Thread: Actual FERS Soc Sec Supplement

In the new debt reduction deal all federal employees forfeit their SS supplement to help trim the fat.
Only kidding, I'm sure someone on here can help with that.

The formula is as follows:

Calculate the amount of social security benefits the employee would have recieved if they were currently 62 divided by 40 times the number of years of service under FERS. This number will vary for everyone based on income and number of years of social security based quarters and number of years of federal service.

$1100/mo for 26 years ATC. Some at GS14 and some at GS12 and some at AT-7 pay scales.

But like fundsurfer says, look at your yearly SS statement age 62 amount and make a fraction (yrs fers) / 40 and multiply by the SS amount

I've read that military time is subtracted from that formula, even though we have payed the deposit on the military time in FERS. So instead of getting credit for 30 FERS years I will only get credit in the formula for 26 years, because of 4 of those years being military time. So if I am to receive $1300 in SS at 62, you would think I would get $975 in the supplement now, but I believe I will only get $845. (Retired from USPS on 5/31/11 and obviously haven't gotten final numbers from OPM yet.)
So is there anyone who has payed the deposit on their military time and who is already receiving their supplement, who can speak to this specifically? thanks

From OPM
Computation of Annuity Supplement
The FERS annuity supplement is computed as if you were age 62 and fully insured for a social security benefit when the supplement begins. OPM first estimates what your full career (40 years) social security benefit would be. Then we calculate the amount of your civilian service under FERS and reduce the estimated full career social security benefit accordingly. For example, if your estimated full career social security benefit would be $1,000 and you had worked 30 years under FERS, we would divide 30 by 40 (.75) and multiply ($1,000 x .75 = $750). The result would be your FERS annuity supplement, prior to any reductions.

Link
Section 51A2.1-3 Computing the Retiree Annuity Supplement (Cont.)

Shows no penalty for military time. The only credit you need to buy in is for the actual annuity.

"Then we calculate the amount of your civilian service under FER..."

That's what's the confusion point. Even though a person pays for his military time by making the deposit into FERS, you still don't get credit for it as "civilian service" time when figuring the supplement. So the military time is figured for retirement, but not when calculating the SS supplement. Correct? I was told that I wouldn't receive 75%, but about 65% of the SS that I would get at age 62.
Anyone reading this have actual figures from their actual FERS payments?

Forgot to add this section to last post:



Comments on this topic from myfederalretirement.com:

2. Total civilian service under FERS (in figuring the supplement) does not include: (a) a period of leave without pay exceeding six months; (b) those years of FERS service in which a departed employee requested a refund of employee FERS contributions but no redeposit was not made subsequent to the employee's return to federal service; and (c) military service on which an employee made a deposit.

I just got my FERS Benefit Estimate Report last Friday, Aug 5th. The FERS Annuity Supplement was less than I thought. Came to this sight for the answer and this string of post explains why it was less than I thought.
I bought back my six years of military service and have a 30 years I need to retire.
I thought I would get 75% (30/40) but it was only 60% (24/40).

There is a widget at http://fedbens.us/ which will calculate it. Using it I estimated $1000. It came through last week, $850. I, too, failed to subtract my military time. In twelve months when I turn 62 and apply fo SS, I will get a nice raise, from $850 to ~$1500.

Thanks for the link and keeping it straight on this thread.

Great Information!

Thanks for sharing the "real world" computations!

Lemeeeeeeeseeeee now ifn i got this straight. Your military don't count even though you PAID the deposit. (CHECK). AND, as was the case with my time in the military, you paid into SS the whol time. (CHECK). So how the F(**&(& do they justify this disallowance? Oh yeah...the snakes in suits don't have to!

113 and a wake up!