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: FERS
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 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 have a total of 25 years of federal service as a Federal Employees Retirement System employee. I am 51 years old and thinking of leaving and working for a private company. How can I find out what my pension will be when I reach the minimum retirement age of 62? And how can I find out how much I would get right now if I was to take my pension money out now and roll it over into an IRA or ROTH account? I don’t like the fact that my spouse will only get 50 percent of my…
Q I retired voluntarily from Federal Employees Retirement System on July 31, 2009, for health reasons with plans to change to FERS disability later. I was told by the Office of Personnel Management that there would be no benefit for me to file for FERS disability since I retired voluntarily. I applied for Social Security disability and was approved on April 23, 2010, with benefits beginning in December 2009 (I was found to be disabled on June 10, 2009). Do I still have to return the supplement from August 2009 to November 2009? Also, can I receive Social Security disability…
Q: At the age of 54, I would like to retire. It is then when I will have 20 years as a federal civilian nurse. I will be retiring under the Federal Employees Retirement System. Once retired, I would like to work for the Forest Service part-time or seasonally. How will this affect my retirement? How will my retirement income be computed? Can I collect my FERS retirement while still working for the Forest Service? A: As a FERS employee, you aren’t eligible to retire. The earliest point at which you could do that is when you reach your minimum…
Q: Is unused sick leave (now credited to length of service for annuity purposes) included/applied to calculations of Federal Employees Retirement System law enforcement officers’ length of service? A: No. Sick leave is only added after an employee has met the eligibility requirements for an annuity.
Q: I have eight years of active-duty service and 10 years with the reserves. What part of that time counts toward the Federal Employees Retirement System? I was also recalled to active duty for an eight-month period and want to know whether I can add all this time. A: Your active-duty service in the armed forces will only count if you make a deposit to the civilian retirement fund. You have already received credit for any two-week periods of annual active duty for training, which for leave purposes have been treated as if you were still on the job. Reserve…