Q: My wife is a government employee who was reinstated from former government service (she resigned in 1993). She entered government service in 1980 and was under the old retirement service. She resigned to have a child in 1984 and withdrew her retirement. She was reinstated in 1986 and came under the new retirement system. She again resigned and was reinstated in 2009. She has more than 13 years of government service. Can she pay back the retirement she received plus contributions she would have made over the years to fall back into the old retirement system?
A: She may redeposit the money that was refunded to her, plus accrued interest, to get credit for each of those periods of service. However, she cannot make any contributions for any periods during which she was not employed by the federal government.
