CSRS Offset

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Q. My agency was downsizing, so I accepted an early retirement offer at age 50. I was covered by CSRS Offset. When I turn age 62, do I have to apply for a Social Security benefit?

A. No, you don’t have to apply for a Social Security benefit. However, whether you do or don’t, at age 62 your CSRS annuity will automatically be offset (reduced) by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while covered by CSRS Offset.

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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.

14 Comments

  1. Are CSRS Offset retiree, received a combined pay net amount from OPM and Social Security?
    Is Direct Express Card more favorable to use in the US and Abroad?

    • At age 62 your CSRS annuity would be reduced by the amount of Social Security benefit to which you are entitled, whether or not you apply for a Social Security benefit at that time. If you do apply for a Social Security benefit, the total amount you receive OPM and SSA should remain essentially unchanged. To get and answer to your second question, call the Direct Express hotline at 1-800-333-1795

  2. Good Morning, sir,
    I’m CSRS Offset, 64 years old and planning to retire this year. Due to financial constraints, I can’t pay my deposits to credit my overseas service. My federal service will started in 2004. Am I subject WEP?

      • Cecelia Shemanski-Wydawski on

        I would like to know
        How my pension can be offset since under Ssa guidelines I am still receiving Ssa disability until fra which makes me ineligible to receive retirement at
        Age 62 until age 66 and 10 months

        I also believe I have 30 years pd in to Ssa

        Please respond cecelia

        Luckie10@verizon.net

        • If you are a CSRS Offset employee who is receiving a CSRS annuity, at age 62 that annuity will be reduced by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while a CSRS Offset employee.

    • Because you are covered by CSRS, you can retire at age 55 with 30 years of service, 60 years with at least 20 or as few as 5 years at age 62.

  3. I am under CSRS Offset and just requested a retirement estimate only to discover I have a redeposit to buyback time. I was surprised to discover this and do not remember withdrawing the money. Is there any way of finding out (having proof) that I took the money out. I have read numerous articles on the CSRS Offset retirement and have never come across the “buyback” situation. I am not happy, to say the least, to discover this so close to retiring and am wondering the effect it will have on the amount of retirement I will receive. In other words, how much will it effect my monthly annuity if I cannot pay that amount back before retiring?

    • If you withdrew that deposit before March 1, 1991, you can either repay the outstanding amount plus interest or elect to have your annuity reduced actuarially. If you withdrew it after that date, you would have to redeposit the money plus interest to have the time used in the computation of your annuity. To find out what you owe, complete a Standard Form 2803 (Application to Make Deposit or Redeposit) and send it to OPM. The address is on the form. OPM will let you know what you owe; then you can then decide whether to make the deposit.

    • If you are retired, at age 62 OPM will automatically reduce your CSRS annuity by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while a CSRS Offset employee. That reduction will occur whether or not you have applied for a Social Security benefit.

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