Q: I am not retired yet, but I’d like to know how I will calculate what the additional benefit will be to my retirement income if I were to repay my military service deposit? In other words, from an expected retirement income perspective, how do I determine if it’s in my best financial interest to repay my military service deposit?
A: Here’s the simple answer. If you are a Civil Service Retirement System employee, each additional year of service would produce approximately 2 percent increase in your annuity. If you are a Federal Employees Retirement System employee, it would produce a 1 percent increase. You’ll need to compare what you’d get for life with what you’d have to shell out to make the deposit. To get a more exact estimate of what you’d get by making a deposit, use the handy software at http://www.fedbens.us.
