social security & military pension

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.

My scenario for retirement worked out well but not by design. It just happened that way. In 1957 President Eisenhower enacted legislation that resulted in military personnel having to contribute a part of their pay into Social Security. The military operated on the physical year calendar at that time so on October 1st 1957 military personnel started paying into Social Security.

I Joined the regular Navy in January of 1957 and retired in 1988 on the PDRL (Permanent Disabled Retired List). Not long after my military retirement a retired friend working in a state DVOP (Disabled Veteran Outreach Program) called and informed me about a job opening at the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) that was earmarked for disabled Viet-Nam era Veterans. I applied for and was accepted for the position and went on to become a Journeyman Aircraft Mechanic. I accepted that position as a FERs employee and paid into Social Security. One of the requirements that must be met to retire from DoD is to have more than 5 years service at age 62. So at age 63 after more than 10 years service I retired from my DoD job and shortly thereafter went on reduced (less than age 65) Social Security Retirement. My Social Security has not been penalized for any military or DoD connections because it is based solely on the amount paid into it. So I’m sort of a quad dipper as I get Military - VA - DoD - and SSA checks.

Anyone with prior military service that opted to take civilian government employment under the CSRS system and has questions about that system and how it will effect future retirement plans can go to the web page below. Even if you only worked for the government for a few years under that system it will effect your Social Security, especially when trying to get the 35 years required to start dropping off the lower earning years.

www.opm.gov/retire/

FastEagle

There's a fairly easy way to figure out how many years it would take to break even on taking early SS. Take the total reduced amount you would get in a three year period (62-65) then divide it by the dollar figure that you give up in one month. That figure is the number of months it will take to break even. In my case, it's about 13 years.

A little known fact. The SS law allows you to participate in a "do-over" when you turn 65. If you have the funds to pay back all of the first three years in a lump sum, you can then select to receive the full amount again. You only have to repay what was given. There are no interest or penality involved.