Q. I am on Title 32 with the Army National Guard approaching my 38th year. I have more than 16 years of active duty during this time, as indicated on my DD 214. I also work for the federal government (Army) as a helicopter flight instructor at Fort Rucker,Ala., and not the National Guard in this capacity, with almost 23 years at this position. I am not a technician, as both jobs are separated. I am also pending more Medical Evaluation Boards resulting from injuries sustained while deployed to Iraq in 2006-2007. Of course, I have my 20-year letter for…
Browsing: military service
Q. Should I be worried, when I retire from FERS in seven years, that I will not receive a retirement check from the military and a FERS civil service retirement check? I returned to civil service after retiring from the Air Force after 20 years. I receive a monthly annuity in addition a monthly VA disability check. I received my FERS benefit estimate report for buying back my recent active-duty time. The estimate clearly favors that I buy my time back. All references lead me to believe I will be able to collect my full military retirement annuity, VA disability check and…
Q. I was on active duty from September 1999 to September 2008. I was honorably discharged with 30 percent service connected disability. I became a civil service employee in December 2010 in a permanent position. I was in this position for 18 months and then transferred to a term position. It was a permanent position but switched to term when the person in it left. I was told that I could not be brought in as permanent because I hadn’t reached ‘career status’ yet, which they stated was three years as a civil service employee. I was told that had I been…
Q. I retired from the U.S. Navy with 24 years of active duty service. I understand that I do not get any credit toward retirement but was told by other personnel that my rate of earnings for leave/vacation at my federal position should be adjusted. I will have worked in a federal position for three years next month, and my rate of leave/vacation earnings is 4 (basic). Please advise if my military time affects my rate of earning for vacation time. A. According to the Office of Personnel Management, for military retirees, annual leave accrual credit is given only for: Actual…
Q. I’m a FERS employee in a permanent, salaried position with the Air Force. I’m eligible for immediate retirement in December at age 60 with 28.5 years. With all the civilian cuts in the Department of Defense (no official reduction in force yet), are there any safeguards that protect people this close to retirement so they don’t have to worry about losing their jobs (and well-deserved benefits)? All I’ve found is: 1) my seniority (for RIF purposes), and 2) CFR Title 5, Ch. 1, SubCh. A, Part 351.606 and Part 630.212. A. No, there aren’t any safeguards as such. However, because you would meet the…
Q. Why do former military (not retired military) have to pay a deposit back into the retirement fund, especially if they’re offset? I am a CSRS offset employee, and my retirement annuity will decrease when I turn 62, when my Social Security will kick in. A. Anyone first hired on or after Oct. 1, 1982, has the option of making a deposit for active-duty service to get retirement credit for that time. Anyone first hired before that can make the deposit or not. For anyone who doesn’t, retires before age 62 and is eligible for a Social Security benefit at…
Q. I am currently on active duty. Prior to that, I was employed in the federal Bureau of Prisons. What would be my service computation date: the date I began as a civil servant or the date I came on active duty? A. For retirement purposes, your SCD would be the date you entered on duty as a civilian employee of the federal government. Your period of active duty wouldn’t be included in determining your length of service unless you returned to a federal civilian position and made a deposit to the retirement fund for that period of active-duty service.
Q. I have completed four years in the Navy and am now on my third year with the Veterans Affairs Department. I have a total of seven years, and I am only 26. Can I retire after 20 years of service, or do I really have to wait until I am 60 or older? A. No, you can’t retire with 20 years of service. And no, you don’t have to wait until age 60. You could retire under the MRA+30 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 30 years of service). Since you were born after 1969, your MRA would…
Q. I was put under FERS when I joined the federal government as a civilian employee in 1994. At the time, it appeared to make sense given that FERS was created in 1987 and all new federal employees were put into FERS. However, it looks like it is possible that I was eligible for CSRS when I was first hired. I was in the military from 1981 to 1990, which included more than five years of service when FERS was created in 1987. My federal employer probably decided that since this was military service, not civilian service, I was not…
Q. I am 51 years old, a retired active reservist with 20 years active duty and receiving my pension as of January 2011. I am also a federal employee under FERS and have paid back 14 years active duty for retirement credit. I plan on retiring from the federal government in 2014. Will I receive both pensions? How do I know which one pays more? A. Yes, you will receive both benefits without a reduction in either. Why you want to know which benefit pays more escapes me. You will get what you are entitled to under each retirement system.…