Q. I retired from the Secret Service in 1998 with 28 years of service as a special agent and am receiving an annuity from the District of Columbia Police and Fire retirement system. Without a break in service, I then worked in SES positions at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and as the Federal Security Director with TSA at the Jacksonville, Fla., Airport for a total of seven years and seven months under the FERS system. At the time I left federal service, I was not 62 and not eligible to begin receiving my FERS retirement benefit. I am now 65 and unfortunately realized I had forgotten to apply at age 62 so I just forwarded my application. My question is about when my monthly amount is established and I begin to receive my benefits, will I also receive a retroactive payment for the time I was eligible for the past three years but had not yet applied? What steps do I have to take to obtain these back payments?
A. Your benefits will start with the first day on which you were eligible for an annuity. You don’t have to do anything to receive those retroactive benefit payments.
