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My MIL receives a civil service pension. She did not qualify for social security in her name because her civil service offset the whole amount.
My FIL just passed and we are trying to get her survivors benefits set up. Prior to his passing, he was receiving $1,000 in social security. His had also been offset from his civil service pension.
Social Security told her that her survivor benifits will also be offset by her civil service, reducing the $1,000 almost down to zero. Does that seem right? SS is already offsetting her civil service from her social security. The amount of SS my FIL was getting was already offset for his civil service.
We're going to try to set up a face-to-face meeting with SS and want to go in fully informed and prepared.
Best guess is you need a lawyer who specializes in SS. That is not a meeting you want to go into alone. There are too many ways to lose. If your mother is not at least 62 or maybe 65 she may not qualify yet. This is why I think you need a lawyer: I don't believe SS can use her service to offset his benefits when his services was already used to offset his benefits. Plus hers was used to offset her own. I don't think it can be used twice.
Thanks! Yes, we're afraid a lawyer will have to come into this. So far, we *think* that since she qualifies for more under survivor benefits, that she doesn't qualify for SS in her name no matter what. Its one or the other, as far as we can tell. So, now to verify if they can deduct his and her civil service from the SS she is allowed.
Thanks for trying to help. We read through that page (and all related ones) several weeks ago. Its pretty complicated in this case due to multiple offsets, which are not covered in these documents. Sigh.
If the civil service employee was hired before 1984, they are covered completely under Civil Service which is an alternative plan to Social Security. That is the reason for the offset (so civil service employees cannot increase their allowances with low income early years and then get a civil service job and qualify for a civil service pension without those years being covered.
I am a civil service retired employee and based on my research, I would not qualify for Social Security for myself or thru my spouse. This was also taught in all our retirement seminars and is in all our written products. I am pretty sure than unless the math was incorrect, she would be entitled to little SS from her spouse.
But it is wise to have a discussion and go over the mathematics from SS.
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