Q. I recently entered a federal job after separating from the Air Force. If I buy back my three years of active-duty time, do I only need to complete two years of actual federal service to reach the five-year minimum for an immediate retirement at age 62? I understand that this retirement benefit would only be 5 percent of my high-3 pay.
A. You could only retire if you had five years of full time FERS service. Active-duty service for which you made a deposit wouldn’t count toward meeting that requirement.
