Q. I am currently a Title 32 Air National Guard member (full time). I have 18½ years of service toward an Active Guard and Reserve retirement: 11 years active-duty Air Force and 7½ years Air Guard. I have been offered a federal technician civil service position, meaning I have to stay in the military to perform the civil service job (GS-11). Can I buy back all 18½ years or just the active-duty Title 10 time? I’m assuming I will go over 20 years of AD/AGR time if I go into the federal technician program. Will this affect either retirement? Can I collect my AGR retirement and FERS retirement at the same time if I retire at age 55 (I’m now 45)? I’ve read that Title 32 retirement doesn’t affect a civil service retirement or vice versa. Is this true?
A. You can only make a deposit for your active-duty time. Reserve time is never creditable. When you could retire from your FERS civilian position depends on your years of service and your year of birth. If you were born in 1966, which seems likely, you’d reach your minimum retirement age at 56 years, six months. When you would able to retire from your AGR position is something you’ll have to find out from your branch of service. There isn’t anything that would prevent you from receiving both a FERS annuity and reserve retired pay.
