Can I buy back active duty time for my GS retirement?

“I have 8 years of active duty time and 14 years of reserve time. I retired at 60 years of age with 22 years of service, I assume with a reserve retirement, I picked up a government service job, am I eligible to buy back my active duty time towards my GS retirement, and will it affect my military retirement. If so how will it benefit me to buy back my 8 years of active duty time?”

Reg’s Response

If you go back to work for the government, you’ll be able to make a deposit to the civilian retirement system and get credit for that time. Doing so would have no affect on your reserve retirement benefit.Whether it would be worth it to make a deposit for that time is a matter of dollars and cents.

To find out how much you’d owe, download a copy of RI-20-97, Estimated earnings During Military Service at https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/RI20-97.pdf. Fill out the form and send it to your military finance center with a copy of your DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge During Military Service. When you get your estimated earnings statement, take it to your personnel office and ask them to determine the amount of deposit needed, including interest. Once you have that figure, you’ll be able to decide whether it’s in your best financial interest to make the deposit.

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By Molly Weisner

Got a question for the Federal Times expert? Send inquiries to: fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service, is the resident expert on retirement and the federal government at Federal Times. From 1979 until 1995, he served as an assistant director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management handling recruiting and examining, white and blue collar pay, retirement, insurance and other issues. Opinions expressed are his own.

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