Some of an employee’s spousal Social Security benefit may be offset if the employee has a government pension from work not covered by Social Security. The offset does not apply to the employee’s own Social Security benefit, only the benefit that comes from a spouse’s employment. If the Government Pension Offset applies, the spousal Social Security benefit will be reduced by two-thirds of any Federal pension based on employment not covered by Social Security.
Who it applies to
Some employees are exempt from the Government Pension Offset. They are employees who are automatically covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Offset, and those who elected to transfer to FERS before January 1, 1988, or during the belated transfer period which ended June 30, 1988. Employees who were covered by CSRS and who elected FERS coverage after June 30, 1988, must have five years of Federal employment covered by Social Security to be exempt from the offset.
