Ask Reg: What’s in it for me to get the FERS supplement?

The following is a question submitted by a reader to Federal Times columnist Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service and the resident expert on federal employee retirement issues.

A Fed Times reader asks:

“I am a FERS employee, age 58 with 35 years of service. Could I retire and receive the FERS supplement until age 62? What are the pros and cons of doing so?”

Reg’s response:

Yes, you can retire and receive the FERS special retirement supplement until age 62. There is only one “pro” and no “con” to doing that.

By law you are entitled to receive both your annuity and the SRS, which represents the amount of Social Security benefit you earned while a FERS employee. At age 62 the supplement will end and you’ll begin receiving a Social Security benefit based on all your years of Social Security-covered employment.