Q. I am 73, have been drawing military retirement since 1982, and became a federal employee three years ago. Qualifying for the combined years of military and federal service would be impossible because the payback would be prohibitive. Does FERS allow for this circumstance, or should I resign knowing that no retirement from this second federal job is possible? A. Retirement from your civilian job is possible. As soon as you have five years of FERS service, you’ll be able to retire and receive an annuity based on that period of employment.
Browsing: military buyback
Q. I was born in 1956 and I am at my minimum retirement age of 56. I have 14 years of civil service under FERS. I retired from the Coast Guard after 22 years. I have paid my redeposit in full to buy back my military time. I have not yet waived my retired military pay. I am filing for a FERS disability. If approved, would it be considered a voluntary retirement MRA + 36 years of service (14 FERS + 22 military), or would I receive 60 percent of annual salary first year, 40 percent thereafter until 62? A. If you…
Q. I am a 48-year-old postal employee with a starting date of January 1987. I was discharged from the Marine Corps with a 30 percent retirement disability. I did the 3 percent buyback of my four years of military time back in 1990. Will my four military years be eligible to be included in my retirement, as I am already receiving a disability/retirement compensation? If they are not included toward my retirement, how do I begin the process for a refund on my military deposit? A. Yes, the four years of active-duty service for which you made a deposit will…
Q. I have more than 24 years of military service when I retired. I am not working for any federal or civil service organization now. I am trying to go to work for a government agency. The question how can I figure out how much I would have to buy in without having a job yet? How many years will the buy in give me, all 24-plus years? I am 56 years old. What would be my eligible retirement date with a government job? I am receiving retirement pay, which deducts the VGLI and survivor benefit payments hand. How would…
Q. I had 17 years of active duty, got out, joined the reserves and became a FERS-covered employee. I retired from the reserves. I have been buying back my military time since I joined civil service. Counting my military time, upon civil service retirement I would have 44 years of civil service. Upon retirement, would I be eligible for both a military retire check and a federal service retire check? A. Assuming that you complete your deposit to get credit for your active duty service, you would receive both your reserve retired pay and your civilian annuity, with no reduction in…
Q. I was medically retired from the Air Force in May 1985. My entire Air Force retirement is tax free with a majority of it being paid in the form of a VA compensation payment. I entered the federal workforce in December 1985 under the FERS retirement plan. At the time, the military time deposit was explained. I was told that if I chose to make the deposit and combine my retirements, that in my situation, I would keep all of my VA compensation and all of my Air Force retirement. It was further explained that the law was explicit…
Q. I have been retired for 19½ years and have been working with the civil service for the last 15½ years. Can I include my military time in my FERS retirement? What are the implications? A. You would only be able to combine your active duty military service with your civilian service if you made a deposit to the civilian retirement system and, at retirement from your civilian job, waived your military retired pay. The amount of the deposit would be 3 percent of your military base pay plus accrued interest. If you made that deposit and waived your retired…
Q. I had four years of active-duty military time, then entered the reserves (drilling).I later entered federal service (FERS) at age 33, then went under LEO 6(c) coverage at age 36 — mandatory retirement at age 57 as a law enforcement officer requiring at least 20 years’ service. I have been activated/mobilized several times, for a total of four years of additional active-duty time, since being under 6(c) coverage. Will I still be able to get a 6(c) retirement? Does the time mobilized count toward 6(c) retirement or just regular FERS time like my initial enlistment (per-federal employment)? Will I…
Q. I am a highly qualified expert and a 67-year-old veteran, with 2½ years of federal service. I have bought back my 15 years of military time. My plan was to complete my high three in six months and then extend for another two years to complete five years of federal service. Due to budget cuts, my position may be eliminated. What are my options to retire with an annuity from FERS? Is there any OPM assistance or programs for finding another federal service job? Will my FERS time and buyback be available to my spouse if I am not…
Q. I am a federal agent under FERS. I served for seven years on active duty in the military. I started making my payments to buy back my military time when I was a Border Patrol agent. I was able to pay $315 before I resigned my position. After six months of “break in service”, I started working as an immigration agent for ICE. As soon I started with ICE, I requested to keep paying the same amount to the military buyback program, and my agency told me that I had to start the paperwork again. After seven months, the…