FERS

Facts

1

Information for

Separating

FERS Employees

Who Are Not

Eligible for an

Immediate Annuity

This is a non-technical summary of the laws

and regulations on the subject. It should not

be relied upon as a sole source of information.

United

States

Office of

Personnel

Management

Retirement and

Insurance

Service

RI 90-11

Revised September 1996

The March 1995 edition is still usable
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This pamphlet contains information about retirement and insurance for separating employees who

are under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), and who are not eligible for an immediate annuity. If you meet one of the following age

Eligibility Requirements for Immediate

Retirement Under FERS

Type of

Retirement

Minimum Age Minimum

Service

Also See the Special Requirements on the Next Page.

62 5

60 20

MRA* 30

MRA* 10

Any age

50

25

20

Optional

Any age

50

25

20

Special Optional

Any age

50

25

20

Early Optional

Any age

50

25

20

Discontinued

Service

Any age

50

25

20

Disability Any age 18 months

* MRA =Minimum Retirement Age. Depending

on your year of birth the MRA ranges from age

55 to age 57. To determine your MRA refer to

the table on page 4.
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and service combinations, you are eligible for an

annuity now, and this pamphlet is not applicable to

you. Your employing agency should help you apply

for retirement.

Special

Requirements

None

None

None

None

 (Note: Annuity is reduced 5% for each year

employee is under age 62.)

Special Optional - You must retire under special provisions for air traffic controllers or law enforcement

and firefighter personnel

Early Optional-- The Office of Personnel Management must have determined that your agency is undergoing a major reorganization, reduction-in-force, or

transfer of function.

Discontinued Service-- Your separation must be

involuntary and not for misconduct or delinquency.

Disability-- You must be disabled for useful and efficient service in both your current position and any

other vacant position at the same grade or pay level

for which you are qualified. Other requirements must

also be met.
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If Year of

Birth is...

the Minimum

Retirement Age is...

Before 1948

1948

1949

1950

1951

1952

1953-1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970 and After

55

55 and 2 months

55 and 4 months

55 and 6 months

55 and 8 months

55 and 10 months

56

56 and 2 months

56 and 4 months

56 and 6 months

56 and 8 months

56 and 10 months

57

I. Retirement

A. Option: Refund

1. You may apply for a refund of your retirement contributions if YOU have been separated from Federal service for at least 31

days (or have occupied a position not covered by FERS for at least 31 days). If you

have more than 1 year of service, interest

on the contributions will be part of the

refund.

Form to Use:

• SF 3106, Application for Refund of Retire-

 ment Deductions

2. Before you can receive a refund, you gener

ally must notify your spouse and any Former spouse that you have filed the application. Also, you may be barred from

receiving a refund if the refund would end

the court-ordered right of any spouse or

former spouse to future benefits based on

your service.
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3. Refunded FERS contributions cannot be

redeposited and the service covered by the

refund cannot be re-credited.

4. If you elected to transfer to FERS and qualify to have a portion of your annuity computed under CSRS rules, and later separate

from Federal service, you may apply for a

refund of your CSRS contributions only.

(You may redeposit the CSRS contributions

according to CSRS deposit rules.) By leaving your FERS contributions in the retirement fund, you will retain title to a FERS

deferred annuity.

Note: If you were covered by CSRS Offset provisions (both CSRS and Social Security) when you

transferred to FERS, your Offset service is now

treated as FERS service. You cannot redeposit a

refund of Offset service deductions that you receive

after transferring to FERS. The service covered by

that refund cannot be re-credited.

B. Option: Deferred Annuity

1. If you have at least 5 years of creditable

civilian service for which withholdings or

deposits remain in the Fund, and you are

not eligible for an immediate retirement

benefit, you will be eligible for a deferred

annuity. You may receive a deferred annuity

beginning on the first day of the month after

you attain age 62. Alternatively, if you have

at least 10 years of creditable service, you

may elect to receive a deferred annuity as

early as the first day of the month after you

attain your Minimum Retirement Age

(MRA).

2. If you are eligible for a deferred annuity

beginning after you attain your MRA (see

paragraph B1 above), your deferred annuity

will be reduced by 5/12 percent for each

month (5 percent per year) by which the

commencing date of annuity precedes your

62nd birthday, unless you have at least 30

years of service; have 20 years of service

and postpone the commencing date until

 you are age 60; or have at least 20 years of
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service as an air traffic controller, firefighter, law enforcement officer, or Member of Congress.

3.Contact us to ask for form RI 92-19,

Application for Deferred or Postponed

Retirement. Call (202) 606-0500 or write

us at:

 OPM

P.O. Box 45

Boyers, PA 10617-0045.

Complete the form and mail it to us no

sooner than 2 months before age 62. The

deferred annuity begins on your 62nd birthday.

4. The deferred annuity is based on the length

of your service and your high-3 average

salary. The basic annuity computation formula is:

1% of your high-3 average pay

times

years of creditable service

Note: if you retire at age 62 or later with

at least 20 years of service, a factor of

1.1% is used rather than 1%.

5. If you want to make a deposit for post1956 military service so that you can

receive credit for this service in the computation of your deferred annuity, you must

pay the deposit to your employing agency

before you separate from Federal employment. We at OPM cannot accept your payment.

6. If you die before applying for a deferred

annuity and you have less than 10 years of

creditable service or no eligible survivor,

any contributions remaining in the retirement fund are paid in a lump sum (with

interest) to your designated beneficiary or

person in the order of precedence set by

law.
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7. If you die before applying for a deferred

annuity, your surviving spouse is entitled to

a survivor annuity if:

a. You have at least 10 years of creditable

service for which withholdings or deposits remain in the Fund (5 years of which

is creditable civilian service); and

b. Your spouse was married to you at the

time of your separation from Federal

service.

Your surviving spouse may elect to receive

a lump-sum payment of your retirement contributions in lieu of the survivor annuity.

II. Health Benefits

III.

A. 31-day Extension of Coverage and Temporary

Continuation of Coverage.

I. Enrollment in the Federal Employees

Health Benefits (FEHB) program terminates on the last day of the pay period during which you separate. You then have a

31-day free extension of coverage.

2. When you separate from service, you may

choose to continue FEHB coverage for a

period of 18 months after your separation.

If you take advantage of this temporary continuation of coverage option, you must pay

both the employee and the employer share

of the health benefits premium plus an

administrative charge of 2 percent of the

premium. You can choose to enroll in the

same plan you had at separation or any

other plan, option, or type of enrollment for

which you are eligible. (DOD employees

should check with their personnel department concerning payment of premiums.)

3. Temporary continuation of coverage

begins as soon as the 31-day free extension

of coverage ends regardless of when you

 elect it. Your agency is required to notify
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 you about your eligibility for temporary

 continuation of coverage within 60 days

 after you separate. You have 60 days after

 receiving the notice to enroll. If you enroll

 after the 31 day free extension expires,

 your enrollment will be retroactive to the

 expiration of the 31-day free extension and

 you will be billed for the retroactive cover-

 age.

4.You may get additional information about

temporary continuation of coverage from

the pamphlet RI 79-27, Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) under the

Federal Employees Health Benefits Program which is available through your

employing office.

B. Conversion Privilege

1. If you do not want to continue your health

benefits coverage under the temporary continuation provision described in paragraph

A.2., you may convert to an individual

(nongroup) contract. The conversion contract is available only from the carrier of

the plan you are enrolled in when you separate. If you continue your coverage under

the temporary continuation provision, you

will have another opportunity to convert to

an individual contract at the end of the

18-month period.

2. If you do convert, you must pay the entire

cost of coverage and your benefits may be

less than previous coverage. However, the

carrier must offer you a nongroup contract

regardless of any health problems you or

your family members may have.
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C. Form You Should Receive: SF 2810, Notice of

 Change in Health Benefits Enrollment

When you separate, your employing office

must terminate your enrollment by completing

an SF 2810 and forwarding you a copy. The SF

2810 tells about the 31-day extension of coverage and how to convert to an individual (nongroup) contract and gives information about

temporary continuation of coverage. Your

agency will also give you a notice about your

eligibility for the temporary continuation of

coverage described above (paragraph A) and

information about how to enroll.

D. Reinstatement of Coverage

You cannot reinstate your health benefits coverage if you receive a deferred annuity.

IV. Life Insurance

A. Conversion Privilege

Life insurance under the Federal Employees

Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program terminates at the end of the pay period in which you

separate. You then have a 31-day free extension of coverage during which you may convert to an individual policy.

B. Forms You Should Receive:

• SF2821,Agency Certification of Insurance

 Status

• SF 2819, Notice of Conversion Privilege

When you separate, your employing office

must terminate your coverage by completing

an SF 2821 and forwarding you a copy. It must

also give you an SF 2819 that provides information on your right to convert to an individual (nongroup) life insurance policy.
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C. Reinstatement of Coverage

You cannot reinstate your life benefits coverage if you receive a deferred annuity.