FERS Supplement Form RI 92-22: How to Complete the Annual Earnings Report and What Happens If You Don't

What Form RI 92-22 Is and Why OPM Sends It

Every spring, OPM mails the Annuity Supplement Earnings Report — Form RI 92-22 — to FERS retirees who are receiving the Special Retirement Supplement and have reached their Minimum Retirement Age. The form asks a straightforward question: how much did you earn in wages and self-employment income last year?

OPM uses your answer to determine whether to reduce your supplement for the current year. The annual survey is the primary reporting mechanism for the earnings test. Unlike the IRS, OPM doesn't have real-time access to your wages, but it may compare reported information with wage and tax records.

When the Form Arrives and When It's Due

OPM mails RI 92-22 in spring. The form covers the prior calendar year — so the form you receive in spring 2027 asks about your 2026 earnings.

The deadline to return the completed form is May 15 of the year you receive it. If OPM mails the form in March 2027, you have until May 15, 2027, to submit it.

The form is currently available as a fillable PDF on OPM's website; follow the form's current OPM instructions for returning it.

Who Gets the Form

OPM sends RI 92-22 only to supplement recipients who have reached their MRA. If you're a special category retiree (LEO, firefighter, ATC) who hasn't yet reached your standard FERS MRA, you won't receive the form because the earnings test doesn't apply to you yet.

If your supplement was already reduced to zero in a prior year due to excess earnings, you'll still receive the form. And if your supplement was previously suspended because you failed to return the form, it remains suspended until you respond or the supplement terminates at age 62.

What to Report

The form asks for two categories of earned income:

Wages and salary: Your total W-2 earnings from all employers during the reporting year. This includes regular salary, overtime, bonuses, commissions, tips, and severance pay received after retirement.

Net self-employment income: Your Schedule C or SE net earnings after business deductions. If you operated a consulting business that grossed $60,000 with $35,000 in expenses, you report $25,000.

What you don't report (because OPM doesn't count it): FERS annuity, TSP withdrawals, IRA distributions, rental income, investment income, capital gains, dividends, Social Security, pensions from other sources, veterans' benefits, or your lump-sum leave payout.

Three Scenarios and How Each Is Handled

Scenario 1: Earnings below the limit. You earned $18,000 in part-time wages. The 2026 limit was $24,480. You complete the form showing $18,000 and return it. OPM makes no reduction. Your supplement continues at the full amount.

If your earnings were below the limit and your supplement was not reduced in a prior year, OPM's instructions state you don't technically need to return the form. But returning it anyway protects you — it creates a paper trail confirming you were under the limit, and it prevents any possibility of OPM suspending your supplement for non-response.

Scenario 2: Earnings above the limit. You earned $34,000 in consulting income. Excess earnings: $9,520. Annual reduction: $4,760. Monthly reduction: approximately $397. OPM makes the reduction effective July 1, so your August 1 payment is the first reduced check. The reduction runs for 12 months.

Scenario 3: You don't return the form. OPM suspends the supplement entirely — not just the excess portion. The suspension continues until you submit the form along with supporting documentation (W-2s, tax return), and the delay can take months.

What Happens After OPM Processes the Form

If your earnings exceeded the limit, OPM's reduction takes effect on a statutory date: July 1 of the year you submitted the form. Your first reduced check arrives August 1. The monthly reduction is the annual reduction amount divided by 12, spread evenly across the next 12 monthly payments.

If the calculated reduction exceeds your monthly supplement, the supplement drops to zero for the applicable period. You don't owe OPM the difference — the reduction is capped at the supplement amount.

Reinstatement When Earnings Drop

Here's where the process gets sticky. If OPM reduced your supplement because of prior-year excess earnings, and your earnings then fall below the threshold in a subsequent year, your supplement does not automatically return to the full amount.

You must formally request reinstatement by submitting:

• A signed written request to OPM's Retirement Surveys and Students Branch
• Your IRS Form 1040 for the year showing reduced earnings
• All W-2 forms for that year
• A Social Security Administration Summary of Earnings Report

OPM processes reinstatement requests manually. Processing times vary, and you may experience several months of continued reduced payments before reinstatement takes effect.

The RI 92-22 and Supporting Records

OPM may compare your report with supporting wage and tax records. If there's a discrepancy — you reported $20,000 but your W-2s show $35,000 — OPM may request clarification or documentation.

Keep copies of your W-2s, tax returns, and submitted form. Material misreporting can result in overpayment recovery and further administrative review.

Keeping Records

Retain copies of every RI 92-22 you submit, along with the supporting documentation:

• All W-2s for each calendar year during your supplement period
• Schedule C or SE forms if self-employed
• Your annual Social Security statement showing reported earnings
• Any correspondence from OPM about supplement adjustments

These records are critical if you ever need to request reinstatement, dispute an OPM calculation, or document your earnings history during the supplement period.

The FERS Special Retirement Supplement Guide includes a step-by-step walkthrough of completing Form RI 92-22, with annotated examples for wage earners, self-employed retirees, and those with mixed income sources — plus the reinstatement process and timeline.

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