Q. I am thinking about retiring next year. I have three years of military time. I want to know if buying the time back a good idea. I have only 20 quarters in Social Security. How would the Windfall Elimination Provision impact me? I have 37 years of service this year.
A. If you make a deposit for your three years of active-duty service, it would increase your annuity by 6 percent. If you don’t make a deposit, are retired before age 62, and not eligible for a Social Security benefit at age 62, there wouldn’t be any impact. The same is true if you retired at or after age 62 and weren’t eligible for a Social Security benefit.
