Rehired vs. retirement plan

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Q. I would like to know what retirement plan I  should be under when I retire. I was first hired on May 3, 1982. I was an intermittent employee paying only contributions into Social Security. I was hired into a permanent position a year later on May 1, 1983 beginning contributions into the CSRS retirement system.

I left my job with the government on June 23 at age 58 with then only 27 years total tenure, which included two years military time that I bought back for annuity purposes. I was put into deferred retirement CSRS status because I did not meet the requirements for tenure, which was 30 years for an immediate annuity. At that time I was 58 years old with only 27 years service. Three years short for an immediate annuity.

I was rehired by the federal government on Aug. 13, 2007, approximately 50-55 days after I had left. I was rehired as a term employee contributing to only Social Security for retirement. I was promoted to a permanent position on March 17, 2008, seven 7months after being rehired. I bought back the term time for annuity purposes.

My agency put me into my former CSRS retirement plan. Is this correct?? I am told by some that no matter what, when an employee leaves federal service under the CSRS retirement system, that no circumstances exist to allow for that same employee to be put into same former retirement system(CSRS) upon rehire. The regulations state that an employee has to be gone over a year and have over five years’ credible civilian service to be put into CSRS offset upon rehire. I was gone only 50-55 days but had 25 years credible civilian service upon rehire.

A. You’re making hard work out of a simple matter. Because you had at least five years of creditable CSRS service when you left and were away less than one year, when you returned you were placed in CSRS.

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Reg Jones was head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management. Email your retirement-related questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

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