Q. I was employed by the Department of the Air Force from 1987 to 1991 as a social worker at Torrejon Air Base, Spain. I left there and was employed by the Department of the Air Force from 1992 to 1996 as a social worker. I left federal employment until April, when I started working for the Veterans Affairs Department. Do I get to count the Department of the Air Force years toward leave status and retirement? I have an SF 50 that has my service computation date as Aug. 12, 1987.
A. Leave, yes. Retirement, yes, if you didn’t get a refund of your retirement contributions when you left. If you did, you’ll have to redeposit that money, plus accrued interest, to get any credit for it in determining your length of service for retirement and have it used in your annuity computation.
