Q. You responded to a recent question regarding someone retiring from the Senate at age 50 with 21 years of service. He asked if he would be eligible for the special retirement supplement at age 56. You responded by saying yes if he was FERS. If I work for the Postal Service and have almost 28 years, am 58 years of age, and am under FERS, would I be eligible for the supplement if I retired?
A. Only if you met the eligibility criteria for an immediate unreduced annuity. In your case, you’ve already reached the minimum age requirement, which, in your case, is 56. However, you haven’t met the years of service requirement, which is 30. While you could retire under the MRA+10 provision, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 62 and you wouldn’t be eligible for the special retirement supplement.
One final observation: If the Postal Service offered you an opportunity to retire early, you could not only do that but you would be immediately entitled to the special retirement supplement.
