He Spent Montana’s Fire Season on Overtime. Social Security Counted Pay His Federal Pension Left Out.

Firefighters in Montana endured a challenging fire season, working long hours, often including overtime. The FERS pension system, which counts overtime differently than Social Security, does not include overtime in its high-three basic pay calculation. However, Social Security includes overtime as covered earnings when calculating future benefits, regardless of whether it reaches the annual taxable maximum.

Federal firefighters with special retirement coverage earn a 1.7% pension credit per year for the first 20 years, as opposed to the standard 1% rate. While overtime may not directly boost the high-three pension calculation, it can still contribute to Social Security benefits. The higher basic pay rate for special retirement firefighters can improve the pension calculation, and the additional overtime can potentially raise the earnings used in Social Security annual calculations.

Firefighters should review their Social Security earnings record for the year of heavy fire activity and compare it to weaker years to assess the impact of overtime on their retirement benefits.