Q. I am a carrier for the post office. I was hired as a career employee in 1998. I have been under FERS from the start.
However, I also worked as a career employee for the post office between November 1978 and March 1984 under CSRS. I recently filled out Form 3108 to try and buy back those 5½ years toward my retirement. After such a long break in service, will I still remain under FERS, or will I be classified as a CSRS offset?
A. It appears you were placed in the wrong retirement system when you returned to work for the government. You should have been placed in CSRS offset. You need to go to your personnel office and find out what relief is available to you under the Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act. Familiarize yourself with the process by going to the FERCCA website: www.opm.gov/retire/pre/fercca.
