Impact of Government Pensions on Social Security

I retired under CSRS and then went to work for the state government under a state pension system. How will the two government pensions affect my Social Security benefits?

Q: I retired from the federal government (CSRS) with 26 years of service and receiving my annuity. I then went to work for a municipality that is covered under CalPERS (a California State Pension program). When I retire from this agency I will receive an annuity from CalPERS. My agency also participates in Social Security and in addition pays a monthly offset of $133.00 on my behalf. I am trying to determine how or if I will be affected by any offset regarding my Social Security benefit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

A: Your state pension will not affect your Social Security, but your CSRS pension does. Your Social Security will be reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision. If you are married the Government Pension Offset will reduce (probably eliminate) anything to which you are entitled as a spouse or survivor.

Agencies can request to have John Grobe, or another of Federal Career Experts' qualified instructors, deliver a retirement or transition seminar to their employees. FCE instructors are not financial advisers and will not sell or recommend financial products to class participants. Agency Benefits Officers can contact John Grobe at johnfgrobe@comcast.net to discuss schedules and costs.

About the Author

John Grobe is President of Federal Career Experts, a firm that provides pre-retirement training and seminars to a wide variety of federal agencies. FCE’s instructors are all retired federal retirement specialists who educate class participants on the ins and outs of federal retirement and benefits; there is never an attempt to influence participants to invest a certain way, or to purchase any financial products. John and FCE specialize in retirement for special category employees, such as law enforcement officers.