Preparing for a smooth transition

Do you know the most common thing I see year after year that can be attributed to retirements of federal employees taking longer to finalize, which can result in a very unpleasant surprise? Missing or improperly documented service history records. 

Once your service history is determined to be creditable for retirement, the estimate of your retirement benefit will be much more accurate, and it will be clear that you have entitlement to a retirement benefit. 

Many employees assume that their agency or the Office of Personnel Management will have accurate career records and that there is nothing to worry about. This is true most of the time, but not all the time. The rules for crediting service towards retirement eligibility and calculation are complicated and have changed over the years. Who cares the most about whether you receive credit for all your service? You do! So, how can you be sure that all of your service will count towards eligibility and the computation of your CSRS or FERS retirement benefit? Here are some things you can do: 

1. OPM offers tips for a smooth transition to retirement; be sure to review them: Planning to Retire Soon 

2. Review your eOPF (electronic Official Personnel Folder) to be sure that the following documentation is included: 

• SF 50’s (Notification of Personnel Action statements) or other official documentation (i.e. transcript of service that is not documented on SF 50s or a signed statement of service from the military records center) that show the beginning and ending dates of your federal civilian and military service periods. 
• SF 50’s also shows your work schedule on Block #32.  Working part-time, intermittent, “When Actually Employed” (WAE), or having excess leave without pay (over six months in a calendar year) may all impact your retirement eligibility or the calculation of your retirement benefit.   
• On your SF 50’s look at Block #30, Retirement. What does it say? For most FERS employees it probably says “K” FERS + FICA or KR (FERS-RAE) or FR (FERS-FRAE). For most CSRS employees, the code is CS or 1 or it may say CSRS. There are many other retirement codes, and they can impact your retirement. Some of these are:   

1. FICA only: This is a period of federal employment not covered by CSRS or FERS. Usually, this is a temporary appointment or seasonal work. If this service was performed after 1988, it doesn’t count under FERS retirement. If it was performed before 1989, you can pay a service credit deposit to credit the time toward eligibility and computation of your FERS benefit.  This is generally worthwhile. The critical date for CSRS retirement is if the service was before or after 10/1/82. This date impacts the interest owed on the “deposit” and how your retirement will be reduced if the deposit isn’t paid. Learn about deposits here: CSRS and FERS 

2. “C” CSRS Offset (FICA and CSRS Partial) If you retire under CSRS Offset, your retirement will be reduced (offset) because you were covered by FICA and CSRS during your CSRS Offset service. The retirement is computed under the more generous CSRS formula; however, it is subject to an “offset” to reflect the value of the Social Security retirement benefit attributable to your CSRS Offset service. The offset occurs when you become eligible for Social Security retirement after you retire from federal service.  Applying for your Social Security retirement benefit will restore the income lost from the offset to your CSRS retirement benefit. Be sure to contact OPM should your retirement not be reduced to avoid an overpayment. 

3. Not only is it important to review your eOPF, but be sure to keep a copy of your eOPF in your “personal” retirement file. Whether it is an electronic or paper copy doesn’t matter. Still, if you can maintain copies of the “evidence” of your federal career, you have a better chance of correcting an error after retirement.   

4. What if you had a break in federal employment and received a refund of your CSRS or FERS retirement contributions? Under FERS, the service covered by the refunded contributions will still count toward your retirement eligibility. However, the refunded contributions must be repaid with interest to be counted in the computation of your retirement benefit. Under CSRS, if the contributions were withdrawn before 3/1/91, the service will count towards eligibility and calculation of your benefit. OPM will apply an actuarial reduction to your retirement based on your age and the amount owed for the refunded contributions plus interest. To learn more about redeposits, see CSRS or FERS. 

5. Civilian service credit deposits can be paid while your retirement is being finalized with OPM, however, military service credit deposits must be completed before your retirement.   

6. If there is anything that you don’t understand or if you notice any discrepancies in your personnel file, do not assume that these discoveries won’t impact your retirement benefits. Bring your concerns to an experienced retirement specialist at your agency. If you are not sure who to contact, here is a list of Agency Benefits Officers: Director of Agency Benefits Officers. ABOs are human resources specialists who manage retirement and other benefits programs for federal agencies. They can help employees achieve their health benefit education, retirement education, and wellness goals. They should be able to direct you to someone who can help you with your retirement questions. Organizations such as the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association may also be able to assist you as they have experienced retirement benefits experts who may be able to direct you to the resources that you need.   

Different Service Computation Dates 

Service computation dates determine the amount of government service creditable toward eligibility for a specific benefit or entitlement. You may be familiar with the SCD shown on the Notification of Personnel Action form (Standard Form 50) on Block #31, that determines your annual leave category of four, six, or eight hours accrued per pay period. But that's just one kind of SCD. There are others calculated for Thrift Savings Plan vesting, reductions in force and there is one used specifically for retirement. Your retirement SCD is calculated by an authorized agency personnel official at the time of your retirement on the Certified Summary of Federal Service form SF 2801-1 (CSRS) or SF 3107-1 (FERS). Unfortunately, it is better to review your service history before you complete your retirement application, preferably, many years before your retirement!   

Remember, just because you have received credit for service in your "leave" service computation date doesn't mean you automatically get credit for this service for purposes of retirement eligibility or benefits. 

SCDs do not necessarily reflect a specific date when something happened. Instead, they establish a "virtual" starting date for continuous creditable service. If there are several separate periods of previous service, they are added together. The total years, months and days of previous service are then used in the SCD calculation. 

Different Kinds of Service 

Another thing to remember is that when calculating a service computation date, not all federal service periods are treated the same. Here are some examples of different types you need to watch out for: 

• Nonappropriated fund instrumentality   

• Congressional service 

• Peace Corps or VISTA volunteer service 

• Periods of service where retirement contributions were refunded 

• Military service; there are many different rules regarding crediting military active duty; see the following resources to learn more: 

Retirement Facts 2:  Crediting Military Service under CSRS 

Military Service Credit 

Benefit Administration Letters such as this one from 2023: Subject: Military Service Deposit Eligibility Notification Requirement 

Chapter 22 of the CSRS and FERS Handbook 

Chapter 23 of the CSRS and FERS Handbook 

• Seasonal work, summer jobs and casual post office employment 

• Details to international organizations 

• Work for the District of Columbia 

• Service as a National Guard technician 

• Service under a different retirement system 

To make matters more confusing, the rules for service credit have changed over the years. Some of the changes addressed previously on GovExec include: 

• Part-Time Service Credit: Part One and Part Two
• Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act 
• Mixing Military and Civilian Retirement Benefits  
• Phased Retirement 
• Crediting Sick Leave 
• Annual changes to retirement numbers 

The bottom line is this: It is your responsibility to maintain an accurate history of your federal service and to ask questions and research the answers, if necessary, to be sure you understand how your retirement benefit will be computed.  If you don’t know, find someone who does and if necessary, ask for a reference from the law that says it is true.  Attend retirement training that is offered at your agency to learn more about planning for a smooth retirement transition!