Deferred retirement

2

Q. I’m a federal law enforcement officer with 16 years covered and three years federal service not covered. If I decide to take a deferred retirement will I still get the enhanced 1.7 x the number of years x my high three and 1 x the number of non-law enforcement years X my high-3? I also bought back 13 years of military service. How will those years be added?
A. You would have to have 20 years of actual LEO-covered service to have that period of service computed under the special formula. Any service beyond 20, whether actual service or service for which you’ve made a deposit, would be computed using the standard formula. If you leave before having 20 years of covered service, when you apply for a deferred retirement, all that service will be computed under the standard formula.

Share.

About Author

Reg Jones was head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management. Email your retirement-related questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

2 Comments

  1. Good morning. I am honorably retired as a Marine Master Sergeant, having served 22 years in the Marine Corps. I also served 8 years for the federal government, resigning to move closer to family. At 56, what are my options for a deferred retirement which makes sense financially? For example, can I buy back 2 years (and a till have my Marine Corps retirement- of 20 years and use the extra two years for federal retirement. We appreciate your insight.

    • Since you were continuously on active duty for those 22 years, you can’t make a deposit to get credit for a portion of that time. It’s all or nothing.

Leave A Reply