2013/03/262020/11/21 GubMints Comprehensive Military Service Credit Deposit Guide (Post updated 3/29/2013 based on comments from GubMints reader Brad- see Comments) I’ve received many direct and search inquiries regarding how to perform a Military Service Credit Deposit- So with much fanfare, here is the GubMints Comprehensive Military Service Credit Deposit Guide Note: This entire guide assumes: 1) You are covered under FERS, not CSRS’ and 2) All of your Military Service took place after 1956. (both reasonable assumptions). If you go to the OPM website, here’s the terse guidance they provide on how to perform a Military Service Credit Deposit: FERS Military Service Credit Deposit Military Service Credit for Military Service performed after 1956- To receive FERS credit for military service performed after 1956, you must pay a deposit. The amount of the deposit is: Dates of Service Amount of Deposit Due Through 12/31/98 3% of military basic pay 1/1/99 through 12/31/99 3.25% of military basic pay 1/1/00 through 12/31/00 3.4% of military basic pay 1/1/01 to the present 3% of military basic pay You must make the deposit payment for your post-1956 military service before you stop working for the government. It is paid to your employing agency. You should ask your local servicing personnel center for help in determining whether to make this payment. They can provide personalized assistance because they have your employment records. Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Well, there’s more to it than that. Here’s the Gouge / Dirty Purples / Poop Sheet on Military Service Credit Deposit: The rules are that you must make your Military Service Credit Deposit (aka FERS Military Buyback) within 2 years of commencing Federal Employment, or you must pay additional interest penalties. First, you need to figure out how many years you will be able to purchase for credit at the ‘back end’ of the FERS retirement calculation. You’ll need to fill out form RI20-97 and include: DD 214 (at a minimum), plus Pay Stubs from each promotion, or W-2’s from each rank (Optional) Pay Stubs or W-2’s from Service Academy time (if you went to USNA/USMA/USAFA/USCGA). (Optional) Transcript from Service Academy (if you went to USNA/USMA/USAFA/USCGA). *** Sidebar *** Service Academy graduates CAN perform a Military Service Credit for their midshipman/cadet time in to the FERS Annuity system. At the time of this writing, you will receive credit for your Academy time on the BACK end (receiving end) of your Annuity, but the Academy time you purchase/buy back will not count as time in service on your Service Computation Date for Leave and or Service Computation Date for RIF. Here’s a sample RI20-97 Request for Credit Computation: When you mail your calculation request, I also recommend filling out a spreadsheet showing DFAS what you think the right answer is: Second, after you’ve filled out the request for calculation you should receive a calculation response letter back from DFAS within about 60 days. This response letter will show what you will owe to FERS to perform you Military Service Credit Deposit. Let’s assume in your case the answer for 11 years of base pay (academy plus active duty) is $7,163: Third, figure out if this is a good deal or not. In most cases, it will be. You can ballpark this by doing a reverse-annuity calculation. Here’s how to ballpark it: – Use $100k as your high-3 finishing salary average – Calculate your ‘Military Deposit’ years (ie 11 years of Active Duty/Academy time Bought Back) – Your annual annuity payout- EXCLUSIVELY Attributable to your Military Service Credit for 11 years of Active Duty will be (.01) x 11y x 100K/year = $11k/year FERS Annuity Payment (in retirement). – Now figure out what the Present Value Factor is for this annuity payout. You can use any online annuity calculator you would like, or you could just ballpark it and multiply the annual payout by 25 (using the “4% Safe Withdrawal Rule”). In our case the Lump-Sum equivalent of a $11k/year payout for life is 25 x $11,000 = $275,000. – Let’s say you’re age 35 and you’ve got 25 years until you see FERS annuity payments at age 60. Using the HP-12C app on your smartphone or the RATE function in Excel/OpenOffice: 25 [n], 7,163 (-) [Enter] [PV], 255,000 [FV]; i = 15.71 Percent (!) This is your Rate of Return ‘Bogey’. If you can find something that returns better than 15.71 percent, backed by the federal government, then you should purchase that hot stock/bond/investment property with your $7,163 before you buy in to FERS with your Military Active Duty years. Can’t find anything that guarantees that rate of 15.71 percent? Then beg, borrow, or steal money wherever you can find it to perform your Military Service Credit Deposit! Fourth, if a Military Service Credit Deposit is a good deal to you (believe me- it will be!), Request the Military Service Credit Deposit in writing by filling out and SF-3108 with your local HR Office. Fifth, you’re now On the Clock. You’ll have to figure out what the source of funds will be for your Military Service Credit Deposit. My preferred order would be: (Taxable) Bank or Brokerage Acct (Write a Check) A series of Payroll Deductions (but deductions should be complete before the interest penalty kicks in) Roth IRA CONTRIBUTION BASIS (NOT Earnings- you pay a penalty on withdrawing Roth Earnings before age 59 1/2) Take a TSP loan (you can roll all or some of an existing 401k or Traditional IRA in to your TSP as a source of ‘principal’ to borrow against) Take a loan from a consumer/equity line Early withdrawal from an IRA/401k/TSP The last bullet is a last resort, as you will pay a 10 percent federal penalty, plus income taxes, plus any state early withdrawal penalties on IRA/401k early withdrawal amounts. Finally, if you don’t have to schedule allotments to make your Military Service Credit Deposit, wait until you have about 60-90 days before your interest penalty to make your deposit. This is sort of like waiting until April 15th to file your taxes when you owe the IRS money (no sense in paying Uncle Sam early if there is no penalty for waiting). This gives you time to save up for the Military Service Credit Deposit, or at least allow funds to continue earning interest in your savings or brokerage account. In my case, I waited until 90-days before the 2-year window just to ensure there were no administrative snafus regarding my Military Service Credit Deposit: It’s all done. A few weeks after you’ve made your deposit, go in to EBIS or your Payroll Agency online HR database and check your Service Computation Date. In case you didn’t already know, you have 3 Service Computation Dates. What we are checking here is that Service Computation Date (RIF) and Service Computation Date (Leave) and match your deposit. Service Computation Date (Civilian) will not change- that is locked to the day you walked in to your Agency HR Office and commenced employment as a Federal Civilian. *** Note that if you bought back Service Academy time, once again your Academy Time purchased will be credited on the BACK end (annuity payout) of your application for FERS retirement, NOT the front end (adjusting your Service Computation Date). *** That’s quite the effort, but worth it! How long do you think you should keep your records for your Military Service Credit Deposit? You guessed it- FOREVER. References: FERS Handbook, Ch 22: http://www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/handbook/C022.pdf (update) 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, section 1115 Subscribe to GubMints: via RSS: via Email: Related Federal Employee Benefits FERS Retirement Military Service Credit Deposit Retirement Service Computation Date FERS Military Service Credit DepositService Computation Date
Fantastic post, Eddie, thanks! I get this question a lot, and you’ve just demystified the entire process. Reply
Doug- Thanks for the endorsement! The post is a bit long-winded, but I wanted the gouge page to be a one-stop shop. Next post on the topic will cover how to get some Service Computation Date (Leave) credit, even when you are retired from a 20-year Active Duty career. Reply
regarding the service academy time for non military retirees, persistance pays off to get the 4 years or so added to your SCD for leave accrual and retirement. see this blog on how some cadets/mids were successful, and go Navy! http://blogs.federaltimes.com/federal-retirement/2010/04/27/service-academy-time-and-accrued-leave/ An update for those interested. Yesterday OPM Leave Branch responded to my HR and stated “For Employee 1 Marsh, military academy time is creditable for annual leave accrual purposes. Section 1115 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 is the applicable provision of law that makes academy service time creditable for retirement—and therefore for leave accrual purposes. The law at 5 U.S.C. 8331 and 5 U.S.C. 8401 was amended to explicitly make academy service time creditable towards retirement for both CSRS and FERS employees. Service is creditable retrospectively as well as prospectively. Under 5 U.S.C. 6303(a), service which is creditable for retirement purposes is creditable for determining an employee’s years of service for leave accrual purposes. Since Sec. 1115 made this service creditable for retirement creditable retrospectively as well as prospectively, service for annual leave accrual purposes is creditable retrospectively as well as prospectively.” Reply
Brad – Thanks for the gouge, and the link! I will update the post accordingly, and commence the ‘food fight’ with Navy HR Office to have my SCD Leave and SCD RIF adjusted accordingly. Got any points of contact at Pearl/Navy Region SW you recommend? Reply
Brad, Thanks for sharing the reply from OPM, I just included it word for word to my HR who told me I was not eligible because I was retired despite the fact that they did adjust my SCDR after I bought back the 4 years. Reply
If you leave the federal service prior to retirement, can you receive the military service credit deposit as a refund? Can I ever return to federal service and repay that back? Reply
Joe – Thanks for your service! I’m not aware of any opportunities to ‘buyback your buyback’, but check with your local HR rep to find out. Reply
Eddie, Do you have a personal email I can write to. I want to send you my 3108 and see what you think. I have been told by jail house lawyers that if I buy back my military time I can not draw my reserve paycheck when I start drawing my FERS. Reply
If I did my FERS buyback in 2017 and received my reserve retirement in 2018…delayed from 2016 when I turned 60 is this relevant to anything? Reply
CJ – Thanks for your service! No, the Navy Reserve and FERS retirement systems are separate and should not influence one another. Reply
I have 10 years of AD time in the Navy and t hen 14 years of Reserve and retired from the USNR in 2012 with 24 years of service. I have read the Reserve and FERS retirement programs are totally separate and don’t effect one another but if I buy back the 10 years of active duty time does that affect my FERS retirement at all since those 10 years were already counted in my 24 years of reserve time? Thanks a bunch! Reply
Scott- Thanks for your service! A: Yes, the 10 years DOES affect FERS- a Military Service Credit Deposit for 10 years of AD adds 10 years to your SCD for FERS. It does NOT affect your Navy Reserve Retirement in any way. Reply
Thanks for GUBMINTS! I retired in 2016 from Reserves and bought back my military time for FERS in 2017. Is this relevant to anything? Thanks C.J. Reply
I am in the same scenario. So in this case Scott will get his whole 24 years in reserve retirement and credit in fers for these years? Is there a website that covers this? Reply
Does the computation amount include active and a few yrs of active reserve duty or just my 4 yrs of active. Reply
Doug – Thanks for your service! AT and IDT time spent in the reserves does not count towards SCD credit. Reply
Hi-I was just talking to my AF civ personnel shop about AT/IDT time. Do you happen to have the regulatory guidance that excludes AT/IDT time from SCD credit? Reply
Neil – Thanks for your Service! Please refer to the ADT/IDT section of the SCD FAQ: https://gubmints.com/scd-faq/#Reserves Reply
Thanks for the link! FYI last week I was able to get AF Total Force Service Center to credit my AT and MPA duty as a Reservist for SCD-Retirement and SCD-Leave. They required that I provide certified copies of my AF 938s (Request and Authorization for Active Duty Training/Active Tour). Finding those certified copies of the AF 938s took forever and a day but I was able to collect all of them and that time was added to my SF 3108.
How does the buy back work for someone who has a 100% VA rating? Does it still make sense in that situation? Thanks! Reply
I’m a FERS employee and recently retired from the naval reserves. I have done about 9 years of additional active duty while in the reserves (mobilizations and ADSW). I bought back my original 5 year active duty time when I first got hired into federal service. My question is this: if I buy back my additional 9 years of active duty time conducted while in the reserves, will that affect my naval reserve retirement? Also since I did considerable continuous active duty while in the reserves, I am expecting to draw reserve retirement much earlier than age 60. Reply
Will buying back active duty time performed while in the reserves (ie. Mobilization, ADSW) affect/reduce your military reserve pension? I’m FERS and have bought back my original initial active duty time of 5 years and am now retired from the reserves with considerable additional mobilization and ADSW periods but still employed as a GS. Reply
Coronado Surfer – Thanks for your service! Looks like it depends on how you took time off on your GS pay stubs when you were mobilized/activated. Contact your HRO for details: https://forum.federalsoup.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=74214#post815073 (note the above is second hand information). Reply
Very important advice: “When you mail your calculation request, I also recommend filling out a spreadsheet showing DFAS what you think the right answer is…” I just bought back my military time, and it’s very good I kept on top of the numbers. A very nice and helpful lady from Navy Office of Civilian Human Resources (OCHR) made a huge mistake that changed my Military Service Deposit amount from $3,520 to $9,326. That’s a $5,806 OVERCHARGE. If I hadn’t done the DFAS Military Service Earnings/Buy Back Estimator ahead of time, I probably would never had known what a huge mistake she had made, and I’d be out almost $6k. Her mistake was to enter a “7” instead of a “1” in one location. Honest mistake, and I would not have known any better if I hadn’t checked up on her. She sent DFAS a corrected version a week later. Reply
Peter- Thanks for your service! And yes, it helps your case to do your OWN calcuation ahead of time to prevent just such a mistake! Keep your Deposit records file in a safe place FOREVER! Reply
If I am drawing a military reserve retirement at age 60 and go to work for the federal government at age 61 (planning to stay for 5 years) would I still be able to “buy back” my active duty time for federal retirement credit? Reply
Dan – Thanks for your service! Yes. Reserve retirement and FERS are separate systems. Your ACTIVE DUTY military service is still creditable regardless of your age. You need to make the Military Service Credit Deposit before retiring from CIVILIAN service: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/creditable-service/#Military Reply
Thanks for the info. I’ve retired from the Army Reserve/National Guard and am receiving my retirement pay. I am soon planning on retiring from my position as a federal employee. During my reserve time I did a lot of special active duty tours (ADSW, ADOS, etc.). The DA Form 5016 (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points) lists 2,217 for “Active Duty Points”. These are credited at 1 point per day of active duty. Can I receive credit for all of these or only days in certain categories? Reply
Bob – Thanks for your service! You will have to fish through Benefits Letter 95-101 (Regarding USERRA) to determine your SCD eligibility for Mobilizations or ADSW periods. https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/benefits-administration-letters/1995/95-101.pdf See page 3 and pay special attention to the definition of ‘Full Time National Guard Duty’, as well as the 4-part test at the bottom of page 3. Reply
GubMints – Hope you’re still tracking this! I’m a retired Navy Reservist with ~6.5 years Active Duty documented on DD214s. I also have just short of a year in active time on my point capture from Annual Training (AT) and Active Duty for Training (ADT) periods before I became FERS eligible. I’ve determined that you’re supposed to be able buy back reserve AT and ADT time for the FERS retirement. My question is, can you also buy back the travel days associated with AT and ADT? It’s not major piece, about 32 total days, but every little bit helps. Thanks! Matt Reply
Matt – Thanks for your service, and thanks for reading! With regards to buyback time, orders is orders. If you were in a duty status and it is reflected in your orders, then it does not matter if you were in transit or if you were “on station”. Reply
I just recently did a GSB (GOVERNMENT SERVICE BUYBACK) for my active duty time and wanted to include Reserves time as well but wasn’t able to show proof of service from the Reserves at the time (extremely hard time getting a statement of service). Should I still be able to do a GSB for my time in the Reserves? I requested a statement of service for my Reserve time which I finally got it. (no DD214 on this one as this is for Reserves time only). Now HR doesn’t seem to understand the breakdown (because they also included my active duty time as well as my ADT periods) and now are asking me provide proof (letter) from the Navy for those service periods that were at least 6 months of full time Continuous Service. I was in the Reserves for about 11 years as noted on the letter they sent but they want proof at least 6 months of full time Continuous Service. What else can I show them. I read in some websites that Reserves time doesn’t count for the GSB, does it or doesn’t? Reply
Elen – Thanks for your Service! Please review the SCD FAQ, specifically the NG-Reserves SCD questions section: https://gubmints.com/scd-faq/#Reserves Reply
Elen – Thanks for your Service! Please refer to Q6 under Reserves/NG in the SCD FAQ page: https://gubmints.com/scd-faq/#Reserves Reply
I retired from USAFR in 2008. Got RIF from active duty in 1997, just shy of 10 yrs.. Got hired by DON later part of 1997. Activated after 911 for nearly 2 yrs. So a total of 12 yrs. active time. Due to retire this month (57 yrs) and just bought back my active time. Does this in any way affect my future reserve retirement from the USAFR when I reach the ripe old age of 60? My retirement counselor says it will not. Just making sure I do not screw military retirement up; and no I did not sign any waivers to give up military service. Thanks ahead of time for input! Reply
Rob – Thanks for your Service! Please refer to SCD-FAQ NG/Reserves Question #1. Enjoy your retirement(s)! https://gubmints.com/scd-faq/#Reserves Reply