Q. I am buying back my active-duty military service time to be applied to my federal retirement annuity amount. What factors determine the 3 percent rate for the military deposit? In other words, how is 3 percent derived as opposed to some other percentage?
A. I don’t know how it was derived. I only know that it’s the law for FERS employees. See 5 U.S. Code 8423(e). The law for CSRS employees is at 5 U.S. Code 8334(j).