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McDuck

McDuck

Well-known member
I started the retirement paper work.

They sent me form 3107-1 "Certified Summary of Federal Service".

My "service computation date for retirement purposes" block 7 is 12/31/1984 (which is correct). I have only worked for one agency since.

"Section B - Verified Service History Documented in Official Personnel Records" has 2 line entries.
12/31/1984 to 12/31/1986 CSRS Offset
01/01/1987 to 08/31/2016 FERS

I'm surprised by this "CSRS Offset". I was told I was always in FERS.

Then in the "FERS Benefit Estimate Report" it lists "FERS Service Credit" as 31 years and 8 months which is the 1984-2016 period.


"CSRS Offset" is never listed again. Does anyone understand what is going on? Is there any value to this "CSRS Offset"?

Thank you
 
It's not fun, but in the end you will be like me, Handsome, happy, free and can do what I want to do! Step by step, I did it in 2010 and can't and don't want to remember all of the crap I had to do. ENJOY!!
 
Congrats McDuck!! I will be retired one year on 8/31 and it has been absolutely freeing. I retired under FERS, so I can't offer any help with CSRS Offset....it was easy processing the papers for me with OPM, minimal wait time for my full check to arrive.... maybe 2 months. I must have timed it right during a slow period. Enjoy your freedom!
 
Congratulations McDuck!! Since it was only 2 years where you paid into CSRS vs SS, there shouldn't be much of a difference so you can probably calculated it as you would if it were all FERS. Your pension and social security may be slightly different but technically they should offset each other, or you may come out a little ahead. I think offset rules may impact early retirement but all my employment was FERS. Does you agency provide an actual $$ estimate? Mine provided calculated pension amount and supplement at MRA, which was pretty close to my own calculations.
 
From what I understand, us who started in the pre-1987 years, had to have worked 5 years CSRS prior to 1984, to actually be eligible for CSRS-offset. We're the ones in the twilight zone. I started in 1986. They had me sign a paper in late 1987 that said I voluntarily chose FERS over CSRS, but at the same time, I was told I never really had a choice because I didn't have 5 years in prior to 1984.

Agency retirement calculator program where I can run various retirement scenarios to help me pick one, says I have 1 month of CSRS-offset from 1986, but I worked more time than that, that year. I'm still scratching my head over that one. It wasn't an official calc, but the unofficial agency retirement calculator program has all of my service time and dates in it correctly, input by HR.

I also bought back a few months of seasonal/temporary employment time from pre-1984 also, years ago on advice of HR retirement specialist, to expedite my retirement-eligibility date under FERS. All my time done in the same agency, different blocks of time. I'll blle curious to see if the "one month" of CSRS-offset actually becomes official when I finally submit papers for real. somehow I don't think it will. not many HR people around from back then and it was a chaotic time, that transition, I don't think HR people back then really understood how to handle the transition recordswise.

I was almost terminated officially as if I was a temporary employee in late 1986 who was resigning to go back to school, even tho I was a 1st-year career-conditional at that point, on-off in school. fortunately one personnelist spotte the error and fixed it before it was too late. I was clueless at that point about the implications of the paper I signed that said I was resigning from a temporary position until someone explained the error to me and to my supervisor.

There was a big settlement a number of years ago, when they figured out a lot of people had been erroneously put into wrong retirement system in the system records. those people got to circle back and decide, as if for the first time, which system they wanted to be in for retirement purposes. Supposedly all those people were notified of the error and their situations cleaned up already. I wasn't one of the ones notified so pretty sure I'm not really CSRS-offset, not even one month's worth.
 
Well good luck McDuck..

Can't help with the CSRS offset/..I am total CSRS..But If you're young enough and like to stay active..get a retirement job you like and double your income from when you were working Full Time...Any unpaid debt you might still have, is soon erased and you'll have tons of fun money....I was able to get my second favorite car recently...

maserati_ad_2409_14027_2.jpg
 
alevin said:
From what I understand, us who started in the pre-1987 years, had to have worked 5 years CSRS prior to 1984, to actually be eligible for CSRS-offset. We're the ones in the twilight zone. I started in 1986. They had me sign a paper in late 1987 that said I voluntarily chose FERS over CSRS, but at the same time, I was told I never really had a choice because I didn't have 5 years in prior to 1984.

Agency retirement calculator program where I can run various retirement scenarios to help me pick one, says I have 1 month of CSRS-offset from 1986, but I worked more time than that, that year. I'm still scratching my head over that one. It wasn't an official calc, but the unofficial agency retirement calculator program has all of my service time and dates in it correctly, input by HR.
Click to expand...

Thanks alevin for your reply. You are correct.
 
evilanne said:
Congratulations McDuck!! Since it was only 2 years where you paid into CSRS vs SS, there shouldn't be much of a difference so you can probably calculated it as you would if it were all FERS. Your pension and social security may be slightly different but technically they should offset each other, or you may come out a little ahead. I think offset rules may impact early retirement but all my employment was FERS. Does you agency provide an actual $$ estimate? Mine provided calculated pension amount and supplement at MRA, which was pretty close to my own calculations.
Click to expand...

Thanks evilanne. You are correct. This so-called CSRS-offset makes no/little difference.
Yes. My agency did provide actual $ estimate for both FERS annuity and supplement and they were close to my own calculations.
 
Buster said:
Well good luck McDuck..

Can't help with the CSRS offset/..I am total CSRS..But If you're young enough and like to stay active..get a retirement job you like and double your income from when you were working Full Time...Any unpaid debt you might still have, is soon erased and you'll have tons of fun money....I was able to get my second favorite car recently...
Click to expand...

Thanks Buster for your the best wishes.

That is good advice about getting a job that I like. But under FERS, ~40% of my retirement $ will be from the Supplement which is "means tested". For the first $16k earned in a year, the supplement is not reduced. After that $16k, for every 2 dollars earned then 1 dollar is reduced from the supplement. That means if I was making $48k or more per year, then I would lose that $20k supplement. FERS retirees have to file an income statement with OPM every year.

I have my house paid for, have no debts, and a sizable emergency fund/savings in the credit union.
My current plan is live off the retirement $ and not take any out of TSP, hopefully leaving it to my two granddaughters.

That is a beautiful car you have.
 
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