Online calculator helps feds compute retirement benefits

A new online calculator will allow federal employees to compute their retirement benefits with a simple click of the mouse. The Office of Personnel Management and the Social Security Administration Tuesday launched the Federal Employees Retirement Calculator on Social Security's Access for Seniors Web site. The calculator gives users an estimate of their retirement benefits under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Employees must provide such information as their expected date of retirement, the type of retirement system they are enrolled in, current salary, current sick leave balance and Thrift Savings Plan contributions. FERC then computes the data and provides estimated retirement benefits. However, the estimate may be higher than the actual benefits for users who have worked temporarily or served in the military or who took a refund of their retirement contributions that they have not yet repaid.