Q. I have two years of military service that I bought back. How does this time count in regard to FERS retirement? Does it count toward meeting FERS retirement civilian service eligibility requirements as one of your answers seemed to indicate? Does military service count in the annuity calculation if you don’t buy the time back?
A. It all depends. If you are covered by FERS, you won’t receive any credit for your active-duty military service unless you make a deposit for that time. If you are covered by CSRS and were first employed on or after Oct. 1, 1982, you’ll only get credit for your post-1956 active-duty military service if you make a deposit for that time. If you were first employed before Oct. 1, 1982, you can either make a deposit for that period of service or receive credit for it without making a deposit; however, if you don’t make a deposit, are retired, and are eligible for a Social Security benefit at age 62 (or when you retire if it’s after age 62), those years will be eliminated and your annuity recomputed downward.
