How Your Federal Retirement Pension Can Be Reduced or Forfeited

When the federal government can reduce or stop your FERS pension

Your Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) pension can be reduced or forfeited in specific circumstances, most commonly through offset for other government benefits, criminal conviction, or failure to meet survivor benefit elections. The government does not straightforward take your pension away—each reduction follows a defined legal process tied to a particular event or status change. Understanding which situations affect your pension helps you protect it and plan around any reductions that may explore to you.

The most frequent cause of pension reduction is the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduces your Social Security spousal or survivor benefits if you also receive a federal pension. This is not a reduction to your FERS pension itself, but it affects the total retirement income you receive. A separate rule, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), can reduce your own Social Security retirement benefit if you worked in a job not covered by Social Security while also earning a federal pension.

Key Takeaways

The Government Pension Offset reduces Social Security spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of your federal pension amount, but does not touch your FERS pension itself.
A criminal conviction for certain offenses—including bribery, fraud, or crimes related to your federal job—can result in forfeiture of your entire FERS pension.
If you do not elect a survivor benefit option before retirement, your pension ends when you die and your family receives nothing, which is permanent and cannot be changed later.
The Windfall Elimination Provision reduces your own Social Security benefit if you also receive a federal pension and worked in non-covered employment.
Court-ordered child support or alimony payments can reduce your pension through garnishment, with the amount determined by the court order.

Criminal conviction and pension forfeiture

Federal law allows the government to forfeit your entire FERS pension if you are convicted of certain crimes. The most common grounds are bribery, fraud, theft of government property, and crimes committed in connection with your federal employment. The conviction must be final—meaning all appeals are exhausted—before forfeiture takes effect.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does not automatically forfeit your pension upon conviction. Instead, the federal agency that employed you must initiate the forfeiture process by requesting it from OPM. Once requested, OPM reviews the conviction and the connection to your federal service. If the criteria are met, your pension is terminated entirely, and no further payments are made. This applies to both your own retirement benefit and any survivor benefits your family may have been receiving.

Forfeiture for criminal conviction is rare but permanent. You cannot appeal the forfeiture decision once OPM has made it, though you can challenge the underlying criminal conviction through the normal appeals process.

Government Pension Offset and Social Security benefits

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) is a reduction to your Social Security benefits, not your FERS pension, but it affects your total retirement income significantly. If you receive a federal pension and also claim Social Security spousal or survivor benefits based on your spouse's or ex-spouse's work record, the GPO reduces your Social Security benefit by two-thirds of your federal pension amount.

For example, if your FERS pension is $1,500 per month, two-thirds of that is $1,000. Your Social Security spousal benefit would be reduced by $1,000. If your full spousal benefit would have been $800, the GPO eliminates it entirely and you receive nothing from Social Security for that spousal claim. Your FERS pension itself remains unchanged.

The GPO applies only to spousal and survivor benefits claimed on another person's Social Security record. It does not affect your own Social Security retirement benefit based on your own work history. However, if you also may have access to for your own Social Security benefit and a spousal benefit, Social Security calculates your total benefit in a way that often results in you receiving only your own benefit, with the spousal portion reduced to zero by the GPO.

Windfall Elimination Provision and your own Social Security

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduces your own Social Security retirement benefit if you receive a federal pension and also worked in employment not covered by Social Security. This rule prevents workers from receiving a higher Social Security benefit than they would have if all their earnings had been subject to Social Security tax.

The WEP reduction is calculated based on your years of non-covered work and your age when you claim Social Security. The maximum reduction is 50% of your federal pension amount, but the actual reduction is often lower. Unlike the GPO, the WEP applies to your own benefit, not a spousal or survivor benefit.

You may be exempt from the WEP if you had 30 or more years of substantial earnings in covered employment, or if you were a federal employee before 1986 and met certain other conditions. OPM and Social Security can provide a detailed calculation of how much your benefit will be reduced.

Survivor benefit elections and what happens if you do not choose

When you retire under FERS, you must elect a survivor benefit option. The choices are typically: receive your full pension with no survivor benefit (your family gets nothing after you die), or receive a reduced pension in exchange for a benefit that continues to your spouse or designated beneficiary after your death. This election is made at retirement and cannot be changed afterward.

If you retire without making an election, or if you elect to receive your full pension with no survivor benefit, your pension stops when you die. Your family receives no continuation of that income. This is not a forfeiture in the legal sense—you received your full benefit while alive—but it is a permanent loss of survivor protection that cannot be recovered later.

Some federal employees mistakenly believe they can change their survivor election after retirement. They cannot. The election is irrevocable. If you are approaching retirement, review your survivor benefit options carefully with OPM or your agency's retirement office before you submit your retirement process.

Court-ordered garnishment for child support and alimony

Your FERS pension can be reduced through garnishment if a court orders you to pay child support or alimony. The garnishment is deducted from your pension payment before you receive it. The amount is determined by the court order and enforced by OPM.

A state court can issue a garnishment order against your federal pension under the Federal Employees' Garnishment Statute. OPM must comply with the order once it is properly served. The garnishment continues until the court order is modified or terminated, or until the underlying obligation is satisfied.

If you receive a garnishment notice, you have the right to request a hearing before OPM to challenge whether the order is valid or whether the amount is correct. However, the burden is on you to request the hearing within the timeframe specified in the notice. If you do not respond, the garnishment proceeds as ordered.

Overpayment recovery and repayment obligations

If OPM determines that you were overpaid—for example, because you did not report a change in your status, or because of an administrative error—OPM can recover the overpayment by reducing your future pension payments. The reduction continues until the overpayment is repaid in full.

OPM must notify you of the overpayment and the proposed recovery amount. You have the right to request a hearing to dispute the overpayment or to propose an alternative repayment schedule. If you believe the overpayment was OPM's error, you can request a waiver of recovery, though waivers are granted only in limited circumstances.

Common reasons for overpayment include continuing to receive a pension after returning to federal service, failing to report the death of a survivor benefit recipient, or receiving duplicate payments due to administrative error. Reporting changes in your status promptly to OPM helps prevent overpayments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my FERS pension be taken away if I go to prison?

Prison time alone does not forfeit your pension. Only a criminal conviction for specific crimes—bribery, fraud, theft, or crimes related to your federal employment—can result in forfeiture. The conviction must be final, and your former agency must request forfeiture from OPM. A conviction for an unrelated crime does not affect your pension.

Does the Government Pension Offset reduce my FERS pension or my Social Security?

The GPO reduces your Social Security spousal or survivor benefits, not your FERS pension. Your FERS pension amount stays the same. However, if you were counting on Social Security spousal benefits to supplement your retirement income, the GPO can significantly reduce your total monthly income.

Can I change my survivor benefit election after I retire?

No. Your survivor benefit election is made at retirement and is permanent. You cannot change it later, even if your family situation changes. If you retire without a survivor benefit and later want to protect your family, you cannot add one. Choose carefully before you submit your retirement process.

What happens if I owe back child support when I retire?

A court can issue a garnishment order against your FERS pension to collect child support or alimony arrears. OPM will deduct the amount from your pension payment. You can request a hearing to challenge the order or propose a different repayment plan, but you must request it within the timeframe OPM provides.

If OPM overpaid me, how much of my pension will they take back?

OPM recovers overpayments by reducing your future pension payments. The amount and duration depend on the size of the overpayment. You can request a hearing to dispute the overpayment or ask for a different repayment schedule. If OPM made the error, you can request a waiver, though these are granted only in specific situations.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical, financial, legal, or other professional advice. For decisions specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. See our Editorial Policy.