Q. I am in the Marine Corps Reserve with nine years’ active duty and three years’ reserve duty. If I purchase back my active-duty time in FERS, can I still use my reserve points toward military reserve retirement? A. Yes.
Browsing: military service
Q. I am receiving 40 percent disability from VA. I was wounded in Vietnam, and I plan to retire from CSRS. Will I receive less annuity from my agency since I am receiving disability pay? A. No.
Q. I am a 50-year-old FERS employee with 13 years of active duty and will have 15 years of federal civil service upon my ETS (active duty 1985-1998, FERS employee 1998 — September 2013 with no break in service). I am being militarily selected out due to force reductions and my FERS job is dependent on my military status (which I will no longer have, deeming me ineligible for my ANG federal civil service position). I bought back my military time and am now being told that my military time buyback does not count toward time for the FERS supplement,…
Q. I am a FERS employee in the process of buying back my military time — however, I am not sure if there is an advantage to it. If I buy back my military time (13 years, at a cost of $7,367.50), have a service computation date of September 1984 for federal service and am 58, what possible benefit could be gained? If an early retirement is offered, would I be eligible, and if so, would it be beneficial to accept early retirement —- or stay until I am 62 to 65? A. If you completed your deposit, you’d be…
Q. If I have worked 6.5 years of civil service in FERS and I buy back my military time (four years), will I be eligible for the MRA+10 retirement at age 57 if I leave federal work now? Also, if I work 10 years in civil service and buy back my military time, will I get 14 percent (10 + 4) of my high-3 or just the 10%? A. Yes, making a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service would make you eligible to retire under the MRA+10 provision at 57. Your annuity would be computed under the standard…
Q. Can I apply for an air traffic controller FERS retirement even if I am not employed by the federal government? I left the FAA OCT in 2009 and was 47. I resigned in good standing and left only for personal reasons. I am now 50 with more than 21 years of good air traffic controller time. I was hired by the FAA in 1988 and also have 6½ years’ Air Force time. I have also paid back my military service. I now receive Social Security for disability. Does this impact my eligibility for FERS? What do I do? A.…
Q. Can I apply for an air traffic controller FERS retirement even if I am not employed by the federal government? I left the FAA OCT in 2009 and was 47. I resigned in good standing and left only for personal reasons. I am now 50 with more than 21 years of good air traffic controller time. I was hired by the FAA in 1988 and also have 6½ years’ Air Force time. I have also paid back my military service. I now receive Social Security for disability. Does this impact my eligibility for FERS? What do I do? A.…
Q. I am a returning civil service employee, first hired in August 1982 under CSRS. I was employed for 16+ years, then left for 13 years of military service. I am getting rehired in a federal position. Will I be reinstated under full CSRS or CSRS Offset? I did not take a refund, I am collecting a military retirement, and paid Social Security since 1975. I intend to work for five years. Will I be subject to the windfall elimination provision? A. You will be placed in CSRS Offset because you had a break in service that exceeded one year.…
Q. I will be 61 in November, and I have 27 years of service with the Veterans Affairs Department under FERS. I also have three years and seven months of military service that they say I can’t count unless I pay for it. When can I retire? A. You can retire now because you are at least 60 years old and have at least 20 years of FERS service. P.S. They are right. You won’t get any credit for your active-duty service unless you make a deposit for that time. If you did, your annuity would be 3.7 percent higher.
Q. I was in the Marine Corps for 9½ years. I have been working as a public relations specialist with the Veterans Affairs Department for two years. I am applying for an assistant fire chief position with VA based on my experience in my volunteer fire department. If I got this position, what retirement plan would I fall into and would my military or VA time be credited? A. If you were hired into a firefighter position, one subject to the more generous retirement provision, none of your previous service (military and civilian) would be creditable toward the 20 years…