Q: I am 57 and a FERS employee with slightly more than 11 years federal civilian service. I am told that under certain conditions of discontinued service/VSIP, VERA, etc., it is possible for early retirement under MRA +10 without penalties for an immediate annuity. Is that correct?
A: The age penalty of 5 percent per year applies to all retirements under the MRA+10 provision. However, you can reduce the penalty by postponing the receipt of your annuity to a later date. Because you have fewer than 20 years of service, you’d have to wait until age 62 to eliminate it. If you had 20 or more, it would be age 60.
