CSRS Civil Service

Retirement 

System 

Retirement 

Facts 

6 

Early 

Retirement 

Under the 

Civil Service 

Retirement 

System 

RI 83-6 

Previous editions are not usable Revised November 1997

United States 

Office of 

Personnel 

Management 

Retirement and 

Insurance 

Service 
Additional retirement information and all publications of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management listed in this pamphlet are available on the 

Internet. 

OPM Website — http://www.opm.gov/asd 
Table of Contents 

Page 

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
 

Early Optional Retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
 

Discontinued Service Retirement
 

Because of an Involuntary Separation . . . . 1
 

Relocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
 

Effect of Reemployment on
 

Retirement Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
 

Displaced Employee Program . . . . . . . . . . 4
 

Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
 

i 
Introduction 

This pamphlet is for employees who are covered 

by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) 

who want information about early retirement. 

Early Optional Retirement 

If your agency undergoes a major reorganization, 

reduction in force, or transfer of function, and a 

significant percentage of the employees will be 

separated, or will be reduced in pay, the head of 

your agency can ask the U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) to permit early optional 

retirement for eligible employees. By permitting 

early optional retirement, OPM can lessen the 

impact of involuntary separations and demotions. 

If the head of your agency gets approval to permit early optional retirements, eligible employees 

will be notified of the opportunity to retire voluntarily. If you have at least 25 years of service, or 

you are at least age 50 and have as much as 20 

years of service, you may retire voluntarily on an 

immediate annuity. (The annuity is reduced by 2 

percent for each year you are under age 55.) At 

least 5 years of your service must be civilian service, and you must have been employed under the 

Civil Service Retirement System for at least 1 

year out of the last 2 years preceding retirement. 

Discontinued Service Retirement 

Because of an Involuntary Separation 

The term “involuntary separation” means any 

separation against the will and without the consent of the employee, other than “for cause” for 

misconduct or delinquency. The most common 

cause of an involuntary separation is a reduction 

1 
in force. Employees who decline reasonable 

offers of other positions are not eligible for discontinued service annuities. 

A “reasonable offer” is defined as a written offer 

of another position in your agency and commuting area for which you are qualified and which is 

no more than two grades or pay levels below 

your current grade or pay level. 

“Commuting area” means the geographic area 

that usually constitutes one area for employment 

purposes. It includes any population center (or 

two or more neighboring ones) and the surrounding localities in which people live and reasonably 

can be expected to travel back and forth daily in 

their usual employment. 

If your agency makes you a reasonable offer and 

you choose to decline the offer and resign, you 

will not qualify for discontinued service retirement. In addition, if your agency separates you 

by adverse action procedures for not complying 

with a directed reassignment to a position that is 

a “reasonable offer”, your separation would not 

be qualifying for discontinued service. 

Relocation 

Another frequent cause for an involuntary separation is when the location of an office or unit is 

moved to an area outside the commuting area of 

the old worksite. As a general rule, if the new 

work site is in a different commuting area, and if 

you would have to change your place of residence in order to work at the new job site, then 

your separation for failure to relocate to the new 

work location would be a qualifying separation 

for retirement purposes. 

An exception occurs if, when you accepted your 

current position, you were placed under a general 

mobility agreement whereby you would be subject to geographic reassignment. In that case, you 

2 
would have to accompany your office’s or unit’s 

move, resign, or be separated without discontinued service annuity rights. 

If you are involuntarily separated, other than for 

misconduct or delinquency, and you have at least 

25 years of service or are at least age 50 with as 

much as 20 years of service, you will be entitled 

to an immediate annuity. (Your annuity will be 

reduced by 2 percent for each year you are under 

age 55.) At least 5 years of your service must be 

civilian service, and you must have been 

employed under the Civil Service Retirement 

System for at least 1 year out of the last 2 years 

preceding retirement. 

Employees separated from Federal employment 

by reduction-in-force (RIF) may be very close to 

retirement eligibility on the effective date of the 

RIF. Normally employees are entitled to a lump 

sum payment for their annual leave balance upon 

separation. However, instead of taking a lump 

sum payment, you may remain on your agency 

rolls past the effective date of your RIF, if you 

will become eligible for an immediate annuity (or 

to carry health benefits coverage into retirement) 

during the period represented by the amount of 

your accrued annual leave. This right also 

extends to a separation because you do not transfer with your function to another location. 

Effect of Reemployment on 

Retirement Benefits 

If you are reemployed after receiving an annuity 

based on a discontinued service retirement, and 

your reemployment is in a position that normally 

would be subject to retirement deductions, your 

annuity will be terminated. Your future annuity 

benefits would then be computed based on your 

separation from the reemployment service. 

3 
If you are (1) reemployed in a position that is 

excluded from retirement coverage after retiring 

based on a discontinued service retirement, or (2) 

reemployed after retiring voluntarily under an 

early optional retirement authority, your annuity 

will continue, but the amount of annuity applicable to the period of your reemployment will be 

offset from your salary. In either case, you may 

qualify for a supplemental annuity if you are 

reemployed for at least 1 year. A reemployed 

annuitant who completes at least 5 years of service may elect to have his or her annuity redetermined under the law in effect at the time of 

separation from reemployment. 

Displaced Employee Program 

If your discontinued service retirement is based 

on a reduction-in-force, you may qualify for place 

ment assistance under the career transition assistance program. See your personnel office for a 

copy of “The Employee’s Guide to Career Transition”. 

4 
Additional Information 

You may obtain copies of the pamphlets listed 

below from your personnel office, from OPM’s 

Website (http:\\www.opm.gov\asd), or from OPM 

ONLINE (OPM’s electronic bulletin board) at 

(202) 606-4800. To access OPM ONLINE, your 

communications software should be set to the following: 

Baud: Up to28,800 

Parity: None 

Data bits: 8 

Stop bit: 1 

The pamphlets in the Retirement Facts Series, 

which provide more detailed information about 

the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), are: 

•	 Retirement Facts #1 - The Civil Service Retirement System (RI 83-1) 

•	 Retirement Facts #2 - Military Service Credit 

Under the Civil Service Retirement System 

(RI 83-2) 

•	 Retirement Facts #3 - Deposits and Redeposits 

Under the Civil Service Retirement System 

(RI 83-3) 

• Retirement Facts #4 - Disability Retirement 

Under the Civil Service Retirement System 

(RI 83-4) 

•	 Retirement Facts #5 - Survivor Benefits Under 

the Civil Service Retirement System (RI 83-5) 

•	 Retirement Facts #6 - Early Retirement Under the 

Civil Service Retirement System (RI 83-6) 

•	 Retirement Facts #7 - Computing Retirement 

Benefits Under the Civil Service Retirement 

System (RI 83-7) 

•	 Retirement Facts #8 - Credit for Unused Sick 

Leave Under the Civil Service Retirement System 

(RI 83-8) 

•	 Retirement Facts #9 - Refunds Under the Civil 

Service Retirement System (RI 83-9) 

5 
•	 Retirement Facts #10 - Voluntary Contributions 

Under the Civil Service Retirement System 

(RI 83-10) 

•	 Retirement Facts #11 - Information for Separating Civil Service Retirement System Employees 

Who Are Not Eligible for an Immediate Annuity 

(RI 83-11) 

•	 Retirement Facts #12 - Information About Reemployment for Civil Service Retirement System 

Annuitants (RI 83-18) 

•	 Retirement Facts #13 - Civil Service Retirement 

System Offset Retirement (RI 83-19) 

•	 Retirement Facts #14 - Law Enforcement and 

Firefighter Civil Service Retirement System 

Retirement (RI 83-20) 

Pamphlets applicable to employees in both the 

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and 

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) 

are: 

•	 Court-Ordered Benefits for Former Spouses 

(RI 84-1) 

•	 Work-Related Injuries and Fatalities — What You 

and Your Family Need to Know About Your 

Benefits (RI 84-2) 

•	 Life Events and Your Retirement and Insurance 

Benefits (For Employees) (RI 84-3) 

• Thinking About Retirement? (RI 83-11) 

Publications for employees who are under the 

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) 

are: 

•	 FERS Brochure (An Overview of Your Benefits) 

(RI 90-1) 

•	 FERS Facts #1 - Information for Separating 

FERS Employees Who Are Not Eligible for an 

Immediate Annuity (RI 90-11) 

•	 FERS Facts #2 - Information About Reemployment 

for FERS Annuitants (RI 90-18) 

6 
For employees who are eligible to transfer to 

FERS: 

•	 FERS Transfer Handbook (A Guide to Making 

Your Decision) (RI 90-3) 

Pamphlets on the Federal Employees Health and 

Life Insurance Programs are: 

•	 Federal Employees Health Benefits Guide 

(RI 70-1) 

•	 Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) 

under the Federal Employees Health Benefits 

Program (RI 79-27) 

•	 Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Booklet 

(RI 76-21) 

7 
Retirement & Insurance Service 

Serving over 10 million customers, Federal employees, 

annuitants, and their families