Q: I served eight years on active duty in the Army and then went into the National Guard. While in the National Guard, I began working for the federal government. I bought back the eight years of service in the Army and plan to draw a federal pension as well as a National Guard retirement. Will either retirement offset the other? A: No, there wouldn’t be any reduction. You’d get the full amount of each retirement benefit.
Browsing: buyback
Q: I am 50 years old and have been working for the last five years in a civil service position for a county sheriff. I served eight years and three months in the Coast Guard and have an opportunity to move to a federal job. If I stay in my current position, I will have to wait until I am 65 to retire. Is there a retirement benefit to moving to the federal job? Can I combine the periods that I have worked in the military, civil service and in a federal job for a total of 20 years and…
Q: I am in FERS and work full time in the Veterans Affairs Department. In 1991, I bought back my four years of active-duty time. In 1995, I joined the Army National Guard. In 2009, I retired from the military and I currently receive military retirement. I plan to retire from VA in 2013 with 23 years of service. I know that I cannot add the four years of military time that I bought back in 1991 to my VA time. But is there a procedure to get back the money I deposited in 1991? Is there someone or a…
Q: Sir, I will be retiring from active duty as of 2013 with 30 years of service, at which time I will have 28 years in FERS. I have only bought back about five years of active-duty time. I have not been able to find anyone to assist me with my following questions: A) What can I do to avoid rolling my military retirement into my FERS retirement? B) In my situation is there a disadvantage or advantage in making payments for my military service? C) MRA+10 – would that assist me if I retired before I was 60 years…
Q: I can retire in February with 31 years of service under the Civil Service Retirement System as a part-time/flex employee in the U.S. Postal Service. My “high-3” years were from 2006-2009. Will they use these years to calculate my annuity? Is it always the last years? Is it always three consecutive years, or is it the highest consecutive three years? As a PTF, my hours changed yearly as to how many offices I worked in. Also, when I was hired in 1979, I never heard of “buying back” or anything related. Since I made no deposits, or didn’t know…
Q: I worked in a federal job as a temporary employee where no retirement deductions were taken out for seven years. I was then converted to a permanent employee. I am now 62 years old with 33 years of federal service and a service computation date of 1977. I am looking at retirement but I am reading about the requirement to pay a deposit back so that my annuity will not be reduced by 10 percent. How do I go about determining what that amount is, and how do I pay it back? A: Because your period of nondeduction service…
Q: I just recently became employed as a GS. In reviewing my Notification of Personnel Action form (SF-50), I had a number of questions which I asked of our human resources personnel: The form indicated I have no veterans’ preference and no creditable years of military service, though I have almost 25 years of service. The response I received was that I would have to surrender my pay and purchase the years of military service if I want to have it credited for civilian service. I have no intention of doing this. I was referred to the Office of Personnel…
Q: I’m under the Civil Service Retirement System and have a period of about one year of nondeduction service immediately prior to Oct. 1, 1982. I also have about a year of nondeduction service starting Oct. 1, 1982. Which would it make more sense to make a deposit for, the year prior to Oct. 1, 1982, or the year commencing on that date? A: For nondeduction service performed before Oct. 1, 1982, you have the option of making a deposit and having your annuity reduced by 10 percent of the amount that would have been deducted from your salary plus…
Q. I have been having trouble finding an answer to this question: I served four years on active duty (1987-1991) and was hired at the Postal Service in 1995. In 2000 I joined the Marine reserves and plan on retiring from both the reserves and the Postal Service. The post office says I can buy back those four years and apply it to my postal retirement and it not affect my reserve retirement. My question is: Can I use it for both? I have found nothing in writing that says I cannot do this and the Postal Service says I…
Q. I paid my military buyback off all at once.I was a seasonal part time GS04 for approximately nine months. I then got picked up for a full-time position and resigned after two days on that job. If I get my buyback money refunded, will it be taxed since it was not earned and was mine to begin with? A: For tax purposes it would be treated no differently than any other deposit you made for which you received a refund.