Q. I work for the Defense Department, where there is talk about another set of early-out offers due to budget/sequestration cuts. They say the problem is funding these buyouts. I remember back in the late 1980s they offered “years” instead of money. Is there any chance they might offer three years to either your age or length of service to encourage people hanging in there trying to max out their retirement benefit to leave early even without the $25,000 buyout.
A. The adding of years to an employee’s age or length of service is a fable. It has never been done nor could it under current law.