Q. I recently spoke with an individual from the Office of Personnel Management’s retirement services regarding offset of FERS pension for Veterans Affairs disability. The individual told me that my VA disability would not be offset from my FERS pension if I was combining my military time with my civil service time. However, the individual also told me that if I buy back my military time and then waive my military retired pay all of my military benefits, medical, ID card, commissary, etc., would also be stopped. Has the law changed?
A. I’m not aware that anything has changed. However, neither someone at OPM nor I are qualified to tell you what happens to your other benefits if you waive your military retired pay. You’ll have to check with your branch of service.
