Q. I am a GS employee who was fully employed by my agency from 1992 to July 2004 and then involuntarily recalled to active duty (reservist), title 10, for two years. I am still affiliated with the agency and have an active SF-50. I am also still on active duty, but on voluntary orders with a five-year limit. Can I buy back my Title 10 military service for a FERS employee while on LWOP-US or annual leave while on voluntary military orders? The result would be 14 years of federal service, to include two years of military service and 12…
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Q. My husband entered military service June 14, 1988, and has 24 years and 23 days of active-duty service, according to his DD 214. He retired as of Jan. 1, 2012. He worked as a Defense Department civilian from May 14, 2012, to Aug. 7, 2012. How much time does he get added to his service computation date for his 24 years of military service? A. He won’t receive any credit toward his service computation date unless he makes a deposit to the civilian retirement system. The deposit would be a small percentage of his basic pay while on active…
Q. My husband has 10 years of Air Force service and is in the process of negotiating to take a federal position. To buy back his service, is it possible to use a 401(k) rollover? I am thinking not, since a rollover is only allowable to an IRA or other “qualified plan.” We certainly can take a direct taxable distribution of a portion of that 401(k) plan and use that money to buy back, but he wondered if it can be done with the rollover. A. No, it can’t.
Q. I served four years in the Navy and four years in the Army consecutively, and two tours in Vietnam in the Navy. In mid- to late 1987, I began working at the Federal Bureau of Prisons under FERS as a correctional officer. I worked for 11-plus years in the prison system and left. I cashed out my TSP. I am 59. With nearly 20 years of service, if I were to return to federal employment and work for several more years, would I qualify for retirement and a federal pension? A. Yes. If you didn’t take a refund of…
Q. I have been a FERS 6c employee for eight years. I have 12 years of active-duty military service. I have already put in two weeks’ notice to leave my 6c job but would like to buy back my military time to increase my deferred annuity. Do I have to buy back the military time before my employment terminates? A. Yes.
Q. Hello, I’m a civil servant with a retirement service computation date of Aug. 28, 1986. This includes approximately 15 years of civil service time under FERS and two active-duty stints for the remainder. I have two DD-214s to account for the military time. My question concerns the noninclusion of other active-duty time I completed while a reservist. I completed approximately four more years of active duty between 1989 and 1997 that was not documented via a DD-214 — active duty for training, for example. I understand that inactive training periods don’t count toward the computation, but does the ADT…
Q. I was in the Air National Guard full time for 14 years. Now I work for the Postal Service and have been there 16 years. I bought back my military time and had the 30+ years funded. Then, I received a letter from USPS human resources that my military time was not federally creditable, and they returned my buyback money. The post office is saying I was paid by the state and not by the federal government. I really wanted to be a part of the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority this month, but this has become a mess. If…
Q. I am a 57-year-old FERS employee with 29 years and 11 months of civilian federal service, five years of active-duty military service and 31 years of military reserve service (I plan to retire from reserve duty at 60). I want to know how my retirement from civilian federal service will be computed. I bought back the active-duty military service. A. Your FERS annuity will be computed using the standard formula: .01 x your high-3 x your years and full months of service (including actual service and active duty service for which you’ve made a deposit).
Q. I served for 13 years and four months in the active-duty Air Force after graduating from a service academy. After taking a job in the airline industry, I continued serving in the Air Force Reserve for another 10 years. I turned 60 in March and started drawing reserve retirement pay in April. I am considering employment as a Federal Aviation Association air safety inspector when I retire from my airline job, perhaps this year. I’ve been told by a friend at the FAA that all of my active-duty time plus my time at the service academy will count toward…
Q. Will VSIP income, upon retirement, count toward credits earned for Social Security eligibility? I served in the military for four years in the early 1970s. I never bought that service time back. I have earned only 30 Social Security credits and thus won’t be eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62. I am 60 and federally employed with 42 years under CSRS. If I accept a VSIP ($25,000 gross) upon retirement before age 62, will that money count toward Social Security credits earned? If so, how many? And will the credits reduce my annuities at age 62, having…