Under current rules, those employees covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and who retire before age 62 under an immediate retirement are eligible to receive the FERS Special Retirement Supplement (SRS) annuity. The SRS annuity is in addition to the FERS annuity, the “401k” Federal Savings Plan ( “401k” Federal Savings Plan ), and Social Security benefits that a retired FERS employee receives during retirement. Under the proposed budget currently being considered by Congress, the SRS annuity could be eliminated sometime in the near future. This column discusses the effect of eliminating the SRS annuity will have on FERS employees, and why in general FERS employees should not include the FERS supplement annuity as one of the determining factors for them to retire from federal service.
