Q. I retired after 43 years under CSRS last year. Because of my sick leave balance (3,800), my CSRS annuity is 83 percent of my working salary. My wife will be retiring at the end of this year with 20 years under FERS. Her net pay will drop from just under $2,600 a month to under $900 with her basic FERS annuity. Besides our TSP (Traditional & Roth), we also have two small traditional IRAs and two good size Roth IRA accounts. I have reached the minimum 40 credits for Social Security; however, because of the WEP, it would be under…
Browsing: Social Security
Q. Concerning the “First Year Rule,” I will reach full retirement age (66) in October 2020. Suppose I earned $10,000 a month, so by Oct. 1, I would have earned $90,000 for the year, which means I would have paid the 7.2 percent tax into my Social Security Insurance account during that time. Since I would have surpassed the $47,000 number, do I owe $1 for every $3 for the $43,000? Also assume, once I retire, I would receive $3,000 per month in SSI retirement benefits. If I worked after retiring during October thru December and made $3,000 per month,…
Q. I am FERS and plan on retiring this year when turning 65. I will be eligible for Social Security but am wondering if my wife will be able to collect. She is disabled and was receiving benefits from the company she worked for until they went bankrupt. By getting her benefits from that company, nothing was paid in to Social Security for her to have enough quarters to qualify for SS disability. She will be 60 when I retire and I would like to find out if she will be able to use my Social Security benefit. A. She might…
Q. My husband is a retired CSRS annuitant and I’m a retired FERS annuitant. I turn 66 this year, which is my full retirement age for Social Security. I haven’t yet begun to receive SS payments or withdrawn any funds from my TSP, but would like your opinion as to leaving the TSP funds until I need to make Minimum Required Distributions. My feeling is that if I predecease him, he will not receive any of my SS, but will inherit my TSP. Our accountant thinks I should start drawing down the TSP and invest those funds, since we don’t…
Q. Can CSRS annuitants take Social Security at 62, or do I have to wait until I reach full retirement age? And will my Social Security benefit be impacted by my federal annuity? A. You may claim your benefit at age 62. Your retirement annuity is not counted as earned income. You might be subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf), however.
Q. I am enrolled in CSRS Offset. I am 68 years old and still working. My plan was to work until I am 70 and then collect my social security. The reason is to maximize the amount of money I get from Social Security. I have been told that I should start collecting my Social Security now while I am still working because the amount of money I receive from Social Security toward my retirement will not change from the age of 62. Is that correct? Will I get more money if I continue to work and not collect Social…
Q. I am a CSRS Offset retiree who is now 62 and eligible for Social Security. I am currently employed as a contractor working in a government agency. The Office of Personnel Management is reducing my annuity by the amount SS reported to them that I am eligible to receive. I don’t dispute the amount and understand that this would happen. However, SS told me that I earn too much money and they will not make up the difference. I was told during the retirement seminar that regardless of the amount I earned, I would get the SS portion because…
Q. Can you explain what impact (if any) your TSP savings have on your Social Security payments when you retire? Can it result in receiving a smaller check? A. Neither the size of your TSP account, nor distributions you receive from it, will affect your Social Security benefit amount.
Q. I am scheduled for full/voluntary retirement in February 2023. I currently have my TSP contribution at 100 percent in the L2030 fund. I am getting a little nervous about the volatility of the market, so I am inclined to do something like reallocate to 50 percent L2030 and 50 percent G Fund just to try and mitigate any potential losses. Of course, I would like to increase my current $253,000 balance, but wouldn’t be averse to it not increasing that much by retirement. Conversely, I would hate to see a loss on what I have and not be able to…
Q. I had 12 years service under CSRS, a break of 13 years in the private sector, and have been a CSRS Offset employee since 2003. I understand that the government pension offset could reduce my wife’s Social Security spousal benefits by $2 for ever $3 I would receive from my CSRS annuity. Does this apply just to the annuity earned while a CSRS employee or the annuity I would receive for my total government service? Since she has earned her own Social Security benefit from non-government service, and I have 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, including the years…