Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act
Social Security
What about errors in Social Security coverage? Does
FERCCA give me a choice about Social Security?
You may not have a choice about Social Security coverage.
If you should have had Social Security coverage during your Federal employment,
then you must have Social Security coverage in addition to your Federal
retirement coverage. FERCCA does not allow you to choose a retirement
plan without Social Security coverage.
If you were incorrectly put in CSRS when you should have been put in
CSRS Offset, your retirement coverage must be corrected to CSRS Offset.
Likewise, if you were incorrectly put in CSRS Offset when you should
have been put in CSRS, your retirement coverage must be corrected to CSRS
because you are not eligible for Social Security coverage during your
Federal employment. You cannot choose to keep your Social Security coverage.
However, Social Security will give you credit for all but the last 3 years
before your record was corrected. See the question I
should have been CSRS. Instead, I paid into Social Security. What happens
to the Social Security taxes I paid when my agency corrects my retirement
coverage to CSRS? for more information.
If you were erroneously put in FERS and should have been put in CSRS,
then you will have a chance to choose whether you want to keep FERS (and
Social Security) coverage.
I worked for a number of
years during which I should have been paying into Social Security, but
I only paid into CSRS. Can I get any Social Security credit for that work?
And, if so, how much will it cost me?
You will get Social Security credit for all that work, and it won't cost
you anything. Your agency will send the Social Security Administration
a record of your earnings during all the years you should have had Social
Security coverage. All of the CSRS contributions you made during those
years that are not needed to cover your retirement costs will be transferred
to Social Security. This transfer will pay all the Social Security taxes
you owe.
I should have been CSRS.
Instead, I paid into Social Security. What happens to the Social Security
taxes I paid when my agency corrects my retirement coverage to CSRS?
Except for the last 3 years, the money you erroneously paid into Social
Security will remain to your credit in the Social Security fund. The Social
Security Administration will include all but those last 3 years in determining
your eligibility for, and the amount of, future benefits.
The amount you paid into Social Security for the last 3 years will be
transferred to your account in the Civil Service Retirement fund. Your
employing agency will pay all additional retirement contributions owed
for your CSRS time. It may not go back and bill you for additional retirement
deductions when it corrects the error.
My agency corrected my records
from CSRS to CSRS Offset. Wouldn't I have been better off if I could have
stayed in CSRS?
Actually, you're probably better off in CSRS Offset because you're earning
benefits under both Social Security and CSRS.
Your combined benefits under Social Security and CSRS Offset will be
at least the same as, if not more than, what you would have received under
Social Security and CSRS if your record had not been corrected.
While working, you are earning retirement credits under the relatively
generous CSRS formula. You also are adding to any Social Security benefits
you have already earned, increasing your career earnings under Social
Security and, as a result, your Social Security benefit.
When you retire, OPM will compute your CSRS Offset benefit under the
same rules that apply to other CSRS retirees. When you become eligible
for Social Security benefits, OPM will reduce your benefit. This reduction
is based on the value of the Social Security benefit you earned during
your CSRS Offset service. In other words, instead of getting one check
from OPM for all of your Federal service, some of the payment will come
from the Social Security Administration.
In addition, with more of your retirement income paid from Social Security,
you have an increased tax advantage because part, or all, of your Social
Security benefit will be exempt from Federal income tax. Only a small
portion of a CSRS, or CSRS Offset, benefit is excluded from Federal income
tax.
How long do I need to work
to become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits?
Everyone born in 1929 or later needs 40 credits to be eligible for Social
Security retirement benefits. Since you can earn 4 credits per year, you
need at least 10 years of work that subject to Social Security to become
eligible for Social Security retirement benefits.
When you work in a job that is subject to Social Security, your wages
are posted to your Social Security record and you receive earnings credits
based on those wages. The Social Security Administration uses these credits
to determine your eligibility for Social Security retirement benefits
and for disability or survivors benefits if you should become disabled
or die.
Each year, the amount of earnings needed for a credit rises as the average
earnings levels rise. In 2001, you receive 1 credit for each $830 of earnings,
up to the maximum of 4 credits per year.
What is the earliest age
I can begin receiving Social Security retirement benefits?
The earliest a person can start receiving Social Security retirement
benefits is age 62. Your Social Security retirement benefit is reduced
if you begin receiving them before your full retirement age.
Full retirement age has been age 65 for many years. However, beginning
with people born in 1938 or later, that age will gradually increase until
it reaches 67 for people born after 1959.
1937 or earlier |
65 |
1938 |
65 and 2 months |
1939 |
65 and 4 months |
1940 |
65 and 6 months |
1941 |
65 and 8 months |
1942 |
65 and 10 months |
1943 - 1954 |
66 |
1955 |
66 and 2 months |
1956 |
66 and 4 months |
1957 |
66 and 6 months |
1958 |
66 and 8 months |
1959 |
66 and 10 months |
1960 or later |
67 |
How are my Social Security
retirement benefits calculated?
Social Security benefits are based on earnings averaged over most of
a worker's lifetime. Your actual earnings are first adjusted or "indexed"
to account for changes in average wages since the year the earnings were
received. Then the Social Security Administration calculates your average
monthly indexed earnings during the 35 years in which you earned the most.
The Social Security Administration applies a formula to these earnings
and arrives at your basic benefit, or "primary insurance amount" (PIA).
This is the amount you would receive at your full retirement age.
As you can see from the above, the benefit computation is complex and
there are no simple tables that we can give you that will tell you how
much you will receive. However, there are several ways you can find out
how your Social Security retirement benefit is figured:
- Request a Social Security Statement. You can make your request over
the Internet and the Social Security Administration will mail you a
detailed report of your lifetime earnings and an estimate of Social
Security retirement, disability and dependent benefits: www.ssa.gov/statement.
- Compute your own Social Security benefit estimate using a program
that you can download from your PC: www.ssa.gov/OACT/ANYPIA/anypia.html.
- How Your Retirement Benefit Is Figured is a publication that walks
you through the formula for computing your retirement benefit: www.ssa.gov/pubs/10070.html.
- See examples of how Social Security benefits are computed at www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/ProgData/retirebenefit1.html.
Where can I get more information
about Social Security benefits?
You can find more information about Social Security benefits at www.ssa.gov.
I retired under CSRS,
which is the correct retirement coverage for me. Why am I affected by
Government Pension Offset?
The Government Pension Offset is part of the Social Security Law that
reduces spouse or survivor Social Security benefits for certain individuals
who are also entitled to a Federal Government pension. If you retire from
the Federal service under CSRS and are also eligible for Social Security
benefits as a spouse, former spouse or survivor, your Social Security
benefit will be reduced. It is reduced because you are receiving a pension
from the Federal Government based on earnings that are not covered by
Social Security. For every $3 you receive from your CSRS annuity, your
Social Security spousal benefit is reduced by $2. For more information,
see SSA's publication, Government Pension Offset at http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10007.html.
Is the Windfall Elimination
Provision the same as Government Pension Offset?
No. The Social Security Law also includes a provision -- the Windfall
Elimination Provision (WEP) -- that reduces Social Security benefits for
individuals who have less than 30 years of "substantial earnings" under
Social Security and who have earned a retirement benefit from employment
not covered by Social Security; for example, CSRS service. The WEP was
designed to eliminate the "windfall" that could result if you were to
receive a CSRS annuity based on many years of employment not covered by
Social Security and also receive a full Social Security benefit because
you had a few years of employment covered under Social Security. The WEP,
however, never totally eliminates the Social Security benefit you have
earned. For example, in 2001, the maximum amount the WEP can decrease
a Social Security benefit is $280.50 per month. For more information,
see SSA's The Windfall Elimination Provision at http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10045.html.
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