Q: In 2005, I retired from active service in the Army with 21 years. I have been working for six years as a FERS employee. I am considering buying back my military service. Does the the buyback for the post-56 military service affect my Service Computation Date for leave, reduction in force and retirement? A: Yes.
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Q: I left the Postal Service in 1999 to go to Arizona and received the refund then, and was reinstated in 2001. I’m 48 and in FERS. I bought back my military time already. I’m making biweekly payments to buy back the 13 years I lost when I left Rockford, Ill., in 1999. If the Postal Service offers a VERA, would I be eligible and given the opportunity to pay the balance due to buy back my time? Or do I need to make a full payment now to get the credit and be eligible if the VERA happens? A:…
Q: I am a National Guard military technician losing my military membership due to medical nondeployability and pilot grounding. Consequently, I am being involuntarily discharged from the military and my technician employment will be terminated. I am a 52-year-old FERS employee with 12.5 years active Army (I bought back service-time credit), six years career Postal Service and 10 years (hired in August 2001) National Guard service. I was told I am eligible for the National Guard Special Provision (60/40) since I have less than 20 years technician service. They stated I am also eligible for the Discontinued Service retirement with…
Q: I retired from the Navy in 2001 after 24 years of service. I went to work as a civil servant for the State Department in 2002 and will retire from there with 20 years of service at age 66. Will I be able to draw military, civil service and Social Security? A: Yes.
Q: The CPAC people at my organization are unhelpful and unknowledgable. My SF-50 does not reflect my 70 percent disability for veterans preference for a reduction in force. I have brought the paperwork in but was told I was not hired under veterans preference and don’t qualify because I retired with more than 20 years from the Army. They say if I had not retired, then I would be eligible, but refuse to give me the source of that rule. A: Based on what you’ve written, your agency is probably right. You’ll find the information needed to confirm or rebut…
Q: My husband has four years active duty, 12 years as a reservist and 18 years as a civilian federal employee. He paid his military deposit in full. He was injured in a nonmilitary-related and noncivilian-related accident, and as a result the reserves put him on TDRL. Can he or will he have to waive his TDRL pay if he wants to use his military time to help him meet the years of service eligibility requirements for a civilian retirement? Or, does the fact he’s receiving TDRL pay prevent him from using his military service for civilian retirement purposes? A:…
Q. My husband served eight years active in the Navy and stayed in the Guard for 20 years. He just turned 60 and is receiving his Navy retirement check. He is also employed under FERS and has already paid back his military time. Our question is: Can he draw his military retirement check along with his retirement check from civil service, which will be figured using buyback military time? If he has to choose and keeps his retirement check, will they give him back his buyback amount? A. He will receive both retirement checks, with no reduction in either. As…
Q. I was hired into federal service on Sept. 20, 1982. I am under CSRS. I am currently not eligible to collect Social Security. I have three years of military service, from Sept. 15, 1972, to Sept. 14, 1975. Will my military service be used to compute my CSRS retirement annuity? A. Those years of active-duty service will be included in determining your years of service and used in the computation of your annuity. However, if you are retired and eligible for a Social Security benefit at age 62, those years will be deducted and your annuity recomputed without them. If you retire…
Q. I am a current FERS employee with prior active-duty military service. When I began federal civil employment, my Service Computation Date (SCD) was established as Dec. 18, 1984. Three years ago, I made a complete payment for military service deposit, i.e., I “bought back” my military time. My SCD has remained the same since then. Should my SCD have been recomputed? Regarding my retirement, what benefit(s) did I gain by buying back my military time? A. If you were nonretired military, you should have received full credit for your active duty service for leave accrual purposes when you were hired.…
Q. I spent 11 years on active duty as USNR. I then spent another 10 years in the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, but was never assimilated into the Regular Corps (thus the equivalent of reserve status). I collect a military retirement and now work for the government under FERS. Since all my active-duty time was as a reserve officer, can I buy back any of my time, even though I collect a pension? I was told as regular military you can’t, but as a reserve status, you should be able to. A. Reserve service is rarely creditable…