Q: I have been working for the federal government since January 1989. My first four years were as a temporary employee. It seems I can only buy back about six to nine months of this. I am under the FERS retirement and it has designated 56 as my minimum retirement age. I know that I would get reduced benefits, but I would like to retire with 25 full years. Can I retire with 25 years before my MRA? If I can, what would the reduced benefits be? I am looking to retire as early as I possibly can from federal government. I am not worried about the…
Browsing: minimum retirement age
Q: I am a National Guard Technician with eight years as a GS employee. Can I apply any of those years toward a “6c” retirement (such as a Special Agent position within DEA or customs)? I turn 37 in January and would like to apply for a Special Agent position but I will be older than their mandatory hiring age limit unless those National Guard years apply (I won’t be able to have 20 years of service before the mandatory retirement age of 57). A: No, your years as a National Guard Technician cannot be counted toward retirement as a…
Q: I am a FERS employee. I will have 22 years and seven months in January 2011 and also I will be 55 in that month. If I retire at the age of 56, do I qualify to get into the special retirement system? A: Without knowing your year of birth, I’m going to have to assume that you were born before 1948 and will reach your minimum retirement age when you are 55. Is so, with your age and years of service, you would only be able to retire under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age and at least…
Q: Nobody can seem to give me a straight answer to this question: I’m 59 years old and under the Federal Employees Retirement System, with 18 years of service. I had heart bypass surgery four years ago, and I’m now having complications. Because I have to have 20 years of service to qualify for a pension, it appears that my wife will not get my pension if I die before I hit the 20-year mark, which is 20 months away. However, I have reached the minimum retirement age, so if something happens soon, can my wife get my pension, less…
Q: I’m 56 years old, which is my minimum retirement age, with 12 years of credible service. If I applied for disability retirement, would I receive benefits based on my years of service or the “60 percent first year, 40 percent thereafter” rule? If I would only receive the “high-3” times years of service calculation, what would be the advantage, if any, of disability retirement? A: Because you aren’t eligible for an immediate unreduced annuity, your benefit would be calculated under disability rules. You’d receive 60 percent of your high-3 minus 100 percent of any Social Security disability benefit to…
Q: Thank you for your recent article on key dates for retirement in the Oct. 4 edition of Federal Times. I have a question that wasn’t completely answered by the article. I am a veteran with more than 22 years of active-duty service. I joined the Food and Drug Administration two years ago, so I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System. I turned 51 this year and plan to retire sometime between age 62 and 65. I will not have 20 years of service at age 60, but I certainly will have five years of service at age 62.…
Q: I am a 39-year-old federal employee. I have nine years of Federal Employees Retirement System-covered federal service. I also bought back eight years of Army service time two years ago. I am thinking of resigning my position and starting a small business. Would it benefit me to wait three years and reach 20 years of creditable service? And if so, what benefits will I be eligible for at my minimum retirement age? A: You wouldn’t be eligible for any benefits when you reached your minimum retirement age. With fewer than 20 years of service, you’d be eligible for a…
Q: I’m under the Federal Employees Retirement System and plan to retire at minimum retirement age (56) with less than 30 years of service. Is the 5 percent per year penalty based on each year short of 30 years, or is it based on each year short of age 62? I’ve seen it explained both ways. Also, is the actual penalty based on fractions (months) or whole years? A: If you retire under the MRA+10 provision (minimum retirement age with at least 10 years of service), your annuity will be reduced by 5 percent for every year (or 5/12 of…
Q. I am a military physician with 18 years in service and four years of service at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, USUHS. Note these four years at medical school, though on active duty, do not apply for military retirement until you have 20 years in service, not counting those four years (this means a USUHS military physician must do 24 years to retire from the military). My question is, I am considering leaving the service and joining NSPS as a physician. I will be 45 years old and have 22 years of military service (not retired) –…
Q. I retired from a federal law enforcement position at the end of August with 25 years of service at age 53. I was born in 1957. I was eligible to retire at age 50. I started a new position with a nonfederal agency on Sept. 1. When am I subject to the earnings test for my annuity supplement? Is it age 56 since I was born in 1957? A. The earnings limit won’t apply until you reach your MRA (Minimum Retirement Age), which in your case would be 56.