Q. I began working for the Defense Department in 1981. In 1993, I took a Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay. I received severance pay at that time. I came back to work in 1998. My adjusted service computation date is 1987. I have 26 years with DoD, and I am 52. If a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority is offered and I apply, provided I am approved, would I receive severance pay minus the amount I received in 1993 or none at all?
A. By law, the amount of severance pay a separated employee is entitled to is limited to one year’s pay at the rate of pay received immediately before separation. If you previously received severance pay and were eligible for a second time, your entitlement would end once the sum of the two severance periods reached 52 weeks.
