Reserve retired pay

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Q:  I spent five years on active duty and 15 years on reserve duty in the Army.   I started receiving my military pension when I turned 60 in October 2007.    I am a FERS employee for the Justice Department and I completed the military buyback in August 2006.    I want to retire in January and the HR department cannot give me an answer about waiving my military pay.   I read in the FERS Handbook that military pay would have to be waived unless the employee is “receiving military retired pay under provisions of 10 U.S.C. 12731-12739 (retired pay under Chapter 1223 for members of the reserves).”   Am I eligible to continue receiving my military retirement pay as well as retire from the Justice Department with the credit for the  five years I bought back?

A: You aren’t required to waive your reserve retired pay and may continue to receive it along with your FERS annuity, which will be credited with the five years of active duty service for which you made a deposit.
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Reg Jones was head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management. Email your retirement-related questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

3 Comments

  1. Patrick Scott on

    I was medically retired with 5 years active duty and 10 years in the guard. I retired while in the guard. I now work for DOT do I have to lose my retirement pay?

    • If you’re asking about your military benefits, you’ve come to the wrong place. We aren’t able to answer questions about those benefits. On the other hand, if you are asking if you can get credit for your active duty service, the answer is yes, but only if you make a deposit to the civilian retirement system. Your agency personnel office can explain how you can do that.

      • patrick scott on

        To clarify I’m curious if I will have to forfeit my military retirement pay in order to get civilian credit for it

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