Q: I am a FERS employee. I will have 22 years and seven months in January 2011 and also I will be 55 in that month. If I retire at the age of 56, do I qualify to get into the special retirement system?
A: Without knowing your year of birth, I’m going to have to assume that you were born before 1948 and will reach your minimum retirement age when you are 55. Is so, with your age and years of service, you would only be able to retire under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age and at least 10 years of service). Your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for each year you were under age 60, unless you delayed the receipt of your annuity to a later time. Whether you accepted an immediate annuity or delay its receipt, you wouldn’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement. No one who retires under the MRA+10 provision is.
