Q. I have 29 creditable years (including active duty) in the North Carolina National Guard. Of that time, I have 13+ years of active-duty time. I am 47 years old. If I make a deposit have the active-duty time applied to 18½ years of Postal Service, would I be able to retire from the USPS and receive my retirement right away without any penalty? Also, would I still receive my full 29 years of creditable military service as a retirement when I reach age 60, or will buying my active-duty time and applying it to USPS mess this up?
A. No, you wouldn’t be able to retire right away. You would have to wait until you reached your minimum retirement age. Because you are only 47 years old now, your MRA would be age 56 and four months. Making a deposit for your active-duty service wouldn’t have any effect on your years of military service, active duty or reserve.
