Q. When I was a child, I worked harvesting fruit for an agricultural research facility at a land-grant university. My father worked there and received CSRS credit so I’m confident that salaried employees received creditable service. I have Social Security records showing my earnings from 1969 to 1975, but I was paid by the amount of fruit harvested, not by the hour. Would this be creditable service and what type of documentation would I need to have? Do you have any suggestions on where such records would be archived?
A. I can find nothing suggesting that the time you spent harvesting fruit would be considered creditable service. However, to be sure, you can check with the National Personnel Records Center. Start be going to www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel. There you’ll get directions on how to access its archives.
