Pension eligibility

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Q. How many years do you have to work for the United States Postal Service before you are pension eligible?

A. It depends on your age. CSRS and FERS employees who are 62 years old can retire with as few as five years of service or at age 60 with 20. CSRS employees can also retire at age 55 with 30 years of service; FERS employees can do that when they reach their minimum retirement age, which ranges between 55 and 57, depending on their year of birth. FERS employees have a unique opportunity to retire. They can do that at their MRA with as few as 10 years of service; however, if they do that, their annuities will be reduced by 5 percent for every year they are under age 62.

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About Author

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

6 Comments

  1. Steven Forbes on

    I am retired on disability from federal service but want to go back to federal employment. I’m 45 years old and have been offered a temp job NTE one year. I’m worried that if I take that job I will loose my health insurance with the disability and the temp job will not help me land a permenant job after one year. Can I contact OPM and tell them to stop the annuity for one year?

  2. I worked at post office for 8 years in the 70s. when I left I cashed out is it worth it to pay back to get small pension

    • You cannot redeposit that money unless you return to work for the federal government in a position that’s covered by the retirement system.

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