Question- need sourced facts

[James48843]

Someone asked me the other day about the huge sums federal employees make in retirement. I tried to tell them that the average retirement payout was not huge at all, but I have been unable to locate specific facts on either the OPM website, or other websites.

Can anyone point me to a published data of how much the AVERAGE payout for a CSRS retirement is, and what is the AVERAGE payout for a FERS retirement these days?

I found some rough estimates dating back to 2002, but nothing more recent.

If you know of a source for this kind of factual information, I would be interested in the link.

Thanks in advance

[James48843]

The closest thing I could find is this chart- from an OPM fact book dated 2006, which showed the average payout in retirement payment of COMBINED CSRS and FERS. I was hoping to get a more recent data, and separate out CSRS and FERS to show the average payout of each these days.

sum.JPG

Anybody know where I can find more recent data, and data specifically to FERS?

[James48843]

Ok-only tidbit of data I have been able to gather is...here is the data on the relation of current CSRS employees still working, to FERS retirement plan still working, as of 2010:

11.9% Civil Service Retirement 82.56% Federal Employees Retirement System and Social Security,

[clester]

An average pay wouldn't tell the story. Pay ranges are so varied. Maybe look at percentages of pay. Plus fers has tsp component that would be hard to gauge.

[alevin]

An average pay wouldn't tell the story. Pay ranges are so varied. Maybe look at percentages of pay. Plus fers has tsp component that would be hard to gauge.

Agreed, the tsp element would be hard to gauge, especially since its entirely dependent on ability to manage the funds pre-retirement, and ability to put enough away into it before retirement too. Apples to apples, I'd just compare the "pension" component. after all, if going to include the tsp component, might as well throw in the SS component too-which aint going to be there for us later boomers in anything like the amounts they prognosticate on the annual earnings statement. wish I'd known that a whole lot sooner than I did. so 2 legged stool not too steady. and if it does manage to have 3 legs, they're not going to all be equal length-lopsided stool not too steady either.

[James48843]

I am only looking for the defined benefit FERS pension payout data. Not the TSP or SS.

[tsptalk]

~ 1.0 to 1.1 percent of your high-3 average salary for each year of service

http://www.opm.gov/retire/pre/fers/computation.asp

[clester]

~ 1.0 to 1.1 percent of your high-3 average salary for each year of service

http://www.opm.gov/retire/pre/fers/computation.asp

Unless you are atc, police, firefighter and then it's 1.7%

[James48843]

My question isn't "how much do you earn in a FERS retirement".

My question is - how much is paid out by the goverment in the average FERS retirement for the last year available? the data above from the FACTBOOK (Last published in 2006), says the average monthly annuity for a retiree was $ 2,239 per month. That was average of BOTH CSRS and FERS. (One can presume that the CSRS number would be much larger than any FERS number). OPN quit publishing the FACTBOOK because of Section 508 problems (Section 508- make it accessable to the blind).

So I was looking for date more recent than 2006, AND was hoping to split out the average payout made for a FERS person.

The intent is to have facts at hand to counter those who seem to think federal employees make huge bloated pensions. (Some are saying fed employees make $100K per year in retirement money...simply not true for the vast majority of us).

[tsptalk]

I don't see it broken out by FERS but I found this...

http://www.opm.gov/feddata/retire/NS...ents_00-10.asp

[James48843]

I don't see it broken out by FERS but I found this...

http://www.opm.gov/feddata/retire/NS...ents_00-10.asp

Yes, that's number of people who have retired. But not how much retirement pay they are getting . that's what I am trying to find. A source for how much the average retirement check is.

[tsptalk]

Doh! I'm guessing that if YOU can't find it, it isn't out there.