Q. I’d like to know if buying your military time back if you’re a disabled vet is the same process ? I’m told that if I’m not going to receive Social Security I still get credit and don’t have to buy it back. A. Because you were first hired as a civilian before Oct. 1, 1982, you will get credit for that period of active-duty service in determining your eligibility to retire and in your annuity computation, whether or not you make a deposit to the civilian retirement fund. However, if you retire and are eligible for a Social Security…
Browsing: Creditable service: FERS
Q. I plan on retiring in September at age 60. I left service for a period of years and took the amount I had in my retirement that had accumulated for the two years I was under CSRS. When I came back I was put into the FERS. How will taking that money out affect my retirement? A. As a rule, you won’t get any credit for that time unless you redeposit the amount you took out with accumulated interest. Because that short period of CSRS service will automatically be treated as FERS service, you’ll need to check with your…
Q. Is there a bill in progress to assist federal employees with repaying their FERS retirement for years of service who withdrew funds and then returned to government service? A. I’m not sure what you are asking. If you want to know if it is now possible for an employee to repay the amount of FERS retirement contributions that were refunded to them when they left government, the answer is yes. The law changed on Oct. 28, 2009 to make that possible. If you are asking if the government has a program that would financially assist employees who want to…
Q. I was once a Special Agent of the U.S. Secret Service (series 1811). I left in January 2007, so I have been away for more than three years. As I am seeking to return to the Secret Service, I have five questions: 1. I understand FERS employees who leave and take a refund of their retirement contributions (which I did) are prohibited by law from buying back that annuity when they return to work for the government. Is there a provision for contributing more than the standard percentage to “make up” the difference? 2. If not, I presume my…
Q. I served four years in the Navy from 1989-2003; right now, I work for the U.S. Postal Service as a ptf city carrier. If the post office cuts back to a five-day workweek, they will do layoffs. So, should I buy back my four years of service because that would put me at seven years of service and I think it takes seven years to keep from getting laid off. And, of course, what would be the cost of the buyback? The post office told me I had three years from my hire date to pay no interest and…
Q. If I have six years of service as a grade school teacher for the New York City Board of Education and I decided to go work for the DoD as a teacher, would those six years count towards a DoD retirement? A. No, they wouldn’t count.
Q. Will I lose my federal years of service for retirement if I get out of the military after nine years and continue my education, then decide to join the U.S. Marshals or a federal agency after a three-year break. Does my 20 years of service have to be continuous? A. You would only be able to get credit for your period of active-duty service if you made a deposit to the civilian retirement fund after being hired. Even then, those years would not qualify as covered service under the enhanced benefit provision for law enforcement officers. To retire under…
Q: I hired on with the federal government Oct. 15, 1985. At that time, I wasn’t given a choice of Federal Employees Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System, everybody was FERS. However, I did buyback my Air Force service and my service computation date is April 15, 1982. This maybe fishing, but should I have been given the option to go CSRS if the service computation date is in 1982? I also had about four months of civil service in a temporary job in 1978 if that makes any difference. Is there any circumstance that would ever allow someone…
Q: I will be leavening the Marine Corps after 13 years of service. I will be getting another government job at the U.S. Postal Service. Will my 13 years count toward my retirement? Will I only have to work for another eight years? Or will I start over and have to work for 20 more years? A: Your 13 years of active duty service will only count if you make a deposit to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability fund. The deposit will equal a small percentage of your basic pay while on active duty. Your civilian personnel office can…
Q: I was reinstated on a term appointment in 2003, and in 2005 the position was terminated. I took a permanent position with Bureau of Land Management. While in my term position, I was told to sign up for the Federal Employees Retirement System or my time would not count toward my tenure in this term position. I was told that when my term appointment ended and I accepted a permanent position, my tenure would continue and I could, at this time 2005-2008, opt to be reinstated as CSRS/FERS instead of FERS. I had requested to my BLM human resources…