Q. Where are all these early retirement/buyouts happening? I’m definitely not seeing them in my department at the VA — we haven’t had widespread early retirement/buyout authority since the 1990s!
A. VERAs and VSIPs are only offered when an agency is undergoing substantial restructuring, reshaping, downsizing, transfer of function, or reorganization, and has approval from OPM to do that. If your agency isn’t facing any of these problems, it won’t need to ask OPM for that authority.
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The VA may well be a candidate for early retirements/buyouts in the very near future if the changes proposed by the VA Comission of Care are put into place.
Among the recommendations are closing down remote CBOC clinics and smaller underperforming or underused VA medical facilities nationwide and allowing many more Veterans to be seen by private healthcare.
These changes alone would constitute significant downsizing/layoffs and change of mission to justify the VA secretary seeking and getting OPM approval for VA wide early retirement/buyout authority.
In the mid to late 1990’s, when the VA last sought and received VA wide early retirement authority, approximately eligible 10,000 employees took advantage of early retirements/buyouts.
Thanks for sharing that with us.
Your welcome. A couple links below explain the VA Commission on Care recommendations report dated July 6 of this year from the military times and from Federal News Radio on July 8, which discussed RIF’s at the VA and a BRAC commission to determine the fate of VA facilities, similar to the DOD BRAC commission of the 1990’s, which closed or reduced many bases.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/2016/07/06/panel-would-create-public-private-health-system-veterans/86767032/
http://federalnewsradio.com/agency-oversight/2016/07/rifs-new-cio-3-takeaways-va-commission/
We will likely have to wait till after November’s Presidential election to see if these changes are implemented or not, more drastic changes are proposed and implemented or if things remain status quo organizationally.
That was very helpful. Thank you.
Currently I’m a dual status title 32 employee, WG-10 with a SCD of Sept 1997 (I’m FERS not CSRS). I’ve bought back all my active duty time, & was hired as a WG-10 in 2001. My chain of command is doing everything they can to target members with a DUI on there record, a failed PT, or any type of violation that enables them to simply not allow the member to re-enlist militarily. Which in turn the member loses his federal service job if the military requirement is not met. My question is what are my options to retire with 27 military (3 active/24 Guard), also I’ll have 20 years federal service this year according to my SCD & I’m currently age 46?
The best I can do is refer you to https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/csrsfers-handbook/c046.pdf. Once there, scroll to Part 46A4 (CSRS) and 46B4 (FERS).