FERS Retirement and military deposit

[Neecy]

Hey y’all! I’m wondering if anyone has bought back their military time to collect a Reserve/Guard pension and a FERS annuity at age 60. I’m eligible for an active-duty pension next year when I’m 53 years old. I currently have 6 years of federal civilian service. I plan on collecting my AD pension from 53 - 60 years old, but will convert it to a Reserve pension at age 60 years because I served three years as a Reserve O-6. I was planning on retiring from FERS at my MRA (age 57 years old) at 10 years and deferring my annuity until age 62 to avoid the penalty. Now, I wondering if I should buy back my 22 years of AD before I retire from FERS and postpone my annuity until 60-61 years since I will have converted my AD pension to Reserve at age 60 years. Your thoughts?

 

[SecondCor521]

@Nords knows about military stuff...he might give you some thoughts.

 

[Neecy]

Thank you! He responded to my FB thread with a lot of good info.

 

[deserat]

Yes, I have. I now am receiving my Reserve pension. I went through the process while working as a GS to buyback my active duty military time and have it added to my GS time. It involved getting all of my Dd214s and active duty orders, filling out a form and sending it toy service agency, receiving another form from them which is then sent to a specific OPM office for a bill which you pay and then send the receipt back to OPM to get a magic letter saying you've paid your military deposit, which is also shown on your LES. I had to do something similar to buyback some previous GS time to add to the pension calculation time in service.

Key point is in order to be eligible for the GS pension, you must have five years working in a GS position. The military time is added to the GS time for pension benefit amount calculations only. However, by doing that, I had 10+ years and was already at minimum retirement age (MRA), so when I separated, I had the option of an immediate, deferred or postponed pension (MRA+10). The immediate meant I took the pension immediately but took a certain percentage per year deduction from age 62. Deferred meant I will wait until 62 but will not be eligible for FEHB Federal Health Insurance. Postponed mean at age 62, I can have FEHB as long as I had FEHB for five consecutive years before my retirement. TRICARE counts as an FEHB.

Check with you agency HR or read the OPM regulations. It is fairly well spelled out. There is the bureaucratic process, of course, which adds time to the final receipt date. Give it several months for each paperwork process and follow-up diligently. It's a game of perseverance unfortunately.

 

[deserat]

Yes, I have. I now am receiving my Reserve pension. I went through the process while working as a GS to buyback my active duty military time and have it added to my GS time. It involved getting all of my Dd214s and active duty orders, filling out a form and sending it toy service agency, receiving another form from them which is then sent to a specific OPM office for a bill which you pay and then send the receipt back to OPM to get a magic letter saying you've paid your military deposit, which is also shown on your LES. I had to do something similar to buyback some previous GS time to add to the pension calculation time in service.

Key point is in order to be eligible for the GS pension, you must have five years working in a GS position. The military time is added to the GS time for pension benefit amount calculations only. However, by doing that, I had 10+ years and was already at minimum retirement age (MRA), so when I separated, I had the option of an immediate, deferred or postponed pension (MRA+10). The immediate meant I took the pension immediately but took a certain percentage per year deduction from age 62. Deferred meant I will wait until 62 but will not be eligible for FEHB Federal Health Insurance. Postponed mean at age 62, I can have FEHB as long as I had FEHB for five consecutive years before my retirement. TRICARE counts as an FEHB.

Check with you agency HR or read the OPM regulations. It is fairly well spelled out. There is the bureaucratic process, of course, which adds time to the final receipt date. Give it several months for each paperwork process and follow-up diligently. It's a game of perseverance unfortunately.

PM me. I am a retired Reserve O6 as well. Looks like you are going through some similar thinking and processes as I have/will.

Do not lose your Reserve pension if you can....golden.