Q. I was in the active duty Air Force for nine years, three months. I then worked as a GS-06 firefighter for seven months. I left federal civil service to take a job with a state government fire department. I am now 43 years old and will be taking a job as a GS-12 Military Reserve Technician as a fire chief and will be in FERS. I will buy back my years on active duty and want to retire at no older than 57. Will I qualify for the 1.7 percent retirement? If made to retire from military service, will I get the supplement until age 62? Will I receive immediate annuity at age 57?
A. You would only qualify for the enhanced retirement calculation if you had 20 years of covered service as a FERS firefighter. While making a deposit for your active-duty military service would count toward your total years of civilian service and in determining your leave accrual rate, it wouldn’t count toward those 20 years.
