FERS annuity at age 62

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Q.  I will be 62  next June 20 and am planning for my FERS retirement.  I thought I read somewhere that for retirement purposes, you can retire anytime in the month you turn 62 (anytime in June, in my case), and still receive the 10 percent extra credit for time worked (to receive 1.1 percent of your high-3 for each year worked if you wait until you are 62, instead of the 1 percent for each year if under 62).  Or do I have to actually wait until my birthday (or more likely the end of the month to get a full pay period) to get the 10 percent credit?

A.  You’ll be age 62 on the day before your official birthday. Therefore, you can retire on that day or any following day and have your annuity computed using the higher 0.011 multiplier instead of the 0.01. Just remember that it’s better to retire at the end of a pay period, so you can get credit for any annual or sick leave you earned during that pay period.

 

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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.

10 Comments

  1. Michael Bender on

    I have a question in relation to the 1.1% kicker as a FER. I have military service, 3 yrs Army 79-82 which I have not paid in to get the 3 yrs credited to my total years. I am now 57, plans on retiring when I reach 62. My question is , if I get those 3 yrs credited to my retirement, I can retire at 59 and not 62, but there fore I will not get the 1.1% kicker with the high 3 calculation?

  2. Bradly MacNealy on

    I just completed 20 years of FERS Service which includes 5 years of military service that I have already bought back. I just turned 61 years old and have a civilian job opportunity. How do I go about applying now for a deferred / delayed FERS retirement at age 62, so I can qualify for 1.1%?

    • Are you currently a federal employee or did you resign from the government and haven’t yet applied for an annuity?

  3. Bradly MacNealy on

    I have bought back 5 years of military service and I am applying for FERS retirement. SF 3107-108 (Section B) asks for “Verified Service History Documented in Official Personnel Records.”

    What “Official Personnel Records”? I have DD-214’s, but the time I bought back also includes some non-active duty time like what other documents do I need to produce?

    • When you made a deposit for your active duty service, you should have received an acknowledgement, which would have been placed in your Official Personnel Folder (OPF).

  4. Patrick Murray on

    I am a 61yo FERS employee with 25 years of creditable service. I turn 62 in May of 2019. My agency is eliminating my position prior to me reaching age 62 and there will be no other position available. I was planning to work until age 62. Do I really lose the 10% increase in my retirement computation? Thanks

    • Yes, yout annuity will be computed using the standard formula – .01 x your high-3 x your years and full months of service.

  5. I have under 10 years creditable service. I was on disability, from a government job (USPS) that has FERS. My government disability was reduced by Social Security . I just got a notice that since I am now 62, my postal retirement went up as if I worked there all these years. Now the retirement is called “earned” retirement. So since I am 62 do I collect my new earned retirement and my Social Security?

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