Q. I am a retired GS-1811 (federal law enforcement) CSRS retiree (2005) with 25 years civil service and 7 years military I bought back. I’m 59 now and when I reach 62 or older and want to collect Social Security, I know my CSRS retirement will be reduced, but by how much? I used SSA.gov/estimator and got the figures, but there was no place to enter the fact I have a federal retirement. Do the figures I received on SSA.gov/estimator already factor my federal law enforcement retirement?
A. You have it backwards. It’s not your CSRS annuity that will be reduced; it’s your Social Security benefit if you have fewer than 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. To find out how that benefit will be affected use the estimator at www.ssa.gov/retire2/anyPiaWepjs04.htm.