Q. I am a federal law enforcement officer with the Department of Homeland Security. I have more than 23.5 years of federal service, 17 years as a covered 6c LEO and 6.5 years in a noncovered LEO position with the old legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service that now has “enhanced retirement’ coverage since I transferred to DHS security in my current capacity.
I have special circumstances dealing with my very elderly parents who require full-time care and management and I am the only sibling capable of providing that care.
Are there any hardship provisions allowing for me to retire early, at 48 years of age, that I could take advantage of to provide care for my parents?
A. There aren’t any special provisions that would allow you to do that. While you could resign from the government, your only retirement option is to continue working until you are at least 50 years old and have 20 years of covered service as a law enforcement officer.
