Q. I’m a reservist with over 17 years of active-duty time who is looking at becoming an Air Reserve technician eligible for FERS. If I buy back my active-duty time and later become eligible for an active-duty retirement as a reservist through military deployments, making my active-duty time equal 20 or more years, can I collect both retirements without waiting until I turn 60? Also, is there a requirement to buy back my years or enter the FERS prior to hitting 20 years of active-duty service? I’m told that if I stay on active-duty orders until 20, I will become…
Browsing: military buyback
Q. My service computation date, after the buyback of my military time, changed to July 1998. I was hired by Customs and Border Protection in December 2007. I am getting confusing information from different sources. Can I now retire at age 60, with over 20 years of federal civilian time? A. You have to have five years of actual FERS service to retire. Therefore, you wouldn’t be eligible to do that until the five years are up in 2012.
Q: I recently retired from the Coast Guard as a Reserve warrant officer with 30 years of service (13 years active duty and 17 years as a reservist). Upon taking my GS position with the Coast Guard, I bought my 13 years of active duty in a lump sum. During my new-hire orientation, I was told that my bi-weekly leave accumulation would rise from four hours per pay period to six hours per pay period. To date, after two years, one month of GS service, I am still receiving four hours per pay period. Am I correct that I should…
Q: I have about six years active military service, which began in May 1985, and 14 years reserve service, which ended in 1995. I am a FERS employee. I began work with the government in January 2009. Can you explain what buying military time means, and whether someone in my situation should do it? A: If you made a deposit for your six years of active-duty service, you would have six more years of creditable service for retirement and your FERS annuity when you did retire would be 6 percent higher. It’s worth noting that making a deposit for your…
Q: I have 30 years in federal service, (20 FERS and 10 in buyback military time), and my position as a non-6c 1801 is being converted to 6c. In order to get the 1.7 percent, I have to work another 20 years as a 6c. If I do not work the full 20 years, I know I won’t get the 1.7 percent, but will my base salary for calculation of my retirement include LEAP? A: Yes.
Q: I entered federal civil service in March 2007 as an Air Reserve technician. I bought back 10 years of military service. I turn 51 in August. I have heard I must retire at age 56 due to being an Air Reserve technician. However, I won’t have 30 years of service. Is this true? A: What you were told was untrue. Go to http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/10/E/l/1007/10218 and read what the law has to say about mandatory retirement for reserve technicians.
Q: I’m in my 30s and I’m under the Federal Employees Retirement System. My MRA is 57. I’ve worked for five years in federal civil service and will buy back five years of military service in the next few months. This will give me a total of 10 years combined service. If I left government work for the private sector or to start my own business would I still be eligible to receive a retirement benefit at 57? This would put me at the MRA with 10 years of combined service. Also, if I’m eligible for a retirement benefit at…
Q: I’m 50 with a minimum retirement age of 56. I have 26 years of government service counting my military service (six years bought back). If I’m affected by a reduction in force before 56, do I lose my basic annuity and other retirement benefits? A: No, you wouldn’t lose them. You’d be able to retire under the special age and service criteria: age 50 with 20 years of service or any age with 25. Any other benefits to which you’d be entitled, such as health and life insurance, would continue as long as you had been covered by them…
Q: I am a FERS employee and have a total of 22 years on the job as an 1811 LEO. I also have four years of military credit that add up to more than 26 years with the government, but I am only 48. I am in the process of possibly putting in for disability retirement because of an eye condition I developed. What are my benefits and where exactly do I stand financially if given the opportunity to retire early? A: If you apply for disability retirement, you would also have to apply for Social Security disability benefits. That’s…
Q: I recently ran across a copy of your Oct. 4, 2010, article on retirement titled, “These dates key for feds considering retirement.” I am a retired Navy officer. I left in 1999 with 20 years of active duty service as a commander. I collect retired pay annually, increasing from about $32,000 (1999) to a about $40,000 (2010) over the last 11 years. Upon retirement I was selected for the SES on July 6, 1999. I am 53 years old with more than 31 combined years of service. I am a FERS employee with an annual salary of around $172,000.…