By Reg Jones
Automatic supplement
February 7th, 2012 | Special retirement supplement
Q: Are the Social Security supplement and the special retirement supplement automatic, or do you have to contact OPM to set this up at the minimum age of eligibility? I retired at 52.4 years of age and I turn 56 in April. I was wondering if I have to contact OPM to recieve this supplement?
A: Payment of the special retirement supplement is automatic.
Tags: OPM, special retirement supplement
How would VERA/VSIP affect retirement pay?
January 31st, 2012 | Creditable service: CSRS Creditable service: FERS CSRS annuity computation Early retirement RETIREMENT Special retirement supplement
Q. I am a Civil Service Retirement System/Federal Employees Retirement System offset employee with 31 years of service, and I have been offered Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VERA/VSIP). I would like to know how a VERA/VSIP would affect my retirement. I have been depositing the maximum in my TSP account, and I see that the government is not required to match it. Does government matching or not matching my deposit depend on the agency I work for?
A. To estimate what your annuity would be, use the formulas for each retirement system:
FERS: 0.01 x your three highest consecutive years of average salary (your high-3) x all years and full months of FERS service.
CSRS: 0.015 x your high-3 x 5 years of CSRS service, plus 0.0175 x your high-3 x 5 years of CSRS service, plus
0.02 x your high-3 x all remaining years and full months of CSRS service.
Unused sick leave that doesn’t exceed the amount you had to your credit when you transferred to FERS will be added to your CSRS service. If you retire before 2013, half of any remaining hours will be added to your FERS service. In both cases, hours that don’t add up to a month (approximately 174 hours) will be dropped.
As a FERS employee, if you retire before age 62, you will be entitled to the special retirement supplement, which is approximately the amount of Social Security benefit earned while you were a FERS employee. Here’s the formula: Social Security benefit estimate provided by the Social Security Administration x total years of FERS service rounded up to the next higher year divided by 40.
The basic rules on the amount of a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment are as follows: An amount equal to the severance pay you would be entitled to, without an adjustment for any previous payments made or an amount determined by the head of your agency, not to exceed $25,000. Only your agency can tell you if you’re eligible for a VSIP and, if so, in what amount.
When will SRS end?
January 18th, 2012 | RETIREMENT Special retirement supplement
Q. I will turn 62 in August 2012. When will my special retirement supplement end? Will I receive the SRS in my August retirement payment?
A: Your special retirement supplement will end on the earlier of 1) the last day of the month in which you turn age 62 or 2) the last day of the month before the first month on which you would be eligible for a Social Security benefit, whether you apply for it or not.
“First year rule” protects supplement
January 17th, 2012 | Earnings test SOCIAL SECURITY Special retirement supplement
Q. I know that the Social Security supplement is reduced for any earnings above $14,640 (FY 2012). My question is that if I retire at the end of February 2012, would I already lose some of the supplement since I would have already made over $20,000 by the end of February? Or would the earnings test be only for the period of March 2012-December 2012?
A. No, you wouldn’t lose any of your special retirement supplement because you’d be protected by the “first year rule.” To learn why that’s so, go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10069.html.
OPM pays SRS for certain employees
January 16th, 2012 | FERS annuity computation SOCIAL SECURITY Special retirement supplement
Q. I am a 57-year-old Federal Employees Retirement System employee eligible for retirement. I am also a widow. Can I retire and receive the special retirement supplement until age 60, then take the Social Security widow’s benefit — which would be greater than my SRS — and keep that until I reach full retirement age at 66? Could I also delay retirement until age 60, bypass SRS and take the widow’s benefit?
A. Relax. The Office of Personnel Management automatically pays the special retirement supplement until age 62 to FERS employees who retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity. The SRS is only reduced or eliminated if the retiree has earnings from wages or self-employment that exceed the annual Social Security earnings limit. Social Security survivor benefits aren’t considered to be earnings.
VERA and SRS
December 13th, 2011 | Special retirement supplement
Q: If an individual retires using an approved VERA at age 53, three years shy of mandatory retirement age, with 28 years of service, will the individual begin collecting the special retirement supplement at age 56 even though retirement occured at age 53?
A: Yes, if the individual’s minimum retirement age is 56.
Special retirement supplement
November 4th, 2011 | Special retirement supplement
Q: If an individual retires using an approved VERA three years below MRA at age 53 with 28 years of service, will SRS collection begin at 56 even though he/she retired at age 53?
A: You would begin receiving the special retirement supplement when you reach your minimum retirement age.
Tags: Early retirement
New job after retirement
September 27th, 2011 | Special retirement supplement
Q: I retired on May 31 at age 57. I have 22 years of law enforcement service with the Bureau of Prisons. I have just taken another job and realize I will lose about $12,000 a year because of the means test for the supplemental. A friend told me I will lose the supplemental forever once I exceed the limits. I want to retire from this non-government job in two years. Can I collect the supplemental for the last three years until I become eligible for Social Security at age 62?
A: Your friend is misinformed. While it’s true that your special retirement supplement will be reduced or suspended if you exceed the Social Security earnings limit, which is currently $14,160, if your earnings from wages or self employment fall below that level, the SRS will be restored. FYI, the earnings limit also applies to your Social Security benefit once you reach age 62 and the SRS stops.
Tags: retired, SOCIAL SECURITY
FERS retirement
September 23rd, 2011 | Special retirement supplement
Q: I had 26 years of civil service and I’m 49. Can I retire in four more years without the age-reduction penalty When I will have 30 years in service and I’m only 53? Am I entitled to receive the FERS special retirement supplement until age 62?
A: No. The earliest you could retire is when you reach your minimum retirement age, which in your case would be 56. If you retired then, you’d be eligible to receive the special retirement supplement until age 62.
Tags: FERS, RETIREMENT
FERS supplement
July 20th, 2011 | Special retirement supplement
Q: I’m in a law enforcement position and was wondering if the FERS Supplement is also paid to new retirees while on interim payments or are the interim payments only a part of the FERS basic annuity?
A: The special retirement supplement is only paid when your case has been finalized and you are receiving your full annuity. You’ll receive catch-up payments of your SRS along with any additional annuity you are owed because you were on interim pay.
Tags: FERS