There is so much that we can’t control, and it’s easy to focus on those things and feel helpless to stop them. But in this...
Read MoreThere is so much that we can’t control, and it’s easy to focus on those things and feel helpless to stop them. But in this...
Read MoreWhen we talk about your FERS Retirement, we’re really talking about several different benefits. FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System) has three main components: Basic FERS...
Read MoreSpecial Benefit for Some FERS Who Retire Before Age 62 Have you heard about the FERS Supplement? It’s an important benefit for FERS planning to...
Read MoreFERS retirement benefits are complex. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the details. But it’s important to remember that federal benefits are just...
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“… I recently went over the max earnings on my supplement and when I filled the form out in early June it is expected I was appx 2,500 over. Two questions: 1. If I go over again is it subtracted from the original amount of the supplement or the adjusted amount? 2. How do I get it readjusted back to the original amount? Thx Kevin”
What if your FERS Supplement was taken away because you earned too much money?
Can you restart your FERS Supplement if it was taken away because you earned too much money?
In this article, we are going to discuss what the FERS Supplement is and how it is calculated. Next, we will dive into more complex questions like what happens if that supplement stops because you exceeded the earnings limitations when you retired from Federal Service.
The FERS Annuity Supplement is a benefit for Federal Employees to supplement their income until they are eligible for social security benefits.
As a FERS Employee, you may be eligible to receive the FERS Supplement. The Supplement is additional, monthly, fixed income. It begins at your retirement and lasts until you have reached age 62.
At age 62 you first become eligible to receive social security benefits so the Supplement will stop. However, just because you are eligible to receive your social security benefits when your Supplement stops, that does not necessarily mean that you should apply for social security at age 62.
If you start social security at age 62 you will do so at a permanently reduced rate versus if you had waited until you reached your Full Retirement Age (FRA) or older.
To determine if you are eligible for the FERS Supplement as a FERS Employee you need to:
You are eligible for the FERS Supplement if you retire with an immediate, unreduced pension under before you reach age 62.
Keep in mind that your FERS retirement system was based on three “legs”:
Social Security benefits are a crucial component of your retirement from Federal Service. However, the first date that are eligible to draw social security benefits is age 62. Many Federal Employees are eligible to retire from Federal Service before they reach the minimum age to draw Social Security.
FERS employees who retire before age 62 and who are entitled to an immediate annuity are eligible to receive the FERS Supplement.
You are NOT eligible to receive the FERS Supplement if you fall into one of these categories:
Retirees in the following categories are not eligible for the retiree annuity supplement at any time:
You can calculate what your FERS Supplement by The formula used by:
Step 1: , create a “full career” earnings history using the employee’s basic pay during civilian service that is creditable under FERS and deemed wages for years after the employee turned 21 and before the first full year of FERS service.
Step 2: Second, update the earnings history for inflation.
Step 3: Third, compute the supplement, using the same formula that would be used by the Social Security Administration to compute a Social Security benefit, including the maximum reduction for early retirement under Social Security.
Step 4: Fourth, multiply the result of the third step by a fraction to approximate the proportion of a full career Social Security benefit earned under FERS. (opm.gov)
The retiree FERS Annuity Supplement is not increased by cost-of-living adjustments (COLA’s).
No, your FERS Supplement is not the same amount as what you may receive from Social Security. The formula is derived from social security administration laws but isn’t always dollar for dollar the same.
The formula used to calculate your FERS Supplement is different than that used for calculating Social Security Benefits. The main differences between Social Security rules and the pension computation formulas generally used by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are that Social Security uses earnings during a worker’s full career, updates these earnings for inflation, and applies a very different computation formula that uses these updated earnings from a full career.
Keep in mind that just because you are eligible to first receive social security benefits at age 62 does not mean that you necessarily should apply for them.
Learn more about the financial consequences of starting social security at age 62 here.
There is no website or online application to apply for the FERS Supplement.
If you are eligible to receive the FERS Supplement in retirement then you will receive the allotment automatically. You do not have to “apply”.
Likewise, you do not have to cancel or stop your FERS Supplement at age 62. That will cease when you reach age 62 automatically as well.
However, once you retire you may want to confirm that OPM has your particular file flagged as eligible for the FERS Supplement.
This covers how you can start your FERS Supplement. How to stop your FERS Supplement happens automatically. Trust me, the government won’t forget that they are paying you a little extra. 🙂
If you chose to work after you retire from Federal Service and are receiving the FERS Supplement, your earnings from that employment are subject to the social security administrations earning limitations.
Each year, the earnings limitations are published (See 42 U.S.C. 403.) In 2020 that earnings limitation was $18,240.
OPM will reduce $1 from your benefits for each $2 you earn above $18,240.
A reduction in the retiree pension supplement in a given year is based on excess earnings in the previous year.
If the following year you are not eligible any longer to receive the supplement because you turn age 63+, the rules are:
“the supplement is payable in the year following a year in which the retiree’s earnings exceeded the exempt amount (that is, the annuity the supplement was terminated during the previous year due to the attainment of age 62), there is no reduction for excess earnings since the reduction can only be applied to the retiree annuity supplement.” (opm.gov)
Each year that you work once you retire from Federal Service under FERS, before you reach age 63, you will need to complete an Annuity Supplement Earnings Report.
Form RI92-22 is the Annuity Supplement Earnings Report.
“The annuity supplement part of your FERS benefit is subject to an earnings test similar to the one applied to Social Security Benefits and uses the same exempt amount, as required by law in 5 U.S.C. Section 8421a. Your annuity supplement will be reduced $1.00 for every $2.00 by which you exceed the exempt amount ($17,040 for 2018). By law, this reduction is effective July 1, 2019. We apply the test only to earnings you received in 2018 after retirement and after you reach the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA). Full-Time Air Traffic Controller (ATC) Instructors are excluded.” (Form RI92-22)
You will complete this form on an annual basis.
Include as earnings:
Earnings EXCLUDE:
“Micah, love your videos. I’m retired (58 years old) from USPS. Very aggressive in TSP. 40% C, 40% S, and 20% I- I’m down close to 30% from all time
“Is there a reason why you did not include the MRA+10 in the group below when speaking about qualifying for FEHB? I thought that this group would also be qualified
“Next May I can retire with 35 years at the age of 62. I was considering working 10 more months to retire at 63 and get more Social Security.
“I retired on Dec 31 2019. Don’t you think I should pull all my money out of the TSP and put it in a high interest saving? Thank You, Alfreda”
Get the most out of your federal retirement benefits by taking advantage of the FERS resources created by Micah Shilanski, CFP®, and the team of independent financial advisors at Shilanski & Associates, Inc. Join the thousands of federal employees who trust us to guide them in their retirement planning journey because of our unique perspective of how your FERS benefits contribute to your comprehensive financial plan.
Year after year I see Federal Employees missing the same critical concepts in their federal retirement planning. That’s why I’ve created an online workshop to help educate Federal Employees on these critical concepts.
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7 CLASSIC RETIREMENT MISTAKES Federal Employees Make
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7 CLASSIC RETIREMENT MISTAKES Federal Employees Make
Your privacy is our top priority, and we promise to keep your email safe! For more information, please see our privacy policy.