CSRS Civil Service 

Retirement 

System 

Retirement 

Facts 

3 

Deposits 

and 

Redeposits 

RI 83-3 

The March 1995 edition is 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 

Deposit Service..................1 

Employment Before October 1, 1982 ......1 

Employment After October 1, 1982 .......2 

Redeposit Service ................2 

Periods of Nonpay ................3 

Interest Rates ...................4 

Deemed Deposits and Redeposits ........4 

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

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Deposit Service 

Practically any employment you’ve had with the 

Federal Government or the District of Columbia 

(if first employed by the D.C. Government before 

October 1, 1987), that was not covered under the 

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), including employment covered by Social Security withholdings, is creditable for retirement purposes, so 

long as you become covered by CSRS at some 

later date. A period of service not covered by 

CSRS is called deposit service. It is called deposit 

service because you are allowed to pay a monetary deposit for it, either to avoid a reduction in 

the amount of your annuity or, in some cases, to 

receive credit for the service at all. Even employment covered by another Federal retirement system (such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, 

Foreign Service, etc.) is creditable provided you 

are not receiving any benefits for that time under 

the other system. Generally you obtain a refund 

of your contributions under the other system and 

deposit the refund, with interest, in the Civil 

Service Retirement and Disability Fund to receive 

any credit for that period of time. 

Employment Before October 1, 1982 

If you worked for the Federal Government or the 

District of Columbia prior to October 1, 1982, in 

positions for which deductions for the Civil 

Service Retirement System (CSRS) were not 

made, you will receive limited credit for this service in the computation of your CSRS annuity. 

Specifically, the period will count when computing your length of service. However, your annuity 

will be reduced by one-tenth of the amount that 

you would have paid in to the system plus interest 

had the service been covered by retirement. 

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For example, if you entered Federal service under 

a temporary appointment in July 1973 and paid 

into Social Security rather than the CSRS until 

you were converted to a career-conditional 

appointment in January 1974, you would have a 

period of deposit service totaling approximately 6 

months. If the amount of retirement deductions 

(7 percent of basic pay at that time) and interest 

amount to $840 at the time you retire, your yearly 

annuity would be reduced by one tenth of the 

amount due at that time — $84 a year or $7 per 

month. Again, if you make the deposit, there 

would be no reduction in your annuity. 

Employment After October 1, 1982 

If you worked for the Federal Government or the 

District of Columbia after October 1, 1982, in 

positions for which CSRS deductions were not 

made, you will have to make the required deposit 

before that service can be used in any annuity 

computation. (Note: If you were first hired by the 

District of Columbia on or after October 1, 1987, 

that service is not creditable under CSRS.) If the 

deposit is not made, you can still count the time 

involved for “title purposes” — i.e., for meeting 

the minimum length of service for an immediate 

annuity, and for determining “high-3” average 

salary. However, no credit will be allowed in the 

computation of the annuity — i.e., the time will 

not be multiplied by a percentage of your 

“high-3” average salary. 

Redeposit Service 

Except as explained below, if you are now 

employed, but later separate from service and 

receive a refund of your contributions, you must 

repay that money, plus any applicable interest, 

before the period of time covered by the refund 

can be credited in the computation of your annuity benefits. This period of service is called 

2 
redeposit service. You must be employed under 

retirement coverage to apply to make the redeposit, if you received a refund of your retirement 

deductions. 

If you do not make the redeposit, you can still 

count the time involved for “title purposes,” as 

explained above, and for determining the 

“high-3” average salary. However, no credit will 

be allowed in the computation of the annuity 

unless you pay the total amount owed by the time 

you retire, unless the refunded service ended before October 1, 1990 or you are eligible to receive 

the Alternative Form of Annuity (see Deemed 

Deposits and Redeposits, below). 

If you have received a refund that covers a period 

of service that ended before October 1, 1990, 

including employment covered by another Federal retirement system, you will not have to pay 

the redeposit to receive credit for that service 

when you retire (except if you retire for disability). Instead, full credit for the refunded service 

will be allowed in computing your annuity, but 

the annuity will be actuarially reduced based on 

your age and the amount of redeposit, including 

interest, you owe at the time you retire. You can 

elect to pay the redeposit if you prefer, and avoid 

the actuarial reduction. 

Periods of Nonpay 

Full credit is given without deposit to the Retirement Fund for periods of furlough or leave 

without pay that do not exceed 6 months in any 

calendar year. The entire period of time you are 

receiving benefits from the Office of Workers’ 

Compensation Programs due to an on-the-job 

injury is credited without deposit if you later 

return to Federal service. 

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Interest Rates 

Deposits for service performed before October 1, 

1982, and redeposits for refunds applied for prior 

to October 1, 1982, are subject to an interest rate 

of 4 percent per year up to December 31, 1947, 

and an interest rate of 3 percent per year after 

1947, compounded annually. Deposit covering 

employment on or after October 1, 1982, and 

redeposit of refunds applied for on or after that 

date, are subject to an interest rate of 3 percent 

per year through December 31, 1984, and, 

thereafter, at a yearly rate equivalent to the rate 

of interest earned by new Retirement Fund 

investments as determined by the Secretary of 

the Treasury, compounded annually. 

Your application to make either a deposit or redeposit (Standard Form 2803) must be filed with 

your current personnel office. Staff there will estimate the amount you actually owe and explain 

further how your future retirement benefits may 

be affected by any outstanding deposit or redeposit. 

Deemed Deposits and Redeposits 

If you elect to receive the Alterative Form of 

Annuity when you retire, any unpaid redeposit 

and most deposits for service that you still owe at 

that time will be deemed to have been paid. 

However, this option is now available only if you 

have a life threatening medical condition. In other 

words, if you elect the Alternative Form of Annuity, you would not actually have to pay the 

deposit or redeposit. OPM would simply consider 

it paid when determining the amount of your 

creditable service. The deemed deposit/redeposit 

would also be added to your total lump-sum 

credit used in determining the amount by which 

your annuity must be reduced under the Alternative Form of Annuity option. 

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 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) 

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· 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) 

· 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 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) 

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 the 

FERS: 

· FERS Transfer Handbook (A Guide to Making 

Your Decision) (RI 90-3) 

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) 

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Retirement & Insurance Service 

Serving over 10 million customers, Federal employees, 

annuitants, and their families