Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Eligibility Requirements: Min. years for Min. years for Year of Birth Minimum Age Unreduced Benefit Reduced

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)

Eligibility Requirements: Min. years for Min. years for

Year of Birth Minimum Age Unreduced Benefit Reduced BenefitOptional N/A 62 5 N/A & N/A 60 20 N/ADeferred Before 1948 55 30 10*

1948 55 & 2 mos 30 10* 1949 55 & 4 mos 30 10* 1950 55 & 6 mos 30 10* 1951 55 & 8 mos 30 10*

1952 55 & 10 mos 30 10* 1953-1964 56 30 10*

1965 56 & 2 mos 30 10* 1966 56 & 4 mos 30 10*

1967 56 & 6 mos 30 10* 1968 56 & 8 mos 30 10* 1969 56 & 10 mos 30 10* 1970 & After 57 30 10**Reduction is 5% for each year the employee is under age 62 (MRA + 10)


Discontinued Service Retirement:

Year of Birth Minimum Age Years

N/A 50 20

N/A Any 25

The separation must be involuntary and not for misconduct of delinquency.


3 Components of FERS Retirement Benefit:

Basic Annuity

Annuity Supplement/Social Security

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)


Basic Annuity is based on:

Total years of service; and

The high-3 average salary


Eligibility for a Unreduced Basic Annuity:

At least 5 years of creditable civilian service;

Be subject to FERS at date of separation; and

Meet one of the age and service requirements Employee’s meets Minimum Retirement Age (MRA)

and has at least 30 years of service; or Age 60 with 20 years of service; or Age 62 with 5 years of service


Computing Basic Annuity:

Under Age 62 or over Age 62 with less than 20 years of service:

1% x high-3 average salary x years & months of service Example:

high-3 average salary = $45,000 x 1% = 450 x 19 yrs of svc = $8,550

Age 62 with at least 20 years of service: 1.1% x high-3 average salary x years & months of service


Annuity Supplement:

Benefit paid to employees who are entitled to an immediate unreduced, non-disability annuity prior to age 62, i.e., meets the MRA and number of years of service

The annuity supplement approximates the Social Security benefits until the annuitant reaches age 62 and Social Security benefits begin paying


Questions to ask prior to retirement:

Non-Deduction Service: Non-deduction service performed prior to January 1,

1989, can be purchased for use in computing your retirement

Non-deduction service performed after January 1, 1989, can not be purchased and is not creditable for retirement purposes


Questions to ask prior to retirement (Continued): Non-Deduction Service:

If an employee has a CSRS component and there was non-deduction service performed prior to becoming a FERS employee, service performed prior to 10/1/82 is creditable for length of service and also for annuity purposes whether they make a deposit or not

If an employee has a CSRS component and there was non-deduction service performed prior to becoming a FERS employee, service performed on or after 10/1/82 is creditable for length of service but a deposit must be made to capture time for annuity purposes


Refunded Service:

Service under FERS for which retirement deductions have been refunded is not included in length of service for eligibility nor annuity computation purposes

Service under a CSRS component for which retirement deductions have been refunded will be included as creditable service for both eligibility and computation, provided a redeposit has been made


Military Service:

All post-1956 military service must be covered by a deposit to receive credit under FERS rules for any purpose.

The amount of the deposit is 3% of the military basic pay earned during the period of military service plus interest


Annual Leave: You will receive a lump sum payment for annual leave

normally the 2nd pay period after you retire Hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours of annual

leave The annual leave lump sum will be taxed when received

(28%)

Sick Leave: Unused sick leave is NOT included in service for

determining eligibility for retirement Unused sick leave disappears


Commencing Date of Annuity:

Annuities commence the first day of the month after separation from service and meeting the age and service requirement

Documents

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Eligibility Requirements: Min. years for Min. years for Year of Birth Minimum Age Unreduced Benefit Reduced