Q: I made a deposit to FERS for 20 years of military service and have been working for the federal government for 10 years, which gives me 30 years of federal service. If I was to resign today, at age 50, would I continue to keep my military retirement pay until I reached my MRA (56) and could start drawing my FERS retirement? Will the FERS retirement consist of (10 years) Social Security Supplement, FERS, and TSP, or would I have to wait on the TSP?
A: Having made a deposit for your years of active-duty service, if you resigned you would be eligible for an unreduced annuity at your MRA, but only after you waived your military retired pay when you applied for that deferred retirement. Your annuity would be based on all 30 years of creditable service (actual FERS time and military service for which you paid a deposit). As a deferred retiree, you wouldn’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement. No one who retires on a deferred annuity is. As for your Social Security benefit, it would be based on all your years of Social Security-covered employment. You would be able to apply for that benefit as early as age 62.
