CSRS Civil Service

Re tire ment 

Sys tem 

Re tire ment 

Facts 

11 

In for ma tion for 

Sepa rat ing CSRS 

Em ploy ees Who 

Are Not Eligi ble 

for an Imme di ate 

An nu ity 

RI 83-13 

Pre vious edition is usable Revised Novem ber 1997

United States 

Office of 

Personnel 

Management 

Ret irement and 

Insurance 

Service 
Ad di tional retire ment infor ma tion and all publi cations of the U.S. Office of Person nel Manage ment 

listed in this pamphlet are available on the Internet. 

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

Page 

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

Eligibility Requirements for 
 

Immediate Retirement Under
 

the Civil Service Retirement System . . . . . 2
 

Retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
 

Health Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
 

Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
 

Additional Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
 

i 
In tro duc tion 

This pamphlet contains infor ma tion about retirement and insur ance for separat ing employ ees who 

are under the Civil Service Retire ment System 

(CSRS) (includ ing the CSRS Offset provi sions), 

and who leave Federal service before becom ing 

eli gi ble for an imme di ate annu ity. If you meet 

one of the follow ing age and service combi nations, you may be eligi ble for an annu ity now, 

and this pamphlet is not appli ca ble to you. Your 

em ploy ing agency should help you apply for 

retire ment. Note: Unless you are retir ing on disabil ity, you must have been employed under 

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

pre ced ing your separa tion in order to qualify for 

re tire ment. 

1 
Eli gi bil ity Require ments for
 

Im me di ate Retire ment Under the
 

Civil Service Retire ment System
 

Type of Retire ment Mini mum Mini mum 

Age Serv ice 

(Years) 

Optional 62 5 

60 20 

55 30 

Spe cial Optional 50 20 

Any age 25 

Early Optional 

50 20 

Dis con tin ued Service Any age 25 

50 20 

Any age 5 Dis abil ity 

2
 
Type of Spe cial Require ments

Re tire ment 

Optional None 

None 

None 

You must retire under special provisions for air traffic control lers or 

Spe cial law enforcement and firefighter perOptional son nel. Air traffic control lers can 

also retire at any age with 25 years 

of service. 

The U.S. Office of Person nel Manage ment (OPM) must have deterEarly mined that your agency is 

Optional under go ing a major reorgani za tion, 

reduction- in- force, or transfer of 

func tion. 

Your separa tion must be involun­ Dis con tin ued tary and not for miscon duct or Serv ice delin quency. 

You must be disabled for useful and 

effi cient service in both your current 

posi tion and any other vacant posi­ Dis abil ity tion at the same grade or pay level 

for which you are qualified. Other 

require ments must also be met. 

3
 
Re tire ment 

A. Op tion: Refund 

1. You may apply for a refund of your 

retire ment contri bu tions if you have 

been separated from Federal service for 

at least 31 days or have occupied a position not covered by Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal 

Employ ees Retirement System (FERS) 

for at least 31 days. 

Form to use: 

•	 SF 2802 - Ap pli ca tion for Refund of 

Re tire ment Deduc tions 

2. If you take a refund of your retirement 

con tri bu tions at separa tion, you can redeposit the refund (with interest) only if 

you return to Federal service under CSRS 

or FERS. 

3. Bef ore you can receive a refund, you 

gen er ally must notify your spouse and 

any former spouse that you have filed the 

appli ca tion. 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. For more 

detailed informa tion about refunds, see 

the SF 2802 or Retirement Facts 9, 

“Refunds Under the Civil Service Retirement System.” 

B. Op tion: Deferred Annu ity 

1. If you have at least 5 years of credit able 

ci vil ian service, do not receive a refund 

of all retire ment contri bu tions, and are 

not eligi ble for an imme di ate retire ment 

bene fit, you may be eligi ble for a 

de ferred annu ity at age 62. 

4 
2. Con tact the U.S. Office of Person nel 

Man age ment (OPM) to ask for OPM 

Form 1496A, Appli ca tion for Deferred 

Re tire ment. Call (202) 606-0500 [for 

TDD call (202) 606-0551] or write us at 

the follow ing address: 

U.S. Office of Person nel Manage ment
 

P.O. Box 45
 

Boy ers PA 16017-0045.
 

Com plete the form and mail it to us no 

sooner than 2 months before you are 62. 

The deferred annu ity begins on your 

62nd birthday. 

3. The general formula for comput ing 

annui ties can be expressed as a percentage of your “high-3” average salary. 

Your high-3 average salary is the highest 

3 years of base pay or salary you earned 

in any consecu tive 3-year peri od (usually 

your last 3 years). The percent age is 

deter mined by a 3-part formula based on 

your length of credit able service. You 

earn: 

1.50% per year for the first 5 years or 7.50% 

plus 

1.75% per year for the next 5 years or 8.75% 

plus 

2.00% per year for service over 10 years. 

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

re ceive credit for this service in the compu ta tion of your deferred annu ity, you 

must pay the deposit to your employ ing 

agency before you separate from Federal 

em ploy ment. OPM cannot accept your 

pay ment. 

5 
Health Benefits 

A.	 31- day Exten sion of Cover age and 

Tem po rary Continua tion of Coverage. 

1. Enroll ment in the Federal Employees 

Health Benefits (FEHB) program terminates on the last day of the pay peri od 

dur ing which you separate. You then 

have a 31-day free extension of cover age. 

2. When you separate from service, you 

may choose to continue FEHB cover age 

for a peri od of 18 months after your separa tion. If you take advantage of this tempo rary continua tion of cover age option, 

you must pay both the employee and the 

employer share of the health benefits premium plus an adminis tra tive charge of 2 

per cent of the premium. (Department of 

Defense [DOD] employees should contact their person nel office to determine if 

any exception applies.) You can choose 

to enroll in the same plan you had at 

sepa ra tion or any other plan, option, or 

type of enrollment for which you are eligi ble. 

3.	 Tem po rary continua tion of cover age 

begins as soon as the 31-day free extension of cover age ends regardless of when 

you elect it. Your agency is required to 

notify you about your eligi bil ity for tempo rary continua tion of cover age within 

60 days after you separate. You have 60 

days after receiving the notice to enroll. 

If you enroll after the 31-day free extensions expires, your enrollment will be retro ac tive to the expira tion of the 31-day 

free extension and you will be billed for 

the retro ac tive cover age. 

4. For additional informa tion about temporary continua tion of cover age read the 

pam phlet, “Tem po rary Continua tion of 

6 
Cov er age (TCC) under the Federal 

Em ploy ees Health Benefits Program” 

(RI 79-27). 

B. Con ver sion Privilege 

1. If you do not want to continue your 

health benefits cover age under the tempo rary continua tion provi sion described 

in paragraph A.2., you may convert to an 

indi vid ual (nongroup contract). The conver sion contract is available only from 

the carrier of the plan you are enrolled in 

when you separate. If you continue your 

cov er age under the tempo rary continuation provi sion, you will have another 

oppor tu nity to convert to an individ ual 

con tract at the end of the 18-month 

pe ri od. 

2. If you do convert you must pay the entire 

cost of cover age and your benefits may 

be less than previous cover age. However, 

the carrier must offer you a non-group 

con tract regardless of any health problems you or your family members may 

have. 

C. Form You Should Receive: SF 2810 

- Notice of Change in Health 

Bene fits Enroll ment 

When you separate, your employ ing office 

must termi nate your enroll ment by completing an SF 2810, and forward ing you a copy. 

The SF 2810 tells about the 31-day exten sion 

of cover age and how to convert to a nongroup 

con tract, and gives infor ma tion about temporary continua tion of cover age. Your agency 

will also give you a notice about your eligibil ity for the tempo rary continua tion of cover age described above (paragraph A) 

and infor ma tion about how to enroll. 

7 
D. Re in state ment of Cover age 

You can not rein state your health benefits 

cov er age if you receive a deferred annu ity. 

Life Insur ance 

A. Con ver sion Privilege 

Life insur ance under the Federal Employ ees 

Group Life Insur ance (FEGLI) program termi nates on the last day of the pay peri od during which you separate. You then have a 31-

day free exten sion of cover age during which 

you may convert to an indi vid ual policy. 

B. Forms You Should Receive: 

•	 SF 2821 - Agency Certi fi ca tion of Insur ance Status 

• SF 2819 - No tice of Conver sion Privilege 

When you separate, your employing office 

must termi nate your cover age by complet ing 

an SF 2821 and giving a copy to you. Your 

employ ing office must also give you an SF 

2819 that provides informa tion on your right to 

con vert to an individ ual (nongroup) life insurance policy. 

C. Re in state ment of Cover age 

You can not rein state your life insur ance cover age if you receive a deferred annu ity. 

8 
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 to 28,800
 

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) 

9 

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•	 Re tire ment Facts #10 - Volun tary Contri bu tions 

Un der the Civil Service Retire ment System 

(RI 83-10) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #11 - Infor ma tion for 

Sepa rat ing Civil Service Retire ment System 

Em ploy ees Who Are Not Eligi ble for an 

Im me di ate Annu ity (RI 83-13) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #12 - Infor ma tion About 

Re em ploy ment for Civil Service Retire ment 

Sys tem Annui tants (RI 83-18) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #13 - Civil Service Retire ment 

Sys tem Offset Retire ment (RI 83-19) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #14 - Law Enforce ment and 

Fire fighter Civil Service Retire ment System 

Re tire ment (RI 83-20) 

Pam phlets applica ble to employees in both the 

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and

Fed eral Employees Retirement System (FERS): 

•	 Court- Ordered Benefits for Former Spouses 

(RI 84-1) 

•	 Work- Related Inju ries and Fatali ties — What You 

and Your Family Need to Know About Your 

Bene fits 

(RI 84-2) 

•	 Life Events and Your Retire ment and Insur ance 

Bene fits (For employ ees) (RI 84-3) 

• Think ing About Retire ment (RI 83-11) 

Pub li ca tions for employees who are under the 

Fed eral Employees Retirement System (FERS) 

are: 

•	 FERS Brochure (An Overview of Your Benefits) 

(RI 90-1) 

•	 FERS Facts #1 - Infor ma tion for Separat ing

FERS Employ ees Who Are Not Eligi ble for an 

Im me di ate Annu ity (RI 90-11) 

•	 FERS Facts -Info rm ation About Reem ploy ment

for FERS Annui tants (RI 90-18) 

For employees who are eligi ble to transfer to 

FERS: 

10 
•	 FERS Transfer Handbook (A Guide to Making 

Your Deci sion) (RI 90-3) 

Pam phlets on the Federal Employees Health 

and Life Insurance Programs are: 

•	 Fed eral Employ ees Health Benefits Guide 

(RI 70-1) 

•	 Tem po rary Continua tion of Cover age (TCC)

un der the Federal Employ ees Health Benefits 

Pro gram (RI 79-27) 

•	 Fed eral Employ ees Group Life Insur ance Booklet 

(RI 76-21) 

11