Q. I am 59 and a CSRS Offset employee with 33+ years of CSRS coverage and am at the top of the GS-15 payscale. About 21 of those years were under CSRS Offset, so I know the deduction will be somewhere around 52.5 percent of my Social Security earnings. I am exempt from windfall elimination provision because of more than 30 years of Social Security coverage. I am concerned that if I retire Jan. 3, 2014, my final paycheck and my lump sum for leave will add another year to my number of years covered by Social Security and raise…
Browsing: windfall elimination provision
Q. I am a CSRS employee who has worked for the government for 40 years. I also have 27 credits for Social Security. I work for my husband as an accountant for free. If I start charging him and take payments under a 1099, how many credits do I have to earn to get Social Security payments on top of my CSRS benefit when retire? A. In 2013, you’d need to earn $1,160 to get one Social Security credit, $4,640 to earn four credits. It would take you over three years to collect the 40 credits you’d need to be entitled to a…
Q. I am CSRS Offset, having retired in 2001, and have been working in the private sector since that time. I turned 62 last year, applied for, and began drawing Social Security. However, my annuity has not been reduced. I have been holding out what I had estimated my reduction would be, anticipating that at some point the Social Security Administration would want the money. I have 34 years of substantial earnings, which includes my 14 years as an offset employee. Do these years affect the offset amount? Does this mean my annuity could possibly not be reduced? I have…
Q. I paid Social Security tax on my “SS statement earnings record,” from 1963 to 1974, and in 1985. I have 27 out of the 40 credits. My retirement number is 66 (I will turn 66 in August). I am still employed. Will I be eligible for Social Security retirement pay (no windfall elimination provision), even though still employed through this year? A. I’m assuming that you are a CSRS employee. If so, you are subject to the windfall elimination provision. However, since you don’t have 40 credits under Social Security, you won’t be eligible for a Social Security benefit.…
Q. I expected to retire with a CSRS Offset pension and a pension from a state public employees system not covered by Social Security. It appears that the windfall elimination provision is going to reduce my CSRS Offset Social Security portion to almost nothing. Can that be right? Your descriptions of CSRS Offset always say the benefit will be the same it will just be paid partly from CSRS and partly from Social Security. But windfall elimination appears to reduce the Social Security portion by 40 percent. A. The windfall elimination provision does reduce the Social Security benefit of anyone…
Q. I retired in 2008 from the Department of the Navy as a civilian with 37 years of service. I also had 33 Social Security credits prior to starting my government service. I have worked in the private sector for the past five years and have met and exceeded my mandated 40 Social Security credits. I have been receiving My most current Social Security statement cites that I will receive $632 at age 62, etc. I’m somewhat confused about the government pension offset process/impact and was hoping you could help define my situation. I plan to retire from my private-sector…
Q. I need to work three more years of about $4,800 each year to qualify for Social Security benefits. Is this something I need to do? Will my annuity reduce if I never apply for Social Security? Is it more, less or closely the same benefit financially to draw Social Security? How can I generally know this mathematically? Also, is there a site and/or calculator that provides additional help with the government pension offset? A. If you earn 40 credits under Social Security, you’ll be entitled to a Social Security benefit; however, because you are a CSRS employee who will…
Q. I am a former federal employee covered by CSRS. I am approaching retirement age (62). I do not have 30 years of substantial Social Security earnings, and will be affected by the windfall elimination provision. I first left federal employment in 1983, and withdrew my CSRS pension funds. With interest, I owe about $59,000 to make a full redeposit. I was re-employed by the government within a year, and remained on CSRS. The second time I left federal employment (in 1993), I left my CSRS (not CSRS offset) funds with the government, which is the basis for my CSRS…
Q. I have been retired from the Postal Service for a year after 30 years and seven months of service. I am under CSRS Offset. In March, I will be 62 and have applied for Social Security. Social Security said I have the 30 years of paying in, so I will not have any offset from them. Will my CSRS annuity, which I have been getting for the past year, be offset for the full amount of my Social Security benefit? A. Although your Social Security benefit won’t be affected by the windfall elimination provision, your CSRS annuity will be…
Q. I retired with a medical disability from the FSRS in 1975, and I worked until age 62, when I applied for Social Security. I have read that if I medically retired from FSRS, the windfall elimination provision does not apply. However, Social Security reduced my pension because I lacked 30 years of substantial earnings. Which is correct? A. The Social Security Administration is correct. Go to www.ssa/gov/pubs/10045.html. There you’ll find an explanation of the WEP and a list of the only exceptions to it. One of them isn’t medical retirement from the FSRS.