Q & A
Disability Retirement Question – Calculation of Accumulated Years After Disability Retirement
Full Question: I am 46 years old and coming up on 23 years of federal law enforcement service. Under our retirement calendar, we must retire at age 57. I could retire voluntarily at 49 with 25 years of service. I am…
My wife has received Social Security disability for several years because of a progressive illness. Her health recently took a turn for the worse, and we were wondering if she might receive a larger amount because of this.
Answer: Best wishes to your wife, but declining health will not change her SSA disability amount because it is based largely on her earnings while still working. SSA disability requirements include both having enough work and meeting a strict medical definition…
I am retiring under CSRS in February. With my three years, 11 months and 10 days in the Navy, plus sick leave, I will have 42 years and eight months CSRS and be 62 years and five months old. On advice of our HR office, I never paid my military deposit back since I was planning on retiring federal and only had 31 Social Security credits. I have looked in the Office of Personnel Management site and the Fedweek CSRS retirement manual and neither says it will not reduce my annuity if I don’t pay the deposit. Can you help?
Answer: The answer is simple. Because you have already reached age 62, if you are eligible for a Social Security benefit when you retire, those three years, 11 months and 10 days will be eliminated and your CSRS annuity recomputed without…
My wife has received Social Security disability for several years because of a progressive illness. Her health recently took a turn for the worse and we were wondering if she might receive a larger amount because of this.
Answer: Best wishes to your wife, but declining health will not change her SSA disability amount because it is based largely on her earnings while still working. SSA disability requirements include both having enough work and meeting a strict medical…
WEP vs. GPO
Full Question: Recently, a colleague and I were reading your Dec. 2 article “Don’t let these 5 mistakes disrupt your plans.” Your statement on number 5 (not accounting for the government pension offset) leaves us wondering. We are under CSRS and retiring this…
I am eligible to retire under FERS now that I am 56 years old and have 28 years of service with the Veterans Affairs Department. If I were to retire under FERS disability instead, would I still receive the special retirement supplement that accompanies regular FERS retirement? Also, would my five years of military service be taken into account for FERS disability if I have paid my military deposit into the system?
Answer: If you applied for regular retirement, you’d be retiring under the MRA+10 provision, and your FERS annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 62. If you were approved for disability retirement, for the first…
I retired from the Navy with 20 years of active duty and receive both military retirement pay and Veterans Affairs Department disability pay. For the past four years, I have been working for the federal government under FERS. I want to make a deposit for my years of active-duty service and waive my military retired pay when I retire. When I make the deposit, will it stop my military pay and VA disability pay?
Answer: Making a deposit won’t stop either. You’ll only have to waive your military retired pay when you retire from your civilian job. To the best of our knowledge, you won’t ever have to waive your VA disability pay. Source: Reg…
If I take disability retirement or my pension, would I be able to return to work with the Postal Service? I have 30 years as a letter carrier at age 57.
Answer: Yes. However, if you were determined to have recovered from your disability, that benefit would stop and you’d become a regular employee. If you retired on a regular annuity, the salary of your new position would be reduced by the…
I need information as to how Medicare Part B premiums are paid when the following applies, per CMS.HHS: “If you are not set up on your spouse’s Social Security number with a B or D following the Medicare number.”
Full Question: I need information as to how Medicare Part B premiums are paid when the following applies, per CMS.HHS: “If you are not set up on your spouse’s Social Security number with a B or D following the Medicare number.” My wife’s Medicare Part…
I’m under CSRS Offset, but I have 36 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. Will either pension be reduced?
Answer: Your CSRS annuity will be reduced by the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while a CSRS Offset employee. The amount you receive will be the same. It will just come from two different places: the Office of Personnel…