Retirement Coverage for New Hires

Depending upon your current appointment and employment history, you may be covered
by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), CSRS Offset, the Federal Employees
Retirement System (FERS), or Social Security coverage, only. If this is your first Federal
appointment, and it is not limited to one (1) year or less, in most cases, you will be
covered by FERS. An overview of each retirement system follows:

The Civil Service Retirement System
http://www.opm.gov/fers_election/fersh/h_csrs4.htm

The Civil Service Offset Retirement System
http://www.opm.gov/fers_election/facts/ri83-13.htm

The Federal Employees Retirement System
http://www.opm.gov/fers_election/ri_90/f_toc.htm

Social Security

What is Social Security? The term "Social Security" means benefit payments provided
to workers and their dependents who qualify as beneficiaries under the Old-Age
Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) programs of the Social Security Act.
OASDI replaces a portion of earnings lost as a result of retirement, disability, or death. It
is designed to provide benefits that replace a greater percentage of earnings for lowerpaid
workers than for higher-paid workers. This means that Social Security benefits are
more important for lower-paid workers than higher-paid workers.
http://www.ssa.gov/