Federal Employee's Retirement Planning Guide| FERS and CSRS Retirement Benefits (2024)

FAQs

What is the average CSRS pension? ›

Retirement income for federal employees, with an average monthly annuity of $5,447 for those under the CSRS and $2,126 under the FERS in fiscal year 2022, is multifaceted and influenced by a variety of factors. These include length of service, pay grade, and the specific retirement system an employee is part of.

For IRS purposes, is my pension from OPM a "qualified" or "non-qualified" plan? The CSRS, FERS, and TSP annuities are considered qualified retirement plans.

In several ways, the CSRS was a more generous retirement system than FERS. For instance, under CSRS, all retirees received cost-of-living adjustments, even if they retired young. FERS retirees usually receive a cost-of-living adjustment only if they retire at 62 or later.

Under FERS, the computation generally is 1% (or 1.1%if retiring at age 62 or later with 20 or more years of service) times the high-three average salary times years and months of service. Under CSRS, after 10 years of service, all years are worth 2% times the high-three average salary.

The maximum benefit you can receive from CSRS is 80 percent of your high-3 average salary, plus credit for your sick leave. This limit generally affects only those who have more than 41 years 11 months of service when they retire.

The share of CSRS employees in the federal workforce is down to 4 percent—in numeric terms, only about 100,000, even including the Postal Service—with almost all of them at least age 55. Not a surprise, probably, to federal employees as they look around their workplaces.

The Civil Service Retirement Act, which became effective on August 1, 1920, established a retirement system for certain federal employees. It was replaced by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for federal employees who first entered covered service on and after January 1, 1987.

We'll reduce your Social Security benefits by two-thirds of your government pension. In other words, if you get a monthly civil service pension of $600, two-thirds of that, or $400, must be deducted from your Social Security benefits.

Who is eligible for Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)? Eligibility is based on your age and the number of years of creditable service and any other special requirements. In addition, you must have served in a position subject to CSRS coverage for one of the last two years before your retirement.

The CSRS™ Exam

The 3-hour exam is online, and consists of 100 questions based on material covered during the four-part CSRS™ series.

What percentage of federal employees are CSRS? ›

In FY2022, 98% of current civilian federal employees were enrolled in FERS, which covers employees hired since 1984. Two percent were enrolled in CSRS, which covers only employees hired before 1984.

If you retire under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), the maximum survivor benefit payable is 55 percent of your unreduced annual benefit. If you retire under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), the maximum survivor benefit payable is 50 percent of your unreduced annual benefit.

So, how has it turned out? Not surprisingly, CSRS employees – whose annuities can be calculated to the penny – generally come out ahead. Even more so if they contributed to the TSP. On the other hand, FERS employees only know with certainty what their annuity and special retirement supplement (SRS) will be.

The Civil Service Retirement Act, which became effective on August 1, 1920, established a retirement system for certain Federal employees. It was replaced by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for Federal employees who first entered covered service on and after January 1, 1987.

You'll receive 40% of your highest 36 months of base pay after 20 years. You'll also get 2% for each year of service. Beyond this, service members are eligible to contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan and receive automatic and matching contributions.

The last day of the month is a preferred date to retire from federal service because the first FERS or CSRS pension payment starts on the first day of the first month after the month in which a federal employee retires, resulting in the initial interim pension check the following month.

Unlike most employer-sponsored pensions in the private sector, CSRS annuities were not intended to supplement Social Security benefits. Yet, most Federal workers who earn a CSRS annuity also receive Social Security benefits at some time.