Q. I retired in 2003 with 30 years of active Army service. I have been drawing full military retirement pay since then. I am now a GS employee with seven years of federal service. Can I still buy back my military time and combine the two for a federal retirement?
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Q. I am interested about buying back my military time. However, I received a separation bonus from the military when I left. How is the buyback calculated in addition to my time in service? (Is it considered normal income?)
Q. In the 2012 Federal Retirement Handbook, it states that if you meet the following age and service requirements — age 62 and five years — you are entitled to an immediate retirement benefit. I will be 65 years old in May, so I already meet the first requirement. In June, I will have been a federal civilian employee for two years. However, I have 12.3 years of Air Force (1971 to 1984) service, and I plan to make the required deposit so the 12.3 years becomes part of my federal creditable service. Therefore, in June, I will have 14.3…
Q. The following statement was made in an answer to a question ask about post-1956 deposit: “You can’t get a refund of the deposit you made for your active-duty service. What’s done is done. If you retire at age 62 and aren’t eligible for a Social Security benefit at that time, you’ll never have to worry about losing those years and having your annuity recomputed.” I will retire at age 60 and have paid in a post-1956 deposit. I am in CSRS and will have 41 years and eight months with the post-56 deposit (eight years, six months of military…
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?
Q. As of January, I had 36 years of creditable federal service for retirement. This is based on a federal retirement benefits estimate I received from a company contracted by my agency to provide this service. I was on leave without pay while in a master’s degree program from June 23, 1984, to June 7, 1986. The company providing the benefits estimate counted all of this time as creditable for retirement. Is this correct, or would I only be allowed credit for a maximum of six months during each of the three calendar years covered by the leave without pay?…
Q. I am a dual status technician GS employee in the Air National Guard. I’m trying to figure out if a three-month activation on Title 10 active duty for which I go leave without pay from my technician job will require me to make a military deposit to credit that tour after completion? Does such a short tour fall under the LWOP six-month rule and therefore doesn’t require any payment? Our agency has been calculating deposits to cover less than six-month tours in the past, but I’m curious if that’s necessary. A. Your agency is correct. You won’t be taking…
Q. I receive military retirement pay for 21 years of service in the Air Force. I started working as a federal civilian employee (GS 9 step 1) two months ago. I have not bought back my military time. I am 41. If I continue to work as a federal civilian for another 20 years and buy back my military service, which would give me 40 years total, does my combined retirement/annuity add up to more than if I wouldn’t buy back my military time, keeping my separate military retirement check and my separate FERS annuity check? A. You are asking…
Q. I am a career conditional employee with 1½ years total civilian service time who is eligible to buy back my military time. Due to the current budget constraints, I fear that I could be subject to a reduction in force. If I buy back my time and am RIF’d prior to completing my five years of civilian service that are required to be vested in FERS, what happens to my military deposit? A. You’ll have a choice to make. You can either ask to have that money refunded to you or you can leave it in the fund. If…
Q. I am a FERS employee, and I’m considering buying back my service time. I retired as a sergeant first class after 20 years in the Army. I am 45 years old and have five years of federal time as of this year. When would be the best time to buy back my military time toward federal retirement, and how much will it cost me to do so if I want to retire at 56.6 years old? A. The sooner you make the deposit the better. The longer you wait, the greater amount of interest you’ll have to pay. While…