By Reg Jones
Workers’ comp, job offer, disability and SRS
June 17th, 2013 | annuity reduction Benefits Disability retirement LEAVE MRA + 10 PAY RETIREMENT Sick leave SOCIAL SECURITY Special retirement supplement Workers' compensation
Q. I have an Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs claim on an injury sustained at work. My physician put me on restrictions for three months. My agency has not contacted me in over a week and I’m using sick leave while I wait on their job offer. If they are not able to offer me a job any time soon, could I submit for regular disability under FERS, and also Social Security. If I am not approved for disability, and a job offer is not given, then can I take a regular retirement with unreduced annuity and also get the special retirement supplement? My agency is going through a transfer of function to another site. I am 59 with 28 years of service.
Offset on survivor benefit?
June 17th, 2013 | Benefits CSRS Offset SOCIAL SECURITY spouse benefits SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. My husband passed away last year, was retired and drew CSRS. I am now receiving the survivor benefit. When I retire and draw Social Security, will there be an offset on either the survivor benefit or Social Security?
When to apply for Social Security
June 14th, 2013 | Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. If I continue to work past my 66th birthday in March, at what point can I sign up for my full Social Security benefits?
Military buyback and Social Security
June 14th, 2013 | Benefits Military service deposits RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. When my husband retired in 2000, we paid back his two years of military service with interest. We did this because he was asked if he thought he would file a claim under Social Security, which he did. Now that he is 64, we find out that he has to work 10 quarters before he can be eligible for Social Security. Can we get the money back from the Office of Personnel Management that we paid since he will not be able to collect his Social Security?
CSRS and Social Security
June 13th, 2013 | annuity reduction Benefits PAY SOCIAL SECURITY taxes Windfall elimination provision
Q. I retired in 2006 after 39 years of federal service under CSRS. I receive a retirement annuity every month. I’m doing some contractor work and have over 10 years under Social Security. If I apply for Social Security benefits, will my CSRS monthly annuity be decreased by the Social Security amount? If so, what benefit is it to pay Social Security taxes if I won’t ever apply to receive them? Also, do you have to pay this tax?
Special retirement supplement calculation
June 11th, 2013 | Benefits Creditable service: FERS FERS annuity computation RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY Special retirement supplement
Q. I’m a FERS employee who has had my retirement benefits calculated (58 years old with 33 years of service), and it does not show the special retirement supplement. Where can I find information about eligibility for the supplement? And how is it calculated into my retirement?
Applying for Social Security
June 10th, 2013 | Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I resigned from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in 2005 and received my payout. I am applying for Social Security and, due to the Windfall Act of 1983, I must submit a letter to the Social Security Administration stating that I am not receiving a monthly benefit. Who do I write to or perhaps call in the Office of Personnel Management or the National Finance Center?
2 pensions and Social Security
June 9th, 2013 | annuity reduction Benefits Military service deposits PAY RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I retired with a pension (active duty) from the Marine Corps and now work for the Defense Department. I plan to retire from DoD under FERS. Will I get both pensions without an offset? Will I also draw my full Social Security at 67?
Social Security
June 8th, 2013 | Benefits CSRS annuity computation RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY Windfall elimination provision
Q. I retired in 2011 as a CSRS annuitant at age 55 with 32 years of federal service. During those 32 years, I also had a part-time job, where I contributed minimally into Social Security. I have enough SS quarters to get a small amount at some point. Do I have to apply for Social Security, and at what age should I apply if I have to? Will I get more from Social Security if I wait until 70 and will my CSRS annuity be automatically reduced at some age?
First-year rule
May 31st, 2013 | Benefits Earnings test RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I am a 64-year-old FERS employee with 22 years of service, planning on retiring in June. I also planned on having my Social Security start in July. Will the Social Security income cap be considered on my year to date earnings, or does Social Security only consider earnings from the start of your Social Security payments?
Government pension offset
May 31st, 2013 | Benefits CSRS annuity computation Government pension offset Medicare RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY spouse benefits
Q. I am 74 years old, retired under CSRS and receiving about $1,900 per month after taxes and Medicare payments. My wife is 76 years old, retired under Social Security and receives about $290 per month after Medicare. Am I correct in the following assumptions:
1. The spouse of a Social Security retiree can receive a benefit amount up to 50 percent of what the retiree receives and not affect the retiree’s benefits.
2. The spouse of a CSRS retiree does not receive such a benefit.
If I am correct, this example only helps to substantiate the idea the Congress cares not for employees who contributed so much for the federal government.
Catch-62
May 30th, 2013 | Benefits Military service deposits RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I am 63 and retired under CSRS. I have four years military time included in my creditable service, have not paid back this time and do not qualify for Social Security. I will, however, qualify for Social Security in about two years. It is my understanding that there is a Social Security check done at age 62, but will the Office of Personnel Management check in later years or be notified when I do qualify? If not, is the “onetime” check at age 62 in law or is it an OPM process that can be easily changed?
Law enforcement, Social Security and CSRS offset
May 30th, 2013 | annuity reduction Benefits CSRS annuity computation CSRS Offset EMPLOYMENT law enforcement RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I have just retired after 31 years and 10 months of service as a federal law enforcement officer. My retirement was mandatory at age 57. I have over 20 years in 6c position. I am under CSRS Offset. I would like to collect Social Security as well as my government pension at age 57. Can I receive Social Security benefits at age 57? At age 62, what amount are my benefits offset?
Collecting retirement and husband’s Social Security
May 30th, 2013 | annuity reduction Benefits CSRS annuity computation Government pension offset RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY spouse benefits
Q. I am a CSRS retiree. Can I collect my federal retirement and also collect on my share of my husband’s Social Security benefit?
CSRS Offset
May 30th, 2013 | Benefits CSRS Offset SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I am 66 and still working and covered under CSRS offset. I have 30 years of substantial Social Security qualification. Twenty of those years with the federal government. Trying to decide if I take Social Security now rather than at age 69, when expect to retire. If I take it now, will my Social Security deduction off of CSRS be taken at the current rate (66) or will it be at the rate when I retire (69)?
FERS retirement and disability
May 28th, 2013 | Benefits Disability retirement FERS annuity computation RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY Special retirement supplement
Q. I retired in June 2010 at 56 with more than 30 years’ service. I receive a regular FERS retirement, not disability.
But I do have a disability — an above-the-knee amputation.
If I apply for and receive Social Security Disability Insurance, how will my FERS retirement be affected?
Tags: disability, FERS, OPM, Social Security disability insurance, special retirement supplement
Military buyback and creditable service
May 22nd, 2013 | Benefits Creditable service: CSRS Military service deposits RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. I am considering retirement soon but would like to know if paying back my military time is a wise decision. I am 60 years old and will have 35 years civil service time. I do not have enough quarters to draw Social Security and never plan to. Will my annuity be based just on those 35 years, or will it be based on my actual service computation date, which would add four years?
CSRS, Social Security and annuity
May 21st, 2013 | annuity reduction Benefits CSRS annuity computation RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY Windfall elimination provision
Q. I retired in 2001 from the FAA under CSRS. I have 33 quarters of Social Security. If I go back to work and earn an additional seven quarters and apply for Social Security benefits, will that same amount of money be subtracted from my annuity?
90 days’ notice to Social Security?
May 16th, 2013 | Benefits RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY
Q. How much notice do I have to give Social Security before I apply? I will be 62 in June. Do I have to give them 90 days’ notice? I plan on retiring in October.
Foreign citizen and FERS, Social Security
May 15th, 2013 | annuity reduction Benefits COLA FEHBP FERS annuity computation HEALTH INSURANCE RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY spouse benefits SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. A little over three years ago, I retired under FERS.
I was a widower at the time, so no survivor benefit was being withheld from my pay.
I now intend to remarry a French citizen and will reside here in the states for a time, then move to France. I would like her covered by my Federal Employees Health Benefits, at least while we are in the U.S.
Can I sign up now for a full survivor benefit for her? How much will it cost me? I read somewhere that it costs 10 percent of my current annuity plus the difference between the new annuity and old annuities paid to me for the number of months retired, plus 6 percent interest on that money.
Since she is at least not yet an American citizen, when I die, can she still receive the survivor annuity, whether continuing to reside here or if she returns to France? Would she receive COLAs on her portion of the annuity? If she returned to France, would she be obligated to pay taxes in both countries? Of course, as part of FERS, I also receive a Social Security benefit, based on my length of service and work record. Would a new spouse be entitled as a beneficiary to any or all of my Social Security when I die? She, of course, has never worked here in the states and so has not contributed to Social Security.
Tags: annuity, FEHB, FERS, foreign citizen, SOCIAL SECURITY, Survivor benefits