When a SS claimant indicates current or previous entitlement to a periodic benefit
payable by OPM, we need to know whether or not OPM used any of the veteran's pre-1957
MS to pay the CS benefit. If OPM directly credits pre-1957 MS to establish eligibility to the CS benefit or
to compute the amount of the CS benefit, the pre-1957 MS cannot be credited for SS
purposes.
Only the use of pre-1957 MS is of concern because deemed military wages are added
to posted military wages after 1956, regardless of another Federal agency crediting
the pre-1957 MS.
A veteran who subsequently works under civil service may or may not receive credit
for MS from OPM. The same holds true for an OPM survivor annuity. By understanding
the basis of OPM benefits and how MS is or is not used by OPM, we may avoid development
in many claims by using evidence presented by the claimant (as in RS 01702.215), or by analyzing information obtained on the SSA-2512 or on the CLMR/NHMR screen,
unless the claimant disagrees with our conclusions.
For a discussion of how SSA and OPM coordinate the use of post-1956 MS, see RS 01702.356.