Q. I am 59, turning 60 in December. I have eight years and one mo of credited military time (I just bought back my retirement) and have almost three years as a civilian employee. When would I reach a point where I could expect a minimum retirement?
A. You have to have five years of actual FERS service to be vested in the retirement system. When you reach that point, you’d have 13 years of creditable service and be able to retire under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age plus at least 10 years of service). However, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year (5/12 percent per month) that you were under age 62. You could retire and delay the receipt of your annuity to a later date to reduce or eliminate the age penalty. Alternatively, you could wait until age 62 to retire and receive an unreduced annuity.
