Special retirement supplement

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Q. At age 62, my Social Security benefit will be $1,214 per month. If I retire at 60 with 26 years of service, what would my monthly FERS special retirement supplement be?

A. You’ll find the methodology for computing that benefit at https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/csrsfers-handbook/c051.pdf.

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About Author

Reg Jones was head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management. Email your retirement-related questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

12 Comments

  1. I retired FERS with 32 years…I thought I was getting $1080 until OPM called me up and because only 21 years was FERS, my SRS was $685. The other years were military years which I bought within the first 2 years of employment. Military does NOT count toward the SRS.

    • You are correct. Because the special retirement supplement is paid out of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund – not the Social Security Fund – military time cannot be included in that computation.

      • Why is military time included in the FERS basic annuity? The FERS basic annuity is paid out of the Civil Service Retirement fund. Your answer doesn’t make sense. I guess military is no value when it comes to the US congress who makes the rules! People under FERS are badly mistreated when it come retirement time. Just look at the COLAs between FERS AND CSRS. FERS retirees are treated like stepchildren. Maybe FERS retirees complaining to their congressmen will help.

        • That provision is part of the original legislation and has never been revisited. Complaining to Congress would be the best avenue to follow.

  2. I am divorced and retired with 30 years of service under FERS and also get the FERS Supplemental Annuity in addition to my regular FERS retirement pay. My ex wife currently receives half of my federal retirement annuity which also includes the Supplemental Annuity Pay. The Supplemental Annuity will terminate when I reach the age of 62. When this happens, will I have to submit a Court Order to OPM (or does OPM automatically recalculate my retirement annuity) to ensure that my ex wife and I both receive an equal share of my remaining federal retirement annuity? My understanding is that if OPM does not recalculate my retirement annuity when the Supplemental Annuity is stopped, my ex wife will end up receiving all of my remaining regular retirement annuity and I won’t receive any annuity. How does this work?

  3. Michael Crawford on

    I’m a fers employee with the postal service, I have 28/1/2 yrs postal service and two yrs and 4 months military time. Can I retire now and still receive my supplement or do I have to wait until I get 30 yrs of postal time?

    • If you made a deposit to get credit for that period of active duty service, you could retire now. If you didn’t, you’d either have to make a deposit for that service or wait until you have 30 years of actual civilian service.

    • No. According to OPM, “An employee may use annual leave for vacations, rest and relaxation, and personal business or emergencies. An employee has a right to take annual leave, subject to the right of the supervisor to schedule the time at which annual leave may be taken.”

      • Thank you, Mr. Jones for always have great DIRECT answers. I admire your intelligence on these retirement matters. I read ur answers everyday and just love them cuz I TRUST they are correct and it allows me to help my fellow veterans working for the gov’t.

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