Q. My husband has bought back his time in the military and now, after three years with the Department of Veterans Affairs, he might have to leave before getting his five years needed to retire. Is there any reason why he would not be refunded the money he paid for those years? A. If your husband resigns from the government before being eligible to retire, he can request a refund of all his retirement contributions, including the active-duty service deposit.
Browsing: military buyback
Q. I’m debating whether buying back my military time is worth the cost with the changes to the current FERS program. I have three years as a federal employee. I will complete the deposit on May 1, which will give me 23 years toward my retirement. However, I am unsure if I will fall under the current 0.8 percent FERS contribution program or the new 2.3 percent contribution program recently approved. I made my decision to buy back my time base on the old retirement system. Now I think I may have wasted my money. Can you provide some insight…
Q. My spouse is dealing with health issues that may require a disability retirement under FERS. He has 4½ years of actual service with four years of additional military academy time which he bought back. First, would this time count toward the five-year minimum retirement requirement? If not, and he is running out of leave, would he be allowed under the Office of Personnel Management to enter a “leave without pay” status in order to meet the mandatory five-year requirement prior to retirement. A. To be eligible for disability retirement, a FERS employee only needs to have been employed for…
Q. I am still working but looking to retire. I have 35 years of CSRS service with the Department of Transportation. I started in 1977. Additionally I have two years, four months of active duty in the Air Force from 1966 to 1968. I also have 29 years with the New Hampshire Air National Guard from 1981 to 2006. When I retired from the Air Guard, they counted the two years and four months of Air Force time toward my Air Guard retirement. I was told by our DOT personnel department because of that, I cannot use my Air Force time…
Q. If I set up a payroll deduction to pay my military deposit, are the payments pretax items on my leave and earnings statement, like with the Thrift Savings Plan, or do they get taxed like other earnings? If I make the payment with a lump sum, is there a way to deduct that on my taxes? If so, what do I need to do? I am a current FERS employee. I am at the point of paying back my military deposit for my six years active duty. I will either pay a lump sum by check or set up…
Q. I bought back 2½ years of service (about $2,500; $647 was principle and $ 1,857 was accrued interest) in 2011. The redeposit was for service provided from March 25, 1985, to Aug. 26, 1987. Is any of it is tax-deductible for this year’s taxes? A. No, it isn’t.
Q. I have a friend who attended the Air Force Academy years ago and later retired as an officer, after which he had civil service employment and subsequent retirement from FERS. He was not informed at the time of his civil service retirement that his academy time could be credited toward his civil service retirement time if he paid the 3 percent. He recently found out about it but when he asked, he was told it had to have been done at the time of civil service retirement. This doesn’t sound right. Surely there is an appeal process. A. What he was…
Q. I am in the process of “buying back” my active-duty Army time, but I also have a couple of years in the active Air National Guard. Can I buy that time also? If so, what is the contact info? A. Service performed in the National Guard has never been considered military service unless the individual was called or drafted into the actual service of the United States. If your active-duty service in the National Guard was recorded on a DD 214, that should be sufficient proof that the time you were on active duty is deemed to be federal service. If…
Q. Everything I’ve read states it’s best for FERS employees to retire on the last day of the month to be on the retirement payroll the next month. I plan on retiring in October 2013 at age 60 with 30 years (includes three years of military service already bought back). Oct. 31, 2013, is a Thursday with the pay period ending Saturday, Nov. 2. My birthday is Oct. 24, so I can’t go sooner than the end of the month. Even though I will get credit for approximately 45 days of sick leave after the 1/2 deduction, I have been told that will…
Q. I served four years in the Army and was medically retired. I am now a federal employee and am accruing four hours of leave per pay period. Because my retirement was not deemed “service-connected,” only the year that I spent in Iraq counts toward my service computation date. I am no longer receiving retirement payments because my Veterans Affairs Department disability is greater than my retirement amount. If I buy back my military time, will all of the years count toward my SCD and retirement? A. For nonretired members, full credit for uniformed service (including active duty and active…