Q: I am 47 and served for 23 years on active duty. I am employed in federal service going on a year. How long must I serve in the
government before I can retire and receive both military and federal
service retirement pay?
A: The earliest you could retire from your civilian employment would be when you reach your minimum retirement age, which in your case would be 56. You could then retire under the MRA+10 provision. However, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 62. You could reduce or eliminate the age penalty by postponing the receipt of your annuity to a later date. If you wanted to retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity, you could do that when you reach age 62.
