Q. I am a federal employee who worked for the Navy from 2002 to 2006, then had a break in service, and have been back working as a GS employee for the Navy since June 2009. From 2004 to 2006 and June 2010 to February 2011, I was involuntarily mobilized and returned to active duty with my Marine Corps Reserve unit. Am I able to count this time toward the five-year vesting requirement for FERS? A. No, not even if you make a deposit to get credit for that time.
Browsing: military buyback
Q. I’m a dual-status federal tech. I am 47 and have 16 years under FERS counting 10 years of military service I bought back. I was injured during military duties that will make me unfit for my position in the Air National Guard. Will I be eligible for the 60/40 annuity when the ANG finds me unfit? If I receive disability payments from the Veterans Affairs Department, how will they affect my FERS disability annuity? I am out of sick and annual leave and have been told from the beginning there is no limited or light duty — if I…
Q. I have 30-plus years total; 11 years and nine months of that is military time I bought back. The rest of it is in the USPS. I will be 52 and am being offered early retirement. When I reach my MRA, will I be eligible for the special retirement supplement? A. While you’ll be eligible for the special retirement supplement when you reach your MRA, it will be based solely on your years of actual FERS employment. Active-duty service for which you’ve made a deposit will not be included in that computation.
Q. A buddy and I both retired from military service recently and now work as civilians for the federal government (in different departments). We both “bought back” our academy time (just under four years) and they will now count toward our civilian careers. However, my department also counted these years for leave accrual, such that I have been earning six hours per pay period. My friend’s department did not count these years for leave accrual, so he is only earning four hours per pay period. It seems to me that his department only referred to 1-6 of this reference: http://www.opm.gov/feddata/gppa/gppa06.pdf…
Q. I am a retired Air Force officer with 25 years of active-duty military service. After retiring in August 2011, I started working as a government civilian (DT-05) for the Navy. I have been receiving four hours of annual leave per pay period. I have been told that you can get credit for either your overseas duty time (I was stationed overseas for 14 years — seven in Italy, four in South Korea and three in Germany), or your overseas deployment time (I was deployed overseas for 12 months — nine in Iraq, one in Israel, one in Bulgaria and…
Q. According to my leave and earnings statement, my service computation date is Feb. 28, 1971. So on Feb. 28, I will have 42 years of continuous federal government service. I am under CSRS and have paid back my military contribution. So I reached my maximum annuity based on actual service that’s allowed under law: 80 percent. How is this annuity computed? I know it is based on my high three grades, but how is the high-3 established? Is there a certain amount of time required between these grades? Also I have been told that after 42 years of service,…
Q. I’m retired from the Navy with 21 years of service (December 1984 to December 2005). I just started a job with the Veterans Affairs Department in a civilian GS position. I’m listed in Leave Group 1. Because I am retired, I have to start from the beginning in Leave Group 1. Other service members who did not retire start off in Leave Group 2. It feels like I’m getting penalized for being retired. They say some of the campaigns I served in may count. Is this true? If so, how does it work? A. You’ll find what you’re looking…
Q. I was born on Aug. 2, 1967, and was in the military for nine years and three months (Feb. 25, 1992, to June 13, 2001). I worked at the VA hospital for 11 months (October 2003 to September 2004) and while there received my 10 years of service pin. I am looking to obtain GS employment again (soon) and wanted to know if I could retire and receive a retirement check once I complete 10 more years of service, giving me 20 years of service. If I am unable to receive my retirement check after 20 years of service,…
Q. I got the gist of how this works — however, I did not see this. As a reservist and able to go on deployments (active-duty mobilization) or take orders (active duty, then drop back to reserve status), as a reservist I can rack up a good 15 years’ worth of active-duty points toward my reserve retirement. How many of those years can I buy back in the federal retirement system without affecting my reserve retirement? Can I go as high as 19 active-duty years and ride out with a reserve retirement and buy back 19 years? A. You may…
Q. I am on active duty. If I leave active duty and buy back my time to work at another federal job and at the same time do time with a National Guard component, will I be eligible to receive two retirements once I turn the right age? A. If you work for the federal government, you can make a deposit to get credit for that time. If you are eligible for reserve retired pay, you can receive that pay and the annuity of your civilian position. If you are eligible for military retired pay, you’ll have to waive that…