Q. I am a FERS employee (postal) with 16 years in with four years Air Force. If I took a full-time state job, how would that affect my federal retirement? My minimum retirement age is 56 years and 6 months, and I am 44. A. If you resigned from the government, left your contributions in the retirement fund and took a non-federal job, you’d be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 62. You’d be eligible for a deferred annuity at age 60 if you have made a deposit to get credit for your active-duty service, giving you a total…
Browsing: military service
Q. I am a U.S. Army reservist activated for 56 months and returned to federal service in November. I asked to buy back my active-duty time as a federal employee then and was instructed to fill out the form to DFAS and provide all my DD214s, which I did. I just got a ridiculous letter from DFAS last week telling me to pay a whole lot for those months, and I know it is wrong. I found a reference in USERRA that National Guard and Reservists do not pay either the 3 percent of base pay under FERS (or the…
Q. I served in the Army for two years and nine months and was medically retired out. I have become a federal employee. I have been told by my HR office that my time in the service will not count toward my leave accrual or retirement because I was retired out. I have been to OPM’s website and looked at the regulations, and from what I can tell, OPM defines military retirement as that for which you are eligible to receive retirement benefits, which I am not. So I am confused. A. According to OPM, these rules apply: Under law…
Q. I retired at age 50 under the Federal Law Enforcement Retirement Provision. I had 32 years of government service. The service included active-duty military, years under CSRS and the last 5½ years under FERS. I paid back the military service. During the years under CSRS, I also served some of those years in the U.S. Army Reserve and paid Social Security taxes on those earnings. I always had enough credits to receive Social Security before switching to FERS. I also had no additional earned income since I retired. I have been receiving a Social Security Supplement Annuity. I understand…
Q. I’m a retired reservist and a new federal employee. I understand I can buy back some or all of my active-duty time and not affect my reserve retirement when I turn 60 in 6½ years. I have DD-214s for deployments and activations totaling 4.4 years. I also have my Air Force Reserve Point Credit Summary, which shows my active duty time to be 2,112 days, or about 5.8 years. This additional 1.4 years includes my two-week tours and other active-duty man-days and short tours not covered by a DD-214. Can I buy credit for this additional 1.4 years of…
Q. I graduated in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y., Class of 1954. Recently a friend told me he thought academy time counted for Social Security calculations. I have been on several websites trying to search this out, including yours, but cannot find mention of the academy but have found mention of the four other service academies. Is Kings Point covered? If so, what reference should I cite for filing an amendment with Social Security? A. Service in the Merchant Marine, whether at the academy or on active duty, has never been considered creditable service for retirement under…
Q. I’m a FERS employee covered by the special retirement rules for law enforcement. I had made a deposit for the nine years of active duty I did before working for the Bureau of Prisons. Will the nine years I paid a deposit for be figured into the formula for the supplemental Social Security I receive till age 62? I plan on retiring at age 55 with 22 years of bureau service and nine years’ military. A. No. By law, only actual FERS service is used to calculate the special retirement supplement.
Q. I’m a FERS employee. I’d like assistance in computing how much federal service I have so I can determine how much more I need to qualify for a federal service pension. I have about nine years in the U.S. Army, as well as about five years in the U.S. Naval Reserve. My understanding is that both periods of service count toward federal service for pension purposes — but I need the totals so I can use that for a basis for moving forward. Which agency should I contact, and how should I make sure all of the federal service…
Q. I am 55 and have five years’ military time (paid deposit for both — Army two years and Navy three years) and will have 27 years with my agency this year when I reach my MRA for FERS. Three years of my military time were with the Navy, and I have a general discharge (two years Army is an honorable discharge). I read that the military time must be honorable and thus am concerned if my Navy time will be allowed for service credit regardless of paying the deposit on it more than eight years ago. Boy, I’d sure…
Q. I was active-duty military (Title 10) from 1988 to 1999. I joined the National Guard soon after I ended my time in service from active duty, and in February, I retired as a member of the active guard reserve (Title 32). In April, I became a federal civilian employee. I plan to retire at age 56 from FERS. This coincides with my federal MRA+10 (age 56). Can I collect a FERS retirement and a military retirement? I intend to buy back those 10 years of active duty. Next question: Will my creditable military service (active duty title 10) time…