Q: I worked from 1972 to 1978 at the Department of Agriculture, then left to work for a private firm from 1978 to 1984. When I left, I took a refund of my retirement contributions. I didn’t work from 1984 to 1994 and returned to federal service from March 1994 to present and am covered by CSRS Offset. I am leaving federal service by the end of June. Am I eligible to receive any retirement benefits? I have 393.50 hours of SL and 303 hrs of AL and 24 hours of CT.
I am 55 and will be 56 in October. If I am eligible and I make approx $59,200? What would the annuity be?
A: As a CSRS-covered employee, you won’t be able to retire this year because you don’t have 30 years of service. If you still decide to leave government, you would be able to apply for a deferred annuity at age 62. Your annuity would be based on your highest three consecutive years of average salary on the day you left. While your earlier period of service will count in determining your total years of service, unless you redeposit the money you took out, plus accrued interest, your annuity will be reduced actuarially based on the amount you owe and your age at retirement, which would be 62. Any unused sick leave you had to your credit will be lost. On the other hand, when you left government, you would be entitled to receive a lump-sum payment for any unused annual leave. The same would be true of any compensatory time, unless that right had expired.
