Q. I am a CSRS employee approaching my 30-year service computation date and planning to retire shortly thereafter. I have not yet submitted retirement paperwork. Coincidentally, my agency has just indicated that within the next few weeks, I will receive a notification that I am eligible for an early-out with incentive. Do I need to separate from federal service prior to my 30 years of service date to be eligible for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay? Anticipated date of VERA eligibility letter: July 22. SCD (30 years): Aug. 8.
A. You can accept a VSIP whether or not you are eligible to retire. You can accept a VERA if you meet either of the two basic requirements: age 50 with 20 years of service or at any age with 25. If you are younger than 55, your annuity would be reduced by 1/6 of 1 percent for every month you were under that age.
