social security & military pension

It's called the Windfall Elimination Program (WEP) and applies to people who retire from Civil Service under the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). It applies to folks who retire from CSRS and also worked enough time in another job to be eligible for Social Security. There are formulae used to calculate it but basically your SS can be reduced by $2 for every $3 you earn from Civil Service retirement. I believe WEP cannot reduce your SS to less than $355 a month or something like that. I do not think it is quite fair, particularly for lower grade civil service personnel, but it is the law.

My wife is a retired GS-5 secretary under the old CSRS system and afterwards she worked in the real world long enough for qualify for a little over $300 a month SS. After the WEP is applied she will only get $90 a month SS. If I die first and my wife draws SS based on my earnings the amount will be reduced, probably by even more, under another little quirk called the Government Pension Offset (GPO) which may reduce her SS to $0.

I do not claim to understand the exact formulae they use to compute the amounts, I just know there are two programs that apply to CSRS retirees and possibly to their spouses if their spouses draw a retirment from a job where they did not pay in to Social Security. The programs are the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO.

www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/wep.htm

www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10007.html

If you worked for Civil Service under the new FERS retirment system you paid SS and would be entitled to full SS. I retired from the Army after 20 years, did 21 years in Civil Service under FERS and will draw my Army retirment, Civil Service retirement, small VA check (withheld from my Army retirement), and full SS when I am eligible. I guess that makes me a Quad dipper.

And they say, we are receiving a windfall. I guess we shouldn't complain, we own are home, and can afford to eat, after we put gas in our vehicles.

Now, if anyone can tell me why we have to lose $40.00, because my husband did not buy back his active duty time. Since when, ??? should someone be penalized for serving active duty. I guess I should be glad that all the extra time he served, was kept less then 30 days, so we didn't have to switch our health insurance from federal to military.

That maybe the answer to my 100 $ extra. I came in the AF in 63, and ss was not held out at that time, not sure when they did start taking it out. I also had a break in service, was out almost a year. I think I was told that they only count back the last 35 years are something like that, and have been working since I got out in 86. The income Im making know will be more then I made back then, and will increase my ss each year that I still keep working, as the years of first military time will fall to the way side. It didnt increase much as have been drawing it over year. THANKS

Wow, am I in the same country. My Dear Husband had his 62 BD in March, went to SS 3 months earlier, and was told to come back 3 week before he could collect.

Now for the the other shocker. DH was a DOD employee on the old retirement system, which meant SS was not taken out of his pay. SS was taken our of his reserves for 39 years, and we knew we could collect on that. His original SS statement, said he should receive about $660. They said, because he was a DOD employee in the old system, his SS would be reduced. Now remember he paid SS while in the reserves, so imagine ours shockto see, his new payment would be $380.00. Several weeks later we received a letter stating, he was being penalized for about $40.00, because he did not "buy back" his active duty time. I'm afraid to open anything else from SS, because I'm afraid the next time we will owe them. Though we were not happy about the $40.00 deduction, a friend who worked with him, not only was reduced because of his DOD time, but they took an extra $100 out of his SS, because of him not buying back his time.

Now if anyone can make sense out of this I would be glad to know. They said, it was done by certain calculations. I'm sorry, but I see someone at a desk flipping a coin, and coming up with a number.

Though I was a homemaker, a good part of our marriage, I worked long enough to get SS. The shock now is that I will be getting more than my husband. > :'(
[/quote] This sounds like my wife wrote it, this is my exact same situation, except that I did buy back my time.
Maybe I'll get enough to buy a case of beer a month, sure wont be enough for a tank of gas.

I entered the AF in 1962, did 20 years, worked USPS (CSRS) no SS withheld, for 23 years. Applied for SS 4 months prior to retiring from USPS, the same month of my retirement I received my first SS check, Feb 2007. My SS statement indicated I should receive about $750 or so, however this was reduced by about 30% or so, since I never paid into SS except for the military time that counted somehow. It was explained to me several times, however that stuff just doesn't seem to stay with me. I was just happy to receive ANY SS since I had not paid into it during all those US Postal Service years. But now that old SS check, the AF check and the USPS check are there just like clockwork. Wifies SS and retirement help keep me in underwear and beer also. I truly LOVE this great country. I am a little concerned about the next generation, however. I hope our generation is not the "peak."

Such confusion. I started receiving my SS when I turned 65 in 2004. I joined the Army in 1960 when SS was not taken out. I retired in 1980 and worked at different places, including Civil Service for 3 years. Remember, when you get medicare Part A, you must also have medicare Part B in order to get Tricare For Life. This year the Part B deduction is around $96 a month. There is no SS offset from military retirement. Whew, I don't have any idea where this is going. When I applied for SS there was no question about my early years in the Army. The $100 is the first I heard of in this thread. : ???

The amount of your Social Security received also depends on your employment AFTER military retirement, whether or not you contributed to Soc Sec. If CSRS you did NOT, if FERS, you did, that would increase your SS. If you worked for WaL-Mart or any other place, then you contributed and your check will be larger than just a straight military retirement with no follow on contributions. All I do know for certain is that MY check is about $300 a month LESS than the amount indicated on my SS statements received prior to starting to receive SS. A phone call to Social Security should help clear this up a little. I started receiving at 63.