Q. My husband was employed by the federal government from June 1970 through July 1971and was covered under CSRS. He resigned and withdrew his CSRS contributions. He returned to work in the federal government in 1999 on a temporary appointment for a few months. In January 2000, he was appointed to a permanent federal position and began contributing to FERS. He left that permanent position in the fall of 2004. He left his FERS and Thrift Savings Plan contributions in the system.
With the CSRS time and the FERS time, he is eligible for a deferred retirement now. He will have approximately five years and six months of federal service. He will be 64 this year. Can he receive credit for the CSRS time, or does he have to make a redeposit for the withdrawal to get the credit for time? He was a GS-5 at the time.
I am assuming the Office of Personnel Management will allow him to redeposit the contributions he withdrew in 1971. However, if he chooses not to redeposit the CSRS contributions or OPM advises him that he cannot complete a redeposit, can he still receive credit for the year of employment from 1970 to 1971? He obviously would not receive anything in his annuity for the CSRS time if he does not make the redeposit.
A. He’ll receive credit for that period of CSRS service; however, because he withdrew his retirement contributions, unless he redeposits that refund, with accrued interest, his annuity will be actuarially reduced based on the amount he owes and his age at retirement. When he applies for a deferred annuity, OPM will let him know what he owes and offer him the option of making a redeposit or accepting the reduction in his annuity.
