Q. Can an employee who is a military retiree receive a voluntary separation incentive payment? My understanding is that they can, but only their civil service time would be used for a VSIP calculation. We are being told by a regional HR office that military retirees in federal service are considered “re-employed annuitants.”
A. Yes — if you are offered a voluntary separation incentive payment you are free to accept it. And yes, the amount you could receive would be based on your actual civilian service. Note: I’ve never heard of a retiree from the armed forces being referred to as a re-employed annuitant. The only re-employed annuitants are those who have retired from the civil service, are receiving an annuity, and are later re-employed by the federal government.
