Q. My husband is eligible to retire from the military at age 38 with 20 years of service in a few months. One of the options he is looking at is a federal job. He has been told if he goes back to work for the federal government after retiring from the military, he will not be eligible for full retirement from both the military and FERS. Will his annuity from one agency be reduced once he retires for the second time?
A. If he retires from the military and takes a civilian job with the federal government, he will be able to receive his full military retirement and, when he has the right combination of age and service, a civilian retirement annuity based on his years of civilian service. He will also have the option of combining his military service with his civilian service by making a deposit to the civilian retirement system and waiving his military retirement. Sometimes this makes financial sense and at others, it doesn’t. If he does take a civilian job, he’ll be able to work out which approach is best for him.
