Q. At the end of my enlistment I will have 15 years active-duty service. Let’s say I switched to reserve component, landed a federal job under FERS, and made the deposit for my 15 years of active service. Would I still be eligible to retire from the reserves after five years (20 years total service)? Or will the deposit from active-duty time toward FERS render those years/points gone, in which case I’d still have to do 20 in the reserves?
A. Making a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service would have no affect on your entitlement to reserve retired pay.
5 Comments
No affect, just as Reg said. I did 12 years active. Another 11 good years weekend warrior/USAR. Got my 20 year letter. Got a GS (FERS) job in 2005, bought my 12 years military back in 2008, turned 60 in Nov 2018 and been gettingy monthly Army Retired check since. U.S. Code lays it out if you do the deep dive research, which I did. FERS retirement in about 20 months…. wooohoooo.
Double check the rules for USAR retirement. When I left active duty 30 years ago after putting in 13 years, I needed to serve at least 10 years in the USAR in order to qualify for the 20-year retirement letter. Also I bought those 13 years for FERS retirement. And many years later, I am very happily collecting both pensions and getting TRICARE.
This all looks great, but sometimes, some things are just to good to be true. so, I am just looking for clarification. I just retired as a reservist with 22yrs total service,(apx: 6000+points) 15yrs active and 7yrs reserve. When i sell back my 15yrs (apx:5300points) of active points to FERS, will that be taken from my total retirement points when i start receiving pay at age 60 and leave me with just (apx: 700points) or would i keep all my points and be able to add the 15yrs to my FERS? I’ve seen something about chapter 67, do i need to take any info to my HR to ensure the buyback is done correctly? Thank you.
Making a deposit to get credit for your active duty service will have no affect on your reserve retirement benefits.
No. I had 5250 points, 12 yrs active, about 11 years TPU. Bought my 12 years. Has no affect or cause to loose your USAR retiredpay. If you have a Regular Army retirement, different deal. USAR retired pay is written as a Nonregular retirement. A month or so before your USAR retirement date you’ll get official orders via USPS. that will be used to get your retired ID card, remember that.