Q: I am 50 years old and have been working for the last five years in a civil service position for a county sheriff. I served eight years and three months in the Coast Guard and have an opportunity to move to a federal job. If I stay in my current position, I will have to wait until I am 65 to retire. Is there a retirement benefit to moving to the federal job? Can I combine the periods that I have worked in the military, civil service and in a federal job for a total of 20 years and…
Browsing: military buyback
Q: I worked as a civilian federal employee from July 2006 through December 2008. During that time, I bought back my three years of active-duty military service. Does this give me enough credited service to receive a retirement under the Federal Employees Retirement System? A: No, it doesn’t. You’d have to have five years of creditable civilian service to be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62.
Q: If I buy back my active-duty military time to put it toward my Federal Employees Retirement System retirement, do I then lose that time toward my Navy Reserve retirement? A: No. Making a deposit for your period(s) of active-duty service will have no affect on reserve retired pay. You’ll get full credit for that time.
Q: I served in the Marine Corps for more than 13 years, entering Dec. 27, 1979, and leaving active service in November 1987. I re-entered the Corps on Dec. 7, 1989, and was involuntarily but honorably discharged in the middle of 1995 as part of force reduction after the first Gulf War. I did not retire, but I did receive a separation allowance, all of which I have paid back. I paid back the money by not receiving any disability pay for about 12 years (20 percent disabled for service-connected foot and back injuries). In the spring of 2001, I…
Q: I have 31 years in the Army, six years of which is active duty, and I’m still on reserve status. I’ve been working at a Veterans Affairs Department hospital for more than 20 years and plan to stay there until I have 30 years of service. I’m presently buying back the six years of active-duty time, and it is going to cost $12,000. First of all, is it worth it for me to buy back this time? I have heard when you retire from the federal government, you will only get either your federal retirement with your active-duty buyback…
Q: I retired from the Army in 2007 and receive both military retirement pay and Veterans Affairs Department disability pay. I immediately went to work for the federal government under the Federal Employees Retirement System. When I retire from government employment, will I be paid all of the following: military retirement pay, VA disability pay, FERS retirement pay and Social Security benefits? A: Yes, you would be able to receive all four benefits. Just remember that your FERS retirement annuity would be based solely on your years of civilian service unless you chose to make a deposit for your years…
Q. I am a federal employee under FERS. I paid my military deposit for eight years of active duty. I heard at a pre-retirement seminar that when they calculate the FERS annuity, they use a 4 percent (instead of the 1 percent) for the years we paid military deposit. Is this correct? A. Absolutely untrue. Military service for which a deposit is made is treated no differently than regular civilian service.
Q: I spent five years on active duty and 15 years on reserve duty in the Army. I started receiving my military pension when I turned 60 in October 2007. I am a FERS employee for the Justice Department and I completed the military buyback in August 2006. I want to retire in January and the HR department cannot give me an answer about waiving my military pay. I read in the FERS Handbook that military pay would have to be waived unless the employee is “receiving military retired pay under provisions of 10 U.S.C. 12731-12739 (retired pay under Chapter…
Q: Is there any current retirement option that allows the addition of civilian employee years of service to a military retirement payment? I understand the options for doing it in the other direction, and it is not beneficial for me to buy back my military retirement and apply it to my civil service time, because in addition to the buyback, and in my case the interest penalty, I would get less money after all calculations are made. A: There is no provision in law that would allow you to add your civilian service to your military service. Nor, to the…
Q: I was an Air Force reservist on orders for six months beginning in 2006. I injured myself while on active duty, and the six-month orders turned into two years before it was all said and done. I was put on the Permanently Disability Retired List (PDRL) with a 30-percent disability (non-combat related). I served 29 years in the Air Force Reserve, with a total of four years, eight months of active duty. I was hired in October 2008 as a federal employee. I am in the process of buying back those those four years and eight months of military…