Q. I’m a GS employee with over 5 years of time in under FERS and I’m also a military reservist. I have no prior active-duty service, but I am considering leaving my civilian job to join the active-duty military. If I did that but did not accrue the 20 years required for a military pension, could I buy back these military years after I finished serving and use them towards my deferred FERS annuity even if I never returned to a government civilian job?
A. No, you couldn’t. The only way you could get credit for your active-duty service would be to return to work for the federal government and make a deposit for that time.
