have my retirement interview. My greatest concerns I have are: Will I have to repay my four years of military time back to CSRS or will they reduce my benefits if I don’t? And, if they reduce my benefits, for how long is the reduction to take place? I am reading all of the…
Q. I switched from CSRS to FERS in 1987; don’t ask me why. I retired when I was 55 and now have 24 years of Social Security coverage. I will be 64 this year and am thinking about applying for Social Security — will I be WEP’d — not in terms of boo hoo but the Windfall Elimination Provision? Also, if I work part time and have income of $20,000 or $21,000, will they refigure the WEP deduction? If yes, do they do it annually or when I am 66? A: When you apply for a Social Security benefit, the windfall…
Q: I have been retired (CSRS) for more than 15 years. Because I had enough quarters from moonlighting as a teacher, I also collect Social Security with the windfall reduction. Since retirement I have worked as an educator and may soon reach 30 years of substantial contributions to Social Security. What impact, if any, will this have on my CSRS retirement payments? What impact, if any, will it have on the Social Security payments made to me? How will this impact survivor benefits? A: The fact that you’ve continued to earn Social Security credits after retirement won’t have any effect…
Q: My mother started with the U.S. Postal Service in 1974. Due to health issues, she retired on disability (not based on age or years of service) with her annuity commencing in September 1992. Her husband died in March and was receiving Social Security. When she applied for survivor benefits, it took almost three months for the Office of Personnel Managment to get back to Social Security and we were told even at that point they did not provide the information originally requested. Social Security made the decision that the survivor benefits fell under the windfall elimination provision. We are…
Q: I will retire at the end of this year with 33 years’ service in the Civil Service Retirement System. I will be 58 years old. I have 10 quarters of Social Security credits I earned before working for the federal government. Under a new law effective Jan. 1, 2010, federal employees can be re-employed after retirement on a part-time basis without the earnings affecting their retirement annuity. Am I assuming correctly that the part-time earnings I receive count toward Social Security? Is there an effect on the windfall elimination provision? A: You would be covered by Social Security during…
Q: My husband recently turned 62 and applied for Social Security benefits. He is a previous Civil Service Retirement System employee, so we know that his Social Security benefit will be reduced. The problem is that he was previously married and must pay his ex-spouse a large portion of his CSRS retirement. Yet when his retirement income from CSRS was taken into account in order to offset his benefits, the Social Security Administration used his gross benefit amount and did not subtract the annuity for his former spouse. This reduced his benefits by a large portion. Why is it that…
Q: My spouse is a civil service employee and is planning to retire within the next eight months. He is 64 years old and will be 65 in March. He could have retired at age 55 but did not because of personal reasons. His health is beginning to fail him now, and he cannot continue to work in his current capacity. He worked more than 10 years at other companies before joining the civil service. He can receive full retirement benefits from the Civil Service Retirement System, but he is also eligible for a very small Social Security check, they…
Q: I received a federal disability pension in 1991. I retrained and was able to work until 2004 when the same condition worsened. I applied for Social Security disability compensation and eceived it in 2008. I just received a notice that the federal civil service disability pension is considered a windfall. A calculation will be made with the windfall rule to reduce my Social Security disability. Is this discrimination against the disabled? Is there a way that I can fight or protest this situation? A: Apparently, you are subject to the windfall elimination provision, which applies to the Social Security…