Q: I am an employee under the Civil Service Retirement System Offset program, and I plan on retiring at age 64. I know my annuity will be reduced for the period of time I was an offset employee. I have dealt with the local Social Security Administration office and I am concerned; they had no idea what the offset is. Does the Office of Personnel Management deal with SSA experts for the offset?
A: OPM and the Social Security Administration have a file-matching system that allows OPM to accurately reduce a CSRS Offset annuity by the amount of Social Security benefit earned while covered by CSRS Offset, and for Social Security to provide a benefit based on an employee’s total Social Security-covered employment.