Is military service creditable for civilian retirement purposes? Both current employees and military members who are considering working for the federal government e-mail me looking for answers to that question. Creditable military service is: * Active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard; after June 30, 1960, in the Public Health Service commissioned corps; or, after June 30, 1961, in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration commissioned corps. * Time as a cadet in the Army, Air Force or Coast Guard academies or as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. * Active duty or…
Browsing: Creditable service: CSRS
Q: I have an appointment letter with specific dates listed for a qualifying nonappropriated-funds employment from the U.S. Army at the Army Youth Activities camp in 1964. I have confirming information from microfiche records that have been officially certified that list the same employer (U.S. Army AYA Camp) for the same quarter as the specific dates listed in the appointment letter, and at the same pay specified in that letter. What else is required by regulation for verifying this service? These two documents taken together seem sufficient. A: The only requirement is that you provide convincing evidence that you performed…
Q: I am employed by the Defense Department under the Civil Service Retirement System. My service computation date is Dec. 17, 1977, and I will turn 62 on Nov. 16. Prior to entering civil service, I earned enough quarters to qualify for Social Security. I have not selected a retirement date, but I am considering Dec. 31 of this year or January 2011 to receive a payout from the National Security Personnel System. If I retire Dec. 31, I will be reimbursed for all of my annual leave, but after that reimbursement I would be limited to the maximum amount…
Q: I just received my military service deposit amount plus accrued interest on my military time. The deposit amount for my service from August 1968 to August 1972 was $896, with $3,330.43 in accrued interest, for a total of $4,226.43. The accrued interest seems awfully high. The interest accrual history runs from October 1986 ($103.88) to October 2009 ($166.22). A: I can’t tell whether the final number you got is correct. What I can tell you is that annual interest rates have been high after Dec. 31, 1984. Before that, they were a flat 3 percent. After that, market rates…
Q: When I was first hired as a federal employee in 1986, I believe my first few months were as a full-time temporary employee before I became a full-time permanent employee. Do these first few months count as creditable service time toward my retirement? A: They won’t count unless you make a deposit for that time to the retirement fund.
Q: I will soon be accepting a GS-13 position with the Department of Homeland Security. I am retired military and understand the buyback system; my question pertains to leave accrual. How will leave accrual be determined if I choose (or choose not to) to buy back my military time? Also, I have two deployments for which I received an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Is that time automatically approved for leave accrual? A: Unless you make a deposit for your active-duty service and waive your military retired pay, you’d only get leave accrual credit for those periods of service when you…
Q: I served 12 years of Army active duty, from October 1987 to July 1999. If I were to obtain a GS 13 position, would my 12 years go toward a government retirement plan? How many years would I need to continue to work at the GS position until I would be able to retire with 20 years? A: That period of active-duty military service would only be creditable if you were to make a deposit to the civilian retirement system. That deposit would be 3 percent of your basic pay while on active duty (not including allowances or differentials).…
Q: I withdrew my CSRS retirement in 1993 and then started back in the government in 1999 and was hired as a CSRS offset employee. My service comp date is October 1981. I also have years of service from 1977 to 1981 and then came back in 1982 and worked until 1993. I resigned in 1993 and went back into government from 1994 to 1995 and then resigned again. I then came back in the government in 1999 and I am still working. I am a CSRS Offset who unfortunately withdrew my retirement when I left in 1993. I asked…
Q: Suppose a Civil Service Retirement System employee has over 30 years of federal service and is over age 55, and thus eligible for retirement and pension under CSRS. If this employee has not yet retired, are there any circumstances where the employee can be denied his retirement and pension? Similarly, are any adverse actions in existence that his office can carry out which have the impact of denying the employee his pension? A: Yes. See 5 U.S. Code, Subchapter II, Forfeiture of Annuities and Retired Pay.
Q: I have worked for the Army as a civilian for a total of 25 years and recently sent for an early retirement estimate. I was covered under the Civil Service Retirement System from 1983 to 1987, then switched over to the Federal Employees Retirement System. I quit in 1994 and took a lump sum retirement refund (thinking I would not work for the government again) but ended up returning to work for the Army in 1997. In 2002, I spoke with a benefits person within the Army, who advised me not to make the retirement redeposit. She said I…