Q. I started working for the federal government in September 1982 under CSRS and transferred to FERS in 1987 with just under five years in CSRS. I withdrew my CSRS contributions when I transferred to FERS. I have not had a break in federal service. Does my time working under CSRS count as creditable service for retirement under FERS? I’ve gotten different answers from different sources.
A. If you had fewer than five years of employment under CSRS, that time would automatically credited as FERS service and be used both in determining your total years of FERS service and in the computation of your annuity. To verify why that’s so, go to www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C010.pdf.
