The earnings survey that cuts your FERS supplement
One form a year. A reduction that lands eighteen months after the work, and never comes back.
Unlike Social Security, nothing is credited back. Withheld supplement is simply not paid, and the supplement ends at 62 regardless. Return the form even if you earned zero — non-return can suspend the payment entirely.
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1. What the form is
The FERS Special Retirement Supplement approximates the Social Security benefit you earned during federal service, and it bridges the gap from your minimum retirement age to 62. By statute it is subject to the Social Security earnings test once you have reached your MRA.
OPM administers that test with a single document. Each spring it mails Form RI 92-22, the annual earnings survey, to supplement recipients who have reached MRA. You report the prior calendar year's earned income. OPM applies the test and adjusts your payment.
That is the entire mechanism. One form, once a year, and it is the only way OPM learns what you earned.
2. What counts as earnings
| Income | Counts? |
|---|---|
| Wages from employment | Yes |
| Net earnings from self-employment | Yes |
| Your FERS annuity | No |
| The supplement itself | No |
| TSP withdrawals, IRA distributions | No |
| Investment income, dividends, capital gains | No |
| Rental income | No |
| Your spouse’s earnings | No |
| VA disability compensation | No |
The distinction is earned income. A retiree drawing $60,000 from the TSP and earning $20,000 at a part-time job is under the limit; one earning $40,000 in wages is over it. The formula:
$40,000 of wages → ($40,000 − $24,480) ÷ 2 = $7,760 withheld over twelve months
3. The timing, which trips everyone
The lag is the part nobody expects, and it is long.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Calendar year 2027 | You work and earn |
| Spring 2028 | OPM mails RI 92-22; you report 2027 earnings |
| July 2028 | Reduced supplement begins |
| June 2029 | That reduction period ends |
Eighteen months can pass between the work and the smaller payment. People take a part-time job, see no change in their supplement for over a year, conclude the earnings test does not apply to them, and then meet the reduction long after they have stopped thinking about it.
Because of the lag, a reduction can be computed for a period in which the supplement has already ended at 62. When that happens OPM may seek repayment of amounts already paid rather than reducing future payments — a bill instead of a smaller check. If that notice arrives, the options are set out in OPM overpayments and waivers.
4. Why it is worse than the Social Security test
The two tests use the same threshold and the same ratio, which makes them look equivalent. They are not.
| FERS supplement | Social Security before FRA | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 exempt amount | $24,480 | $24,480 |
| Withholding ratio | $1 per $2 over | $1 per $2 over |
| Higher limit in the FRA year | No such provision | Yes — $65,160, at $1 per $3 |
| Withheld amounts restored later | Never | Yes, recomputed at FRA |
| Ends regardless of earnings | At 62 | Test ends at FRA; benefit continues |
Row four is the one that matters. Social Security's earnings test is a cash-flow deferral — you get it back through a higher benefit at full retirement age. The supplement's is a loss. Money withheld is gone.
That asymmetry should change how you think about part-time work between MRA and 62. The full comparison, including IRMAA, is in the three earnings tests.
5. The suspension trap
Failing to return the survey can result in the supplement being suspended entirely until OPM receives it. Not reduced — stopped.
This catches people who earned nothing and reasoned that a form about earnings did not apply to them. OPM is not distinguishing between "no earnings" and "no response"; it has an outstanding survey either way.
- Return it every year, including years you earned zero. Report the zero.
- Keep your address current with OPM through Services Online. The survey goes to the address on file, and a suspension triggered by a form you never received takes months to unwind.
- Keep a copy of what you submitted and the date.
- If the supplement stops unexpectedly, check whether a survey is outstanding before assuming anything more complicated.
6. Planning around it
Three ways to think about it, in descending order of usefulness.
Know the effective rate. Earning above the limit costs fifty cents on the dollar in lost supplement, on top of income tax and payroll tax. That is not a reason to refuse work, but it is the number to have in mind when deciding how much to take on.
Draw from the TSP instead, where that fits your plan. Withdrawals are not earned income and do not touch the supplement. If you need income between MRA and 62 and have the balance, this is the cleaner source — though it has its own consequences, covered in bridging to Social Security.
Consider the calendar. Earnings are measured by calendar year, so work concentrated in one year rather than spread across two can put you over the limit in one and under in the other. The reverse is also true. This is worth a moment's thought before accepting a contract that straddles a year end.
And remember what ends when: the supplement stops at 62 whatever your earnings, which is a cliff of its own. That transition is covered in turning 62 as a FERS retiree.
7. Frequently asked questions
What is Form RI 92-22?
The annual earnings survey OPM sends to FERS retirees who receive the Special Retirement Supplement and have reached their minimum retirement age. You report the prior calendar year’s earned income, and OPM uses it to apply the Social Security earnings test to your supplement. It is not optional: failing to return it can result in the supplement being suspended until OPM receives it.
When does the reduction actually start?
With the July payment following the year you report. Earnings in one calendar year are reported the following spring and reduce the supplement from July of that year through the following June. The lag means a reduction frequently arrives long after the work that caused it, and sometimes after the supplement has already ended at age 62 — in which case OPM may seek repayment of amounts already paid.
How much is withheld?
One dollar for every two dollars of earned income above the annual Social Security exempt amount, which is $24,480 for 2026. Only earned income counts: wages and net self-employment income. Your annuity, TSP withdrawals, IRA distributions, investment income, rental income and your spouse’s earnings are not counted.
Is the reduction permanent?
Yes, and this is where the supplement differs from Social Security. Benefits withheld from Social Security before full retirement age are credited back through a higher benefit later. Supplement amounts withheld under the earnings test are simply not paid, and nothing is restored afterwards. The supplement also ends entirely at 62 regardless of earnings.
What if I earned nothing last year?
Return the form anyway, reporting zero. OPM needs the survey on file, and non-return is treated as a failure to respond rather than as an absence of earnings. Suspension of the supplement for a missing form is an avoidable problem that takes months to unwind once it happens.
- OPM, FERS annuity supplement and the annual earnings survey
- 5 U.S.C. 8421a, reduction of the annuity supplement on account of earnings
- SSA, retirement earnings test exempt amounts
- SSA, working while receiving benefits and the recomputation at full retirement age
- OPM Retirement Services and Services Online