What Happens to My Military Retirement if I take a FERS Federal Employee Job?

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[michealsizemore]

Great video. I am a military retiree and have worked for the VA doing disability claims for 6 years. I plan on retiring again at age 63, which would give me 20 years as a civilian and would give me 2 pensions. I could retire at age 57 because I would be at my MRA, but I want the 100% right away. I could take the pension at age 57 but don't want to lose any percentage or wait until 63 to start drawing because I would not be contributing to a 401K anymore. As of now, I will be in great shape once I retire and am also 100% P and T through the VA.

[puravida]

I used a loophole. I served 15 years active, 8 years National Guard. I starting working for The Justice Department, and bought back my active military time. Because I retired as a National Guard member under Title 10. I receive both a military and FERS pension. My social security benefit will also provide credits for military service.

[tlupold]

Another aspect of this which changes the recommendation is if you are a Reserve Component retiree……you are authorized to keep your military pension even though you have completed a buy back for your active duty time. This is specified in Chapter 1223 of Title 10 US Code

[mikethompson]

I had an estimate done to buy back and the civilian pension was less than what I would get by keeping them separate.

[DA-brxd]

Thank you for answering this question straight forward! I do not want to buy back my military time! I have retired from the military. I simply want to start all over again with the government on the civilian side. You'd be amazed how difficult this question is to answer by simply using google. Every article wants to carry on about buying back your time! Again, I have zero interest in buying back 20 years! I am 39. I only want to know if I can start another career, with the federal government, and collect a separate retirement. I don't want to combine times! Sheesh! Again, thanks for the no nonsense answer! 👍

[danieljustdaniel]

I didn't buy back my military retirement, retired from the army and was working for the VA while on leave. I went to several retirement classes, and they all told me it was not worth it for me which I agreed. Everybody's story is different so check all options out.

[Scott-tdfd]

Another thing about buying back military time is to not wait too long after you start your government job. After 24 months, interest starts being added to your buyback. This applies to all buybacks...someone who is forfeiting their active duty pension (usually not a good idea, though there can be exceptions) when they do retire from their federal job, or someone who will have a reserve retirement and does not forfeit their pension. That interest can be substantial.

[DChase-kypg]

Great Video. I retired from the Navy and now working as an MSC for the VA. I have 10 years as GS. I am ready to retire. I've been working, seems like all my dang life, literally lol

[chris-zusf]

Thank you so much for clearing the air. Straight forward and to the point.

[jamestemple]

Great information. What he does not cover, though, is combat related special compensation CRSC. If you retired military but get a CRSC, you do not have to waive CRSC military retirement. You get both!!!

[gpdoyon]

Did I misunderstand you? If you buy back your military time and will qualify for a military pension you can't have both? This is true BUT there is an VERY important distinction!

If you are going to get an ACTIVE DUTY retirement then you'll have to choose one or the other. However, if you're like me and will be earning a RESERVE retirement (Air National Guard in my case) you can buy back your time and keep BOTH pensions.

I like your videos!

[don]

Nice video and information. I retired as an E-6 with 20 years and 6 months of service. I am now a GS-13, step 10, with 21 years civilian service and age 59. I bought my military time back so I can combine the two and get those 6 months counted for retirement time. It made sense for me as this will give me almost 5 thousand more each year in retirement pay. I plan to retire at age 62 to get the 10% bump. My question is what happens to the SBP I’m paying now. Will that automatically stop when my military retirement check stops? Thanks for all the information you post in your videos! Great stuff!

[arleenm]

It also depends on civilian grade vs military rank. If you retired in a lower military rank and get a higher-grade civilian job (example E7 military retired to GS13 civilian), then it might be worth it to buy back the time. Also, if you have a VA disability percent (like 30%) you get to keep that no matter if you buy back the time. It's best to get an estimate.

[esteban]

I bought back my military time when the fed offered me a VERA so I retired early. I also get my reserve military pension at age 60 which I am turning this year. Looking forward to that.

[arequina]

it's not worth buying back your military time as a retired military. It's better to keep that military retirement. If you buy back your military time, you'll only get one check. The only way to get both is if you retired as a reservist. That's what I did. I had a total of 14+ years of active duty to include recalls. I did 10 years AD (before civ service). Bought this back. Then I had three recalls as a reservist. That one came out to a little over 4 years. Bought this one back as well. So total govt service: 20. Total buy back: 14 years. Note: In this example, I was a reservist while still working for the government. So you can't double dip in terms of service. All in all about 32 years total (civ + mil). This allowed me to retire with a military pay and FERS retirement pay. Experiences may vary as Dallen pointed out. Definitely do you homework and make sure you are comfortable with the numbers.

[Monkey_G]

Thank you for this info, was looking for this specific info as I plan for retirement 25 years down the line.

[oktorb]

I have been under the impression that buy back is only for those who served in the military and did not retire. This is due to the fact that a retiree is being compensated in a separate check. Having said that, why would someone want to give up a monthly retirement check right now to hopefully receive some sort of retirement check when they turn 67. That seems quite foolish. They would be losing income every month. As a military retiree myself, I would never give up my monthly check. That would be financial suicide.

[KakistocracySurvivor]

Makes no sense to give up your military retirement pay for a buy back. Math didn’t add up for me. As stated in the video it makes sense if you are not collecting a military retirement but have years of military service to buy back.

[jackietaylor]

Can u make videos about the fight to stop penalties on double dipping or pension offsets?

[bleebu]

How about a piece on special pay charts, like local market supplements, or specialist supplements for nurses etc., and how they impact retirement pay?