FERS Federal Employees 

Retirement System 

FERS 

Facts 

2 

Information About 

Reemployment for 

Federal Employees 

Retirement System 

Annuitants

RI 90-18 

Previous editions are usable Revised October 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 

FERS Basic Benefit ...............2 

Annuity Stops .................2 

Future Benefits ................2 

Annuity Continues ..............2 

Supplemental and Redetermined Benefits . . 3 

Disability Annuitants .............3 

Exceptions...................4 

Federal Employees Health Benefits 

(FEHB) Program .............. 4 

Annuity Stops .................4 

Annuity Continues ..............5 

Federal Employees Group Life 

Insurance (FEGLI) Program ........5 

Annuity Stops .................5 

Annuity Continues ...............5 

Continuing the Coverage You Have Had 

as an Annuitant ................5 

Electing Insurance as an Employee ......6 

If You Die While Employed .........6 

After You Leave ...............6 

Special Note for Individuals Who 

Retired On or After March 30, 1994 

and Who Received a Voluntary 

Separation Incentive .............7 

Additional Information .............8 

i 
Introduction 

This brochure is for you if you are covered by 

the Federal Employees Retirement System 

(FERS) and are: 

1) an employee who is thinking of retiring and 

later returning to Federal employment, or 

2) an annuitant who wants to know what would 

happen to your annuity if you return to work 

as a Federal employee. 

It has important information about how reemployment will affect your status as an annuitant, 

whether you will continue to receive annuity during and after the period of reemployment, and 

what future retirement benefits may be payable to 

you on the basis of reemployment. 

1 
FERS Basic Benefit 

Annuity Stops 

Reemployment will cause your annuity to stop 

if — 

(1) You are a disability annuitant whom the U.S. 

Office of Personnel Management has found 

recovered or restored to earning capacity prior 

to reemployment; or 

(2) You are a disability annuitant who was not 

disabled for your National Guard Technician 

position but were awarded disability annuity 

because you were medically disqualified for 

continued membership in the National Guard. 

Future Benefits 

When your annuity stops, you have the same status 

as any other Federal employee employed in an 

equivalent position with a similar service history. 

When you again leave Federal service you will be 

entitled to either an immediate or deferred annuity 

based on this new separation. Generally, the annuity will be computed on the basis of your service 

and salary history at the time of the future separation from Federal service. 

Annuity Continues 

If your annuity does not stop under the provisions 

discussed above, then you will continue to receive 

it while you are working. Your pay will be reduced 

by the amount of annuity paid for the period you 

worked. If you do not work full time, the reduction 

in pay will be adjusted proportionately. However, 

some pay is not subject to this reduction for annuity. Pay is not reduced for annuity for a period during which you have elected to receive injury 

compensation benefits in lieu of annuity, or when 

you receive a lump-sum payment of annual leave 

on separation. Unless your reemployment is on an 

intermittent basis, retirement deductions will be 

withheld from your pay. The retirement deductions 

are a percentage of your basic pay, before it is 

reduced for annuity. 

2 
Supplemental and Redetermined Benefits 

Reemployment may increase your retirement and 

death benefits. As a reemployed annuitant, you can 

earn either a supplemental annuity or a redetermined annuity. A supplemental annuity is an annuity that is added on to your present annuity. A 

redetermined annuity is a recomputed annuity that 

takes the place of your present annuity. If you 

work as a reemployed annuitant on a full time, 

continuous basis for at least 1 year, you may be 

entitled to a supplemental annuity. If you work 

part-time, you must work a proportionately longer 

period to earn a supplemental annuity. If your 

reemployment continues for at least 5 years, or the 

part-time equivalent, you may elect a redetermined 

annuity. Intermittent service cannot be counted in 

establishing eligibility for a supplemental or redetermined annuity, and cannot be used in the computation of a supplemental annuity. If you die 

while reemployed, after establishing eligibility for 

either a supplemental or redetermined annuity, 

your surviving spouse may have his or her survivor 

benefit either increased or recomputed. 

Disability Annuitants 

The following are important facts that may affect 

your future retirement benefits if you are a disability annuitant. 

(1) If you are reemployed on a permanent basis in 

a position equivalent in grade and pay to the 

position from which you retired, the U.S. 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may 

find that you have recovered from your disability. 

(2) If you are reemployed subject to medical and 

physical qualification standards equivalent to 

those of the position from which you retired, 

OPM may find that you have recovered from 

your disability. 

(3) The pay of the position in which you are reemployed, prior to the offset of annuity, will be 

included as earnings in determining whether 

the disability annuity will stop due to restoration to earning capacity. 

3 
(4) Receipt of, or continued entitlement to receive, 

full or partial injury compensation benefits 

from the Department of Labor’s Office of 

Workers’ Compensation during reemployment, when those benefits are based on the 

same injury or medical condition that is the 

basis for OPM’s award of disability retirement, is conclusive evidence (unless there is 

contravening medical evidence) that you have 

not recovered from your disability. 

(5) If you are age 60 or over, your annuity cannot 

be stopped because of your earnings, and 

OPM can find that you are recovered only if 

you request to be found recovered. 

Exceptions 

Not all of the above rules apply to all reemployed 

annuitants. You should ask your employing agency 

for information about other rules that may apply to 

you if you are reemployed  

(1) Under special provisions for positions for 

which there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting or retaining a qualified employee, or there 

is a direct threat to life or property, or other 

unusual circumstances warranting emergency 

employment; 

(2) On an interim basis, as a consequence of an 

administrative or judicial body reviewing the 

grounds for your separation; or 

(3) Under another retirement system for Federal 

employees. 

Federal Employees Health Benefits 

(FEHB) Program 

Annuity Stops 

If your annuity stops upon reemployment, your 

health insurance coverage as an annuitant stops, 

too. If your appointment is one that gives you eligibility for FEHB coverage, you can enroll in the 

program when you are reemployed. 

4 
Annuity Continues 

If your annuity continues after you are reemployed, your FEHB coverage as an annuitant continues and withholding of premiums continues to 

be made from your annuity payment. 

Federal Employees Group Life Insurance 

(FEGLI) Program 

Annuity Stops 

If your annuity stops upon reemployment, your life 

insurance as an annuitant stops without a right to 

convert to an individual policy. You acquire life 

insurance coverage as an employee under the same 

conditions as any other employee who is rehired in 

the Federal service. For details, read the publication RI 76-21, Federal Employees’ Group Life 

Insurance, which describes the FEGLI Program. 

Annuity Continues 

Continuing the Coverage You Have Had as an 

Annuitant 

If your annuity continues after you are reemployed, you retain the life insurance you have as a 

retiree. However, if the type of appointment you 

have makes you eligible for FEGLI coverage as an 

employee, any Basic Life insurance, Standard 

Optional, and Family Optional insurance you have 

as an annuitant are suspended and you will have 

the coverage(s) (including Accidental Death and 

Dismemberment coverage where applicable) as an 

employee. The value of this insurance will be 

based on your salary as an employee, and the cost 

will be withheld from your pay. This happens 

automatically. These coverages will be resumed at 

the same rate when the reemployment ends, except 

for any applicable reductions that normally begin 

at age 65. 

The cost of Additional Optional insurance, if you 

have it, will continue to be withheld from your 

annuity payment unless you request that it also be 

suspended so that you can have Additional 

Optional insurance as an employee. If you choose 

to have Additional Optional insurance as an 

5 
employee, you will be subject to the same 

conditions as other employees who are rehired. 

Ask your employing office for the publication 

RI 76-21, the Federal Employees’ Group Life 

Insurance booklet, which describes the FEGLI program. 

Electing Insurance as an Employee 

During your reemployment you will automatically 

get Basic Life Insurance as an employee if the type 

of appointment you have makes you eligible for 

coverage. You may also elect any optional coverage unless an uncancelled waiver is still in effect. 

If You Die While Employed 

If you die during the period of reemployment, your 

survivor will receive either the amount of Basic 

Life insurance you had as an employee or the 

amount of the suspended Basic Life you had as an 

annuitant, whichever is higher. If you have Standard Optional insurance, the amount you have as 

an employee is the amount payable if you die as a 

reemployed annuitant. If you have Additional 

Optional insurance as an employee rather than as 

an annuitant, the amount you have as an employee 

is the amount payable if you die as a reemployed 

annuitant. If you have Additional Optional as an 

annuitant, that is the amount payable. 

Note: If you retire and are reemployed under a 

temporary appointment without a break in service 

or a break in service of 3 days or less, you are eligible for FEGLI coverage as an employee. If the 

break in service before the temporary appointment 

begins is more than 3 days, you are not generally 

eligible for FEGLI coverage as an employee. 

Caution: Any waiver or declination of insurance 

you file as a reemployed annuitant will affect your 

suspended life insurance as an annuitant as well as 

the coverage you have as an employee. 

After You Leave 

When you leave the reemployment, you can keep 

insurance you acquired because of the reemployment if: 

! You qualify for a supplemental annuity or you 

acquire a new annuity right and 

6 
! You have had the insurance (or number of multiples, in the case of Additional Optional insurance) as an employee (including the time as a 

reemployed annuitant) for at least the 5 years of 

service immediately preceding your separation 

from the reemployment (or for all periods of 

service during which you were eligible for the 

insurance, if less than 5 years). 

If you keep insurance you acquired during the 

reemployment, the suspended insurance of the 

same type terminates. 

Special Note for Individuals Who Retired 

On or After March 30, 1994, and Who 

Received a Voluntary Separation Incentive 

Generally, any employee who received a voluntary 

separation incentive payment from a Federal 

agency since March 30, 1994, must repay the 

entire amount of the incentive to the agency that 

paid it if the individual is employed by the Government of the United States or if the individual 

works under a personal services contract with the 

Government within 5 years of the date of separating for the incentive. Employment includes work 

with any entity of the Federal government, under 

any appointment authority, for any duration of 

time. This includes all branches of Government, 

independent agencies (such as the U.S. Postal 

Service), all work schedules (part-time, temporary, 

term appointments, etc.), experts, consultants, etc. 

In some extremely rare cases, an agency may 

request a waiver of the repayment, but generally 

there are no exceptions to the repayment requirement. 

Because there are several different laws authorizing the payment of VSIPs, and since many of these 

laws contain different repayment requirements, if 

you separated on or after March 30, 1994, received 

a separation incentive, and are considering returning to work with any part of the Federal government or as a personal services contractor, contact 

your agency for information about the effect of 

reemployment on the payment you received. 

7 
Additional Information 

You may obtain copies of the pamphlets listed 

below from your personnel office, from the OPM’s 

internet site (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 to 28,800 

Parity: None 

Data bits: 8 

Stop bit: 1 

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) 

For employees who are eligible to transfer to the 

FERS: 

! FERS Transfer Handbook (A Guide to Making 

Your Decision) (RI 90-3) 

8 
The pamphlets in the CSRS Retirement Facts 

Series 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) 

! 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 83-13) 

! Retirement Facts #12 - Information About 

Reemployment for Civil Service Retirement 

System Annuitants (RI 83-18) 

9 
! Retirement Facts #13 - CSRS 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 and Federal 

Employees Retirement System 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) 

Pamphlets on the Federal Employees Health and 

Life Insurance Programs are: 

! Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) 

under the Federal Employees Health Benefits 

Program (RI 79-27) 

! Federal Employees Health Benefits Guide 

(RI 70-1) 

! Federal Employees Group Life Booklet 

(RI 76-21) 

10 
Retirement & Insurance Service 

Serving over 10 million customers, Federal employees, 

Annuitants and their families