FERS supplement calculation?

[James48843]

Question:

So i HIT MY 30 YEARS recently, and now I am sitting down and running numbers to see when I can afford to retire (Not quite yet, unfortunately).

I am trying to figure out the value of the FERS SUPPLEMENT.

I am currently 58 and 4 months. I have 30 year of federal service as of last October.

When I run my Social Security statement, it says I will get, at age 62, $1,977 a month.

And if I waited until Age 67, my full retirement age, my Social Security payment would be $2, 946.

I found a web page that says FERS SUPPLEMENT is calculated like: (number of years(30)/40) X Social Security payment = FERS supplement.

Question: Is that 0.75 X the age 62 payout ($1,977)? or is that 0.75 X the full age 67 payout? ($2,946)?


Anybody know?

 

[Valkyrie]

it will be slightly less than the 62 yr old ss payment. it is for me. per law its suppose to be the same, but that is before govt magic math.

 

[Valkyrie]

it will be slightly less than the 62 yr old ss payment. it is for me. per law its suppose to be the same, but that is before govt magic math.

to add, supplement stops at age 62, calculations are based on 62 not 67.

 

[gegor1957]

Years of service (30) divided by 40 times SS benefit at 62. 30/40 x 1977=1482

 

[MrBill]

My EBIS estimate was within $7 of my actual monthly FERS Supp I am receiving, but about $95 short if I use my SS estimate at age 62. I read somewhere before I retired last year that the FERS Supp is based on SS earnings while a govt employee. If my high school and college jobs aren't counted, then the my number is probably correct.

I found it interesting that my retirement estimate contained a third of a page showing how my FERS was determined, but there was just a single line with a number for my FERS Supp. No data whatsoever on how the Supp number was figured. That's the mystery estimate.

 

[exnavyew]

I work at the VA. I'd suggest contacting your HR dept for specifics. Or maybe contacting OPM directly.
Best of luck!

https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/computation/

Contact numbers:

https://www.opm.gov/about-us/contact-us/

 

[exnavyew]

Simply FYI:

https://www.fedweek.com/reg-jones-experts-view/calculating-a-fers-annuity/

 

[James48843]

Simply FYI:

https://www.fedweek.com/reg-jones-experts-view/calculating-a-fers-annuity/

Was looking for the calculation for FERS supplement, not the FERS pension itself. Already know what the pension works out to- just don’t know what the supplement works out to.

Thanks everybody for the assistance. Looks like I now have a better idea. And that means I gotta keep working a little longer.

(Unless they furlough me Friday. That could happen too).

Note: I am now hearing of a large number of unplanned retirements since we cake back to work two weeks ago. I have learned of FIVE people I know who WERE planning on working two or three more years, who decided after the recent 5 week furlough to call it a day and retire. Two are going Friday this week, and the other three are all giving like 30 to 60 day notice they are retiring. I think if we end up with another furlough this week, that’s going to push many more over the edge to bail out and retire.


Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums

 

[Cactus]

Note: I am now hearing of a large number of unplanned retirements since we cake back to work two weeks ago. I have learned of FIVE people I know who WERE planning on working two or three more years, who decided after the recent 5 week furlough to call it a day and retire. Two are going Friday this week, and the other three are all giving like 30 to 60 day notice they are retiring. I think if we end up with another furlough this week, that’s going to push many more over the edge to bail out and retire.

On the other end of the employment lader, those with less than a few years in are telling the Government what they can do with their job. I heard about two people who quit and never came back from furlough. Several others have left since coming back.


These are people who were GS 03-05. With the unemployment rate being as low as it is, these folks have no problem finding employment elsewhere.

 

[Tsunami]

My theory on why the actual FERS Supplement comes out to less than what you calculate based on your age 62 benefit is because the age 62 benefit (as well as the full retirement age and age 70 benefits) are based on the assumption that you will keep working. In reality once you stop working then those numbers start dropping. You can get more precise estimates if you download the detailed calculator here:
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/anypia/download.html

I recently got a new desktop computer, so now I'm stuck having to start all over again and this is the ideal time for me to do that since in another month or two I'll be getting my FERS Supplement.
WARNING: The Anypia calculator is the most archaic piece of cr*p you can imagine, a circa 1990ish program, with a manual over 100 pages long that's impossible to comprehend LOL. I'm not excited about doing this again but I'm going to attempt it over the next day or two if I find time. Per my last calculation a year ago the results came out roughly that I'll get about 90% of what the current social security statement shows....and by the way, Social Security already has the figures updated through 12/31/18, at least in my case, I downloaded my new statement a week ago.

 

[Tsunami]

So it only took me about an hour to download the latest 2018 version of Anypia and rerun the calculations. I found my previous file from a year ago and just updated that, so I didn't have to re-enter my earnings going back to the 1970s, so that helped. I also found that if you enter zero for number of family members it makes it easier to figure out. I already know that my wife will get 50% of my age 67 benefit anyway, so no need to complicate the program.

The end result, my recent retirement at age 58-1/2 will reduce my social security benefit at age 62 to about 91% of what my latest Social Security statement says it would have been if I had kept working....and therefore I'd expect that my FERS Supplement will be about 91% of what the formula says it will be if you just use the age 62 benefit number of my SS statement. About $1292/mo is what my Supplement should be before the Federal income tax is taken out. I'll come back to this thread in a couple months when I actually get my Supplement and report on how close my estimate was.

 

[jonfresno]

I believe it's number of years worked divided by 40, times the SS you would get at 82. So if you retire at 57 and you worked 35 years, it would be 35/40 * your SS you would get at 62.

Was looking for the calculation for FERS supplement, not the FERS pension itself. Already know what the pension works out to- just don’t know what the supplement works out to.

Thanks everybody for the assistance. Looks like I now have a better idea. And that means I gotta keep working a little longer.

(Unless they furlough me Friday. That could happen too).

Note: I am now hearing of a large number of unplanned retirements since we cake back to work two weeks ago. I have learned of FIVE people I know who WERE planning on working two or three more years, who decided after the recent 5 week furlough to call it a day and retire. Two are going Friday this week, and the other three are all giving like 30 to 60 day notice they are retiring. I think if we end up with another furlough this week, that’s going to push many more over the edge to bail out and retire.


Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums

 

[jonfresno]

I believe it's number of years worked divided by 40, times the SS you would get at 82. So if you retire at 57 and you worked 35 years, it would be 35/40 * your SS you would get at 62.

Sorry, not 82, 62 in the first line...

 

[exnavyew]

FWIW:

https://www.fedweek.com/retirement-benefits/calculating-special-retirement-supplement-2/

 

[uscfanhawaii]

That’s the ticket!
Other answers were close, but of course, FEDweek always has the details!

 

[exnavyew]

Thanks!