Q & A
I have been enrolled in Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance since 1983 and plan on retiring this year. In 2010, I added life insurance coverage for my spouse. Does the five-year rule apply for eligibility upon my retirement?
Answer: Yes. While you are already eligible to carry your own FEGLI coverage into retirement, the optional insurance you added for your spouse would end if you didn’t have that coverage for five years before you retired. Source: Reg Jones, FederalTimes.com…
I am considering use of a health savings account plan at work. Using one would reduce my taxes but have a secondary result of lowering my earnings for Social Security. Can this reduce my future Social Security retirement amount?
Answer: It potentially could, depending on the amount of money involved and for how long a time. An individual answer partly depends on the person’s work record over many years. Social Security retirement amounts are based on your best 35 years…
Obamacare: when your only income is Social Security
By Linda Riddell – Bangor Daily News Question: My wife has no income but I collect Social Security and that is all the household income. I am 66 and she is 64. We do not have to file a tax return. For…
How much is the average Social Security benefit amount?
Answer: The answer varies widely depending on the type of Social Security benefit. Benefits are payable through the three Social Security component programs of Old-Age (Retirement), Survivors and Disability. Within each, a variety of benefits exist. Retirement and disability benefits could be payable to the…
I am a CSRS employee with 34 years in at age 64. I plan to retire in April. I earned my 40 credits prior to being a federal employee. I do not plan to sign up for Social Security until I turn 66. As I understand the windfall elimination provision, I will go into retirement receiving whatever CSRS annuity I arrange and when I sign up for Social Security, I will maintain the CSRS annuity but receive a reduced amount of Social Security. Correct?
Answer: Correct. Source: Reg Jones, FederalTimes.com – January 6, 2014
If my retirement date is in May, would I be allowed to contribute the maximum Thrift Savings Plan and catch-up amounts ($17,500 and $5,500) up to my retirement date in May and still receive matching up to 5 percent of basic pay. If not, what are the rules?
Answer: You can contribute up to your entire paycheck and receive the automatic 1 percent agency contribution, but the matching contributions will be limited to 4 percent of your pay, each pay period. Source: Mike Miles, FederalTimes.com – January 6, 2014
If I obtain an Office of Personnel Management disability annuity, am I eligible to obtain the special retirement supplement until age 62?
Full question: I am a federal law enforcement officer. I have an accepted workers’ compensation claim, and it appears that I am no longer physically able to perform the duties of my job. I do not appear to be completely disabled,…
I worked for the House of Representatives for 17 years under FERS) and have worked for the Department of Labor for five years. I plan on retiring in April, when I will be 60. In calculating my retirement, will my 17 congressional years be calculated at the higher rate (1.7 percent), and my DOL service at the 1 percent rate, even if I don’t retire directly from the House?
Answer: Yes. Your years of congressional service will be computed using the higher multiplier, and the rest using the standard one. Source: Reg Jones, FederalTimes.com – January 2, 2014
I will be 67 in March 2014, and my estimated Social Security benefit at that time will be $2,414. I continue to work, but will likely discontinue working as of the start of 2015, and thus will need to supplement our savings with SS benefits. My spouse will be 62 in January 2014, and no longer works. Her SS benefit at 62 would be approximately $940. We are both in reasonably good health. What makes the most sense: 1) My spouse claims at 62, and I file a restricted application receiving the spousal benefit while my SS benefit increases; or 2) I file and suspend, with my spouse claiming one half my benefit? Or, eliminating a scenario where we each delay any claiming beyond 2014, is there any other strategy you suggest we investigate?
Answer: Generally, if either one of you expect to live past your mid-eighties, earning delayed credits on your retirement is preferred if the goal is to maximize the total received over both your lifetimes. Choosing either a restricted application (option 1…
Can both spouses claim spousal benefits of each other’s account? In a case where both spouses are at FRA, and have filed, can the husband file for spousal benefits from the wife? Can the wife file for spousal benefits from the husband’s account? What would be the effect on the husbands’ filing for benefits if he has WEP being applied from a job that did not pay into Social Security yet has 27 years of earnings on file with Social Security.
Answer: Sorry SH. No. Both of you cannot get spousal benefits off each other’s records at the same time. The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) applies to pensions from employers that do not withhold for Social Security taxes such as governmental agencies or employers…