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More About Civil Service Early Retirement


See Part One Civil Service Early Retirement Here

Background About CSRS and FERS

CSRS Retirement The Civil Service Retirement Act, which became effective on August 1, 1920, established a retirement system for certain Federal employees. It was replaced by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for Federal employees who first entered covered service on and after January 1, 1987.

The Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) is a defined benefit, contributory retirement system. Employees share in the expense of the annuities to which they become entitled. CSRS covered employees contribute 7, 7 1/2 or 8 percent of pay to CSRS and, while they generally pay no Social Security retirement, survivor and disability (OASDI) tax, they must pay the Medicare tax (currently 1.45 percent of pay). The employing agency matches the employee’s CSRS contributions.

CSRS employees may increase their earned annuity by contributing up to 10 percent of the basic pay for their creditable service to a voluntary contribution account. Employees may also contribute a portion of pay to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). There is no Government contribution, but the employee contributions are tax-deferred. For more information about TSP, see the TSP website.

Unused Sick Leave, Health Insurance Coverage, etc.

  1. If I take early retirement, what happens to my unused sick leave?

    2. CSRS employees will receive service credit for any unused sick leave in determining their annuity (but they must meet eligibility requirements for retirement before the sick leave is added). Continue reading Civil Service Early Retirement Part II


February 18th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Category: Early Retirement, Information | Leave a comment

US Government Civil Service Early Retirement


Working for Civil Service

I have always thought that working for the US Government as a civil servant, would be the way for some people to take early retirement. It sure worked out well for my cousin Tom. Both of my aunts were nurses and one worked for the veteran’s hospital and the other worked for the county hospital.

Differences between Government and Municipal Service

The aunt who worked for the vetern’s hospital was a true government civil servant. The other aunt who worked for the county had a job that had a lot of the same benefits and retirement as a civil servant, but she was not a true government civil servant. She was just like my cousin Tom. She worked for a municipality but she was not a governement worker in the true sense of the word.

If you entered Federal Service prior to January, 1987, you were covered under a plan known as CSRS or Civil Service Retirement System. These people do not contribute to Social Security and they don’t gvet any at age 66 or whenever.

Questions People Ask About Early Retirement

  1. Who is eligible for early retirement?

    2. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has authorized the agency to offer early retirement to eligible employees.  The agency may exclude employees in certain jobs that are critical to the agency’s operation.  The agency may revise the list of eligible employees before the early retirement window closes.  Unless you are excluded, you are eligible for early retirement as follows:

    If you are under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), you must have served in a position covered by the CSRS for at least l year out of the 2 years immediately before retirement.   If you are under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), this rule does not apply.

    You must be at least 50 with 20 years of service or have 25 years of service at any age.  At least 5 years must be civilian service, whether you are retiring under CSRS or FERS.

    You must be serving under other than a temporary appointment. Continue reading US Government Civil Service Early Retirement


February 16th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Category: Early Retirement, Information | 2 comments