Q. I am a 46-year-old Department of Defense firefighter with 25 years of service (three years and eight months of active military time, for which I have not made a deposit), and was told I was not eligible for VERA because I was under the MRA. Is this true or is there another reason I’m not eligible?
A. Your agency is correct. The age and service requirements for early retirement are: age 50 with 20 years of service or at any age with 25. You don’t meet the first set of criteria because you haven’t reached your MRA.
You don’t meet the second set because you haven’t made a deposit to get credit for your active-duty military service.
