Q. I am a Postal Service CSRS employee with 41 years and 11 months of service. I will retire soon, never switched to FERS. The first two years were a part time job called “Postal Assistant,” requiring me to be a college student. The job allowed me to work a 16-hour week (Saturday and Sunday). My paychecks indicated an hourly wage rather than salary.
A recent USPS computer-generated annuity estimate indicates those years as creditable but unfunded service. I have never made a deposit toward that time. The annuity estimate provided does not account for an annuity reduction due to unfunded service.
My question is how to calculate the amount required for deposit. Everywhere I have searched says 7 percent of basic salary per year, plus 3 percent interest, compounded yearly. How would I calculate the basic amount I owe (excluding interest)?
Would it be based on actual hours worked, or what I would have earned if it were a full-time job?
This will help me decide whether I want to make the deposit, or just take the reduced annuity.
A. You can’t calculate it. To find out what you owe, you’ll have to fill out Standard Form 2803, application to Make Deposit or Redeposit, available at www.opm.gov, click on Forms. Send the completed form to: U.S. OPM, Retirement Services and Management Group, P.O. Box 45, Boyers, PA 16017-0045.
