Retirement & Benefits
Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
Detailed information on this topic can be found at: www.opm.gov/asd/htm/hod.htm
or by contacting a member of the Retirement and Benefits Staff by calling
(301)504-1526.
Coverage
Generally, all Federal civilian employees first hired after 1983 are
automatically covered by FERS. In addition, employees rehired after 01/01/84
who had less than five years of prior creditable civilian service as of
12/31/86 are mandatorily covered by FERS. An employee previously covered
by CSRS/CSRS-Offset who has a break in service of 4 or more days, depending
on the type of appointment, can elect FERS coverage voluntarily during
the first six months of the appointment.
FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan consisting of these components:
1. Government Annuity
2. Social Security
3. Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
The following information provides details on the first of the three tiers,
the government annuity portion. For more information on the Social Security
go to: http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/.
For more information on TSP: http://tsp.gov/
Deductions
An employee covered by FERS pays .08% of basic pay to FERS and 6.2% to
Social Security and 1.45% to Medicare.
Eligibility
Employees must meet one of the age and service requirements (see next
page). They must have at least five years of Federal civilian service.
They must be separated from a position subject to FERS coverage.
AGE AND LENGTH OF SERVICE REQUIREMENTS
FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF RETIREMENTS UNDER FERS
Type of
Retirement
|
Year of
Birth
|
Minimum
Age
|
Minimum
Service for
Unreduced
Benefits
(Years)
|
Minimum
Service
for
Reduced
Benefits **
|
Special
Requirements
|
Optional
|
NA
NA
Before 1948
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953-1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970 & After
|
62
60
55
55 & 2
months
55 & 4
months
55 & 6
months
55 & 8
months
55 & 10
months
56
56 & 2
months
56 & 4
months
56 & 8 months
56 & 10 months
57
|
5
20
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
|
N/A
N/A
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
|
None
None
**Reduction is 5 percent for each year the employee is under 62
Employees may postpone receipt of the retirement benefit to a later
date to lessen the reduction.
|
Early
Optional
|
NA
NA
|
50
Any
|
20
25
|
N/A
N/A
|
Major Reduction in Force
|
Deferred
|
NA
|
Any
|
|
5
|
If less than 10 years service, eligible for unreduced benefit at
age 62. If 10 or more years service, may take benefit at any time
after attaining minimum retirement age (see ages under optional).
Benefit will be reduced by 5% for each year younger than 62. There
will be no reduction if employee had at least 20 years service and
defers receipt of benefit until age 60 or if employee had at least
30 years service.
|
Discontinued
Service
|
NA
NA
|
50
Any
|
20
25
|
N/A
N/A
|
Involuntary separation for reasons other than conduct or delinquency.
|
Disability
|
NA
|
NA
|
18 months
|
|
Disabled for position
|
Special Retirement Provisions
|
NA
|
50
Any Age
|
20
25
|
NA
NA
|
Applicable to law enforcement officers and firefighters
|
Creditable Service
Civilian Service - Federal civilian service during which FERS
contributions were withheld and not refunded.
Military Service - Active duty in the uniformed forces of the
United States performed on a full- time basis. Military Service performed
prior to 01/01/57 is automatically creditable for retirement purposes.
A deposit is not necessary. Employees may only receive credit for their
military service performed after 12/31/56 if a deposit in the amount of
3% of the military basic pay (earned during the period of military service)
plus interest has been completed. For employees first employed on or after
January 1, 1987, interest begins to accrue on military deposits 2 years
after an individual is first employed (or re-employed after a period of
military service) in a position subject to FERS. For employees first hired
prior to January 1, 1987, the 2 year grace period ends on January 1, 1989.
Interest accrues during calendar year 1989 at the variable interest rate
for the year and is posted on January 1, 1990 and each January 1 thereafter.
To find out more about the payment of any deposits or redeposits,
please contact a member of the Retirement and Benefits Staff by calling
(301)504-1526 or go to http://www.afm.ars.usda.gov/hrd/benefits/cp-servi.pdf
for more information.
Pre-1989 Non-Deduction Service - Federal civilian service during
which no retirement contributions were withheld, also called "temporary
service" or "FICA Service". This service will only be credited if a deposit
to the retirement system is completed. Non-deduction service on and after
January l, 1989 is not creditable.
Refunded Service - Federal civilian service during which CSRS
contributions were withheld and later refunded to the employee will be
credited only if the employee makes a redeposit.
NOTE: If FERS contributions are refunded, the employee permanently
loses credit for that service for retirement eligibility and computation
purposes. Employees cannot make a redeposit for refunded contributions
after being covered by FERS.
An employee who is automatically covered
by FERS and had some previous service under CSRS, but not enough to meet
the 5-year test and took a refund, must pay the redeposit to receive credit
for both eligibility and computation purposes.
Employees who elect to transfer to FERS may receive
annuity computed partly under FERS rules and partly under CSRS rules.
An employee who has 5 or more years of creditable civilian CSRS Service
(excluding any CSRS Offset Service) will be entitled to benefits computed
under CSRS rules for service prior to transferring to FERS.
Retirement Computation
If the retiree is:
- under age 62, or
- over age 62 with less than 20 years of total service
1 % x high-3 x years and months of service
If the retiree is:
- at least age 62, and
- has 20 or more years of total service
1.1 % of high-3 x years and months of service
Disability Retirement
If you become disabled during the course of your Federal career, you
may be entitled to a disability annuity under FERS. You must complete
at least 18 months of Federal civilian service; and while employed in
a position covered by FERS become disabled for useful and efficient
service in both your current and any vacant position at the same
grade or pay level for which your are qualified.
Death Benefits
The Basic Employee Death Benefit is payable in a lump sum to an eligible
spouse upon the death of an employee who has completed at least 18 months
of creditable civilian service and died while subject to FERS.
Upon the death of an employee, a monthly survivor annuity is payable
to an eligible spouse if the employee completed at least 10 years of total
creditable service, which includes 18 months of civilian federal service,
and died while subject to FERS. If a survivor benefit is not payable,
a lump sum payment of the retirement contributions is paid to the eligible
beneficiary. If there is no designated beneficiary, the lump sum is paid
according to the order of precedence under Federal Law.
Detailed information on any of these topics may be found at: www.opm.gov/asd/htm/hod.htm
If you have questions or need assistance please contact a member of the
Retirement and Benefits Staff at (301)504-1526.
A R S - A F M : Administrative and Financial Services
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