Q. I was a government employee for several years and didn’t ask for a refund of my retirement contributions when I left. How can I find a record of my employment and if I’m eligible for a deferred annuity?
A. Your employment record is stored in the National Personnel Records Center, located in St. Louis, Mo. You’ll find the instructions for getting that information at www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel/index.html#. Once you have it, you can complete OPM Form 1496A, Application for Deferred Retirement, available at www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/opm1496a.pdf, and send it to OPM. If you have at least 5 years of creditable service and are at least 62 years old, you’d be eligible for an annuity based on that service. If you had at least 20 years of service, you’d be eligible at age 60.
