Office of Worker's Compensation Programs (OWCP)

Information on OWCP programs and how they affect Federal Employees and Civil Service Retirement Systems Benefits.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Information on how SSA programs affect Federal retirement benefits (SSA Offset, Windfall Elimination Act and more).

Military Retired Pay

Information on crediting and waiving your Military Retired Pay Benefits.

Medicare

Information on Medicare Premuims.

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Information about the Thrift Savings Plan.

Estimate of Your Social Security Benefit

You should ask your local Social Security Office for form SSA-7004-PC, Request for Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement, or visit the Social Security Administration website.  If you submit this form, you will get a statement that provides information on your future eligibility for Social Security benefits and estimates of these benefits at specified dates.  These estimates do not reflect any reduction for the Government Pension Offset or the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

Government Pension Offset

Some of an employee's spousal Social Security benefit may be offset if the employee has a government pension from work not covered by Social Security.  The offset does not apply to the employee's own Social Security benefit, only the benefit that comes from a spouse's employment.  If the Government Pension Offset applies, the spousal Social Security benefit will be reduced by two-thirds of any Federal pension based on employment not covered by Social Security.  Some employees are exempt from the Government Pension Offset.  They are employees who are automatically covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Offset, and those who elected to transfer to FERS before January 1, 1988, or during the belated transfer period which ended June 30, 1988.  Employees who were covered by CSRS and who elected FERS coverage after June 30, 1988, must have five years of Federal employment covered by Social Security to be exempt from the offset.

Windfall Elimination Provision

If you receive a Federal pension and are also eligible for Social Security benefits based on your own employment record, a different formula may be used to compute your Social Security benefit.  This formula will result in a lower benefit.   The Windfall Elimination Provision affects workers who reach age 62 or become disabled after 1985 and are first eligible after 1985 for a Federal pension.

The Windfall Elimination Provision does not apply if:

• You were eligible to retire before January 1, 1986; or
• You were first employed by the government after December 31, 1983; or,
• You have 30 or more years of substantial earnings under Social Security.

Estimating the Amount of the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision Reduction

You should contact your local Social Security office to determine the effect of the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision on your Social Security benefits.

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Service Subject to Offset Due to Social Security Eligibility

Federal employees hired or rehired on or after January 1, 1984, who are covered by both CSRS and Social Security at the same time are called CSRS Offset Employees. CSRS offset employment time is used to compute the annuity we pay you.  However, your CSRS annuity will be reduced when you become eligible for Social Security benefits.  The offset applies when the basic requirements for Social Security are met, generally at age 62, even if you do not apply for those benefits.  If you are not eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62, there is no offset unless you become eligible later.

The offset reduction is the lesser of the:

• Difference between the SSA monthly benefit amounts with and without CSRS offset service, or
• Product of the SSA monthly benefit amount with Federal earnings multiplied by a fraction where the numerator is the employee's total CSRS offset service rounded to the nearest whole number of years and the denominator is 40.

Effect of Entitlement to Social Security Benefits on FERS Disability Benefits

If you are under age 62 and your annuity benefits were computed using either 60% or 40% of your "high-3" average salary, OPM will reduce your monthly annuity by all or a portion of your Social Security benefits.  While you are receiving an annuity computed using the 60% computation, OPM must reduce your monthly annuity by 100% of any Social Security disability benefit to which you are entitled.  While you are receiving an annuity computed using the 40% computation, your monthly annuity will be reduced by 60% of any Social Security disability benefit to which you are entitled. T his reduction only applies for months in which you are concurrently entitled to both FERS and Social Security benefits.

Effect of Entitlement to Social Security Benefits on FERS Child Survivor Annuity Benefit

Receipt of Social Security benefits affects a child's entitlement to a FERS survivor benefit.  The total FERS benefits payable to all children are reduced by the total Social Security benefits payable to all children.  The remaining amount is divided by the total number of children payable under FERS. Each eligible child receives this amount.  If the Social Security benefits equal or exceed the FERS benefits, no FERS benefits are be paid. In many cases, the payments from Social Security will eliminate the FERS benefit altogether.

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Receiving Benefits from the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP)

Generally, you cannot receive benefits for total or partial disability from the Office of Workers’ Compensation (OWCP) and CSRS or FERS annuity payments at the same time. You must decide which benefit is most advantageous and elect to receive that benefit. If you decide to receive worker’s compensation benefits, payments from OPM will be suspended. If your worker’s compensation benefit stops, you can ask us to pay your CSRS or FERS annuity. You may receive concurrent payment of FERS annuity and OWCP benefits for the same period of time only if:

• You are receiving a scheduled award from OWCP. A scheduled award is usually paid when there is a disability resulting from the loss, or loss of use, of a function or member of the body (such as a hearing loss), or
• You are receiving OWCP benefits due to the death of another person and you are eligible for annuity on the basis of your own Federal service, or
• Your OWCP payments are suspended because you are receiving a financial settlement from the party directly responsible for the injury (a third party settlement). In this instance, your annuity may be paid during the period that your OWCP benefits are suspended.

Approval of OWCP Benefits and Entitlement to FERS/CSRS Disability Benefit

The approval of a claim for benefits by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP), U.S. Department of Labor for a work-related injury or illness, does not automatically entitle an employee to a FERS or CSRS disability retirement. A claim for FERS or CSRS disability retirement must also be filed with the Office of Personnel Management. If you are approved for disability retirement and elect to provide survivor protection, you will protect the rights of your eligible survivors to receive annuity benefits after your death. In addition, this will protect your own annuity rights in the event you lose entitlement to benefits from OWCP. Your application for FERS/CSRS disability retirement must be received by OPM within one year from the date of your separation by your agency.

If you Begin to Receive Benefits From the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) While you are Receiving CSRS or FERS Retirement Benefits, or If your OWCP Award is Changed from a Scheduled Award to a Non-Scheduled Award

Contact Us to tell us if you are awarded worker’s compensation benefits and see if you need to make an election between benefits.

Contacting the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP)

Visit the Office of Worker’s Compensation Program (OWCP) for additional information about worker’s compensation benefits.

Contact Your Federal Employee’s OWCP District Office and view the locations and jurisdictions for Federal Employee’s Compensation Program District Offices.

Crediting Military Service for CSRS/FERS When You Are Receiving Military Retired Pay

You cannot receive credit for any military service in your CSRS/FERS retirement computation, if you are receiving military retired pay, unless you were awarded the retired pay:

• On account of a service-connected disability either incurred in combat with an enemy of the United States or caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a period of war, or
• Under the provisions of Chapter 67, Title 10, U.S.C. (pertaining to retirement from a reserve component of the Armed Forces).

However, you can elect to waive the retired pay and have the military service added to your civilian service in computing your CSRS/FERS annuity.

How to Waive Your Military Retired Pay

If you want to waive your military retired pay to receive credit for military service in the computation of your FERS or CSRS benefit, you should write the Retired Pay Operations Center at least 60 days before your planned retirement. Send your waiver to:

Defense Finance and Accounting Service
U.S. Military Retirement Pay
P.O. Box 7130
London, KY 40742-7130

You can fax your request to 1-800-469-6559.

Suggested wording for your request is as follows: