Q. I have read several articles discussing the rise in employee contributions into the FERS portion of our retirement. It mentions new hires and rehires with less than five years of service. Does this “five years of service” apply only to rehires hired after December 2012, or does the “five years” also apply to new hires, as well? My service computation date is July 2009, meaning that I will have less than five years of service at the end of 2012. Am I going to face this FERS increase, or does the five-year issue only apply to new hires?
A. The increase applies to federal employees entering service after Dec. 31, 2012, who have less than five years of creditable civilian service. It does not apply to current employees who were hired before that date.
