Q. Have you heard when OPM might come up with some guidelines regarding FERS redeposit? When I try to contact OPM, they just say there are no guidelines yet and to contact your agency’s retirement section. When I contact my agency’s retirement section, they say OPM doesn’t have any guidelines yet. So my question is, any idea when we might hear something? A. I don’t have a firm date. However, effective immediately, OPM is accepting the current FERS Application to Make a Deposit, SF 3108, from employees wanting to make a FERS redeposit. You must indicate on the application that…
Browsing: Creditable service: FERS
Q. I entered into federal service in 1983 under CSRS and left in 1986 after three years in order to go into graduate school. I was told I could leave my retirement money in the CSRS system and come back in later and I would be able to continue as before with that system. When I came back into federal service in 1991 I was presented with a refund check and told essentially “sorry, but you’re in FERS now”. Is this correct? Didn’t they change the rules while I was gone? A. What you were told at the time was…
Q. I am a FERS employee, age 51 with 12 years civilian service. I have never been in the military. I currently receive from PERS my late husband’s nontaxable disability retirement. When I do retire, will this affect my FERS and/or Social Security? Does this count against me? Can I have PERS, FERS, Social Security and TSP annuity in retirement? A. I can tell you that you will be entitled to the FERS annuity you earned, any Social Security benefit based on your own record, and your TSP account, without any modification. What I don’t know is if any of…
Q. I work for the USPS. Last night a co-worker and I talked. We both are in FERS and have active military time and guard or reserve time to retire from there. If our active military time is used for USPS retirement, does that effect our military retirement? A. As FERS employees, you will only get credit for your active-duty military service if you make a deposit to the civilian retirement fund for that time. (Reserve duty time isn’t generally creditable, so no deposit is required.) If you do make a deposit, you’ll get credit for that time in determining…
Q. I was hired into civil service (FERS) in January 2005, and elected at that time to purchase back 10 years of active-duty military service. I’m still in the Active Reserve with 17 years of service (about 13 active), and was wondering: 1. When I decide to retire from the military, will my military retirement be at all affected by my election to buy it back in civil service? 2. If so, how? I think my military pension will be better at retirement than that of my civil service pension, because I expect my military paygrade to be higher, and…
Q. I have served in the Marine Corps for 17 years, 10 active and seven reserve currently, but plan on serving 20 years total before I end my military service. I am transitioning into the State Department as a Foreign Service officer and had several questions concerning my retirement. 1. I plan on buying the credit for my military service. While active duty is straightforward to calculate, how do they credit my reserve time? Is it only active-duty days served while in a reserve billet? 2. Assuming they credit my 10 active years and some portion of my reserve time,…
Q. I worked for the federal government in a DoD position. After 18 years in this position I quit and went to work in the contracting sector. I’m applying for a position now and it states on the job announcement that former and current civil service employees may apply. Will I have any problems getting on after a break in service of over 10 years, and do my past 18 years still count for leave and retirement purposes? A. I don’t know if you’ll “have any problems getting on,” whatever that means. However, I can tell you that if you…
Q. I was in the Marine Corps for 22 months from 1969-1971. I will be 63 years old in May 2010. I started work at the VA hospital on July 3, 2006 and am currently still employed. I bought back (made deposit for) the 22 months military time in 2008. I am getting conflicting answers from the HR dept. 1. When can I retire with the “age 62 and five years” rule? I was first told by HR that my 22 months buyback would count towards the five years but am now being told it will not and that I…
Q. I worked as a postal clerk from February 1970 to June 1975. I came back and have been a letter carrier since July 1985. I served in the military from February 1966 to December 1968. What’s the story on “buying back the time?” I’m still an active carrier and would like to know the effect on my FERS retirement and on my Social Security. A. To get credit for that period of active-duty service, you’d need to make a deposit to the civilian retirement system. The amount would be a small percentage of your military base pay plus accrued…
Q. I was an employed physician working alongside comission corp officers at the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands Hospital in Saipan beginning in March 1989 through June 1991. I am now a federal employee with the Indian Health Service. Would my overseas time count as creditable service? A. It would only be creditable if retirement contributions were taken from your pay. If they weren’t, that time isn’t creditable for any retirement purpose.