Q. I am a reservist eligible for an active-duty retirement (21 years active duty and four years reserve duty). I have not retired yet. If I obtain a federal civilian position prior to retiring from the Reserve, will I be eligible to buy back my 20+ years of active duty? Or does the fact that I am eligible for an active-duty retirement (i.e. will receive retired pay immediately after retiring from the Reserve) make me ineligible to buy back my military time? A. Yes, you could make a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service. However, to get credit…
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Q. I am accredited with 41 years, 11 months of civil service and am eligible to retire. The time includes two years, six months, and 13 days of military service, which I did not buy back. I was told it didn’t matter that the difference between buying your military time and not buying it is that you would only have more money on the retirement fund but that the time would still be counted toward retirement. Is this correct? Also, I want to know what day I need to make my effective date of retirement so that I will receive…
Q. I retired in 2000 with 20 years of active-duty time. I spent the next 10 years collecting a pension (E-6) and working as a contractor. I’ve been working in the federal government for the past two years as a GS-12, Step 10. Would it make sense for me to put the amount of cash necessary to retire at 30 years by buying back my 20 military years? Am I even eligible to do this? Would I have to do it now? A. Yes, you can make a deposit for those 20 years of service, However, when you retire, you…
Q. I retired from the Army in 1991 with 22+ years of service as a command sergeant major. I went to work immediately as a FERS civil service employee, and nine years and nine months later, was offered an early retirement and a $25,000 one-time incentive payment because of agency drawdowns. To qualify, I would have to waive my military retirement, which I did, and that brought my total years of service to about 32 years or so. Had I known then what I know now, I would have simply completed three more months of FERS employment and taken the…
Q. If you buy back your military time, does the time count toward a 20-year retirement, or is the time only used in figuring your annuity? A. If you make a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service, it will be used in determining your length of service and in your annuity computation. Whether it will result in your being able to retire when you have 20 years of service will depend on your age. Only those who have 20 years of service when they reach age 60 can retire on an immediate unreduced annuity. However, although those who reach their…
Q. I am a FERS employee and a disabled vet. I was given a medical retirement for injuries I received during my tour of duty in the Navy in 1972-75. I waived my military retirement in lieu of a Veterans Affairs Department pension about 15 years ago. I have made the service credit deposits required so that my military time will be credited to my FERS retirement. I recently attended a retirement seminar and was told that I will have to sign a waiver of military retired pay when I file for my FERS retirement. Does this mean I will lose…
Q. I have four years and 10 months of military time in the active Army, which I have bought back. I am a FERS employee and have been since 2005. In addition to my minimum retirement age, I need 30 years FERS service for retirement eligibility with no penalty. Does my military time count toward that 30-year eligibility requirement? Or (and this is what I was previously told) must I still contribute 30 years, at which time I will get a FERS credit for 34 years, 10 months? A. Your military time, for which you made a deposit, counts for both retirement eligibility…
Q. I am a GS employee that is also a member of the Air Guard. I will be leaving on leave without pay to go through military training for roughly five to six months. How will this affect my FERS retirement and my Thrift Savings Plan contributions? Do I have to buy back my military retirement to obtain my FERS retirement contributions during my LWOP? A. Reg Jones: You will be on LWOP-US. Therefore, you will have to make a deposit to the retirement system to get credit for that period of active-duty service. Mike Miles: You may not contribute…
Q. I am retired military with 24 total years of service (seven years active duty and 17 in the Air National Guard). I work in the civil service corps of the federal government, 21 years. In three years at age 60, I will start receiving my military retirement checks. If I buy back my seven years of active-duty time, will that void my military retirement pay and benefits? If I decide to buy back only four years, retaining 20 years of military service, will I lose any retirement benefits? A. If you make a deposit for your active duty-service, it won’t have…
Q. I am currently (and have only been) active-duty Navy and will be retiring within the next six months. I am confused about FERS. On some posts, I read that people waive military retirement. In others, I read that people receive military retirement and civilian government retirement. I want a civilian government job. What options do I have available to me? A. Nearly everyone who has retired from active duty and takes a civilian job with the federal government has a choice to make. He can either make a deposit to the civilian retirement system to get credit for that service and,…