United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 06-102 Date: April 25, 2006 

Subject: FERS Credit for Certain Government Service Performed Abroad

This Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) outlines the service credit provisions contained in 

section 321 of Public Law 107-228, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003, 

relating to certain Government service performed abroad. It also explains how individuals 

seeking credit under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for certain Government 

service performed abroad can obtain that credit. 

Definition 

Certain Government service performed abroad refers specifically to service that was performed: 

 after December 31, 1988, and before May 24, 1998; 

 under a temporary appointment pursuant to sections 309 and 311 of the Foreign Service 

Act of 1980; 

 at a United States diplomatic mission, consular post (other than a consular agency), or 

other Foreign Service post abroad 

 by an individual who satisfied all eligibility requirements under regulations of the 

Department of State (as in effect on September 30, 2002) for a family member limited 

non-career appointment at the time the service was performed. (If an individual who 

performed such service was not employed by the Department of State while performing 

the service, the individual shall be treated as if he or she were employed by the 

Department of State for purposes of this definition.) 

Requirements 

Section 321 of Public Law 107-228 provides that certain Government service performed abroad 

may be creditable under FERS if: 

 the service would have been creditable under FERS had it been performed before 1989 

and had the appropriate service credit deposit been paid; 

Civil Service 

Retirement 

System 

Federal Employees’ 

Group Life 

Insurance Program 

Federal Employees 

Health Benefits 

Program 

Federal Employees 

Retirement 

System 

Long Term 

Care Insurance 

Program 
 the service is not otherwise creditable under FERS or any other retirement system for 

employees of the United States Government (disregarding title II of the Social Security 

Act); 

 the service totals 90 days or more (if an individual is applying to credit multiple periods 

of such service, this 90 day requirement is met if the combined total of all periods of 

service equals 90 days or more);

 the individual seeking credit for the service files an application to obtain credit for the 

service no later than August 29, 2008;

 the individual seeking credit for the service pays a deposit for the service equal to the 

amount of FERS employee deductions that would have been withheld from the 

individual’s basic pay had the service been subject to FERS deductions, plus interest; and 

 the department or agency where the individual performed the service pays a deposit for 

the service equal to the FERS Government contributions that would have been due had 

the service been subject to FERS coverage, plus interest. 

Applying for Service Credit – Who May Apply 

Individuals who performed certain Government service abroad may apply to obtain FERS credit 

for that service even if they are no longer working for the Federal Government and even if they 

are already drawing a FERS retirement benefit. If an individual who performed certain 

Government service abroad has died, anyone who is eligible for a survivor annuity under FERS 

based on the service of that individual, including anyone who would become eligible for a 

survivor annuity with the additional service credit, may apply to obtain FERS credit for that 

service. A survivor applying for FERS credit for certain Government service performed abroad 

in order to qualify for the FERS Basic Employee Death Benefit, but not a survivor annuity, is not 

entitled to credit for that service. 

(A survivor who becomes eligible for a survivor annuity with the additional credit for certain 

Government service performed abroad will have to repay any lump sum credit death benefit the 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may have already paid following the death of the 

individual who performed the service, even if OPM paid that lump sum credit death benefit to 

someone other than that survivor. OPM will collect the lump sum credit death benefit from the 

accrued annuity due the survivor. If OPM cannot recover the entire lump sum credit death 

benefit from the accrued annuity, it will collect the remaining balance in installments from the 

recurring monthly survivor benefit payments it makes to the survivor.) 

Applying for Service Credit – Application Deadline 

Individuals seeking FERS credit for certain Government service performed abroad must apply 

no later than August 29, 2008. They will then have 6 months from the date they are notified of 

the amount they owe for the service to complete payment for the service. If the 6-month period 

spans the end of a calendar year, individuals who complete the payment before the end of the 

calendar year will not owe interest for that calendar year. But if the payment is not completed by 

the end of a calendar year, additional interest for that calendar year will be added to the deposit 

amount. For example, if an individual receives a bill for the service in October 2006, he or she 

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has until April 2007 to pay the bill. If the individual pays the bill before the end of 2006, the 

individual will not owe interest for calendar year 2006. But if the individual waits until 2007 to 

pay the bill, the individual will owe additional interest for calendar year 2006. 

Applying for Service Credit – Application and Cover Letter 

Individuals wishing to obtain FERS credit for certain Government service performed abroad 

need to complete the regular FERS application for service credit, Standard Form (SF) 3108, 

Application to Make Service Credit Payment, Federal Employees’ Retirement System. (That 

form can be found on OPM’s web site by clicking the Federal Forms link on OPM’s home page, 

www.opm.gov.) They also need to prepare a cover letter explaining their particular situation. 

In completing the SF 3108, individuals should list in box 10 of Part A only the periods of 

Government service performed abroad that they seek to credit. The total amount of service listed 

must equal 90 days or more. If the individual actually performed the service and is still working 

for the Federal Government, the individual should bring the form to the Human Resources Office 

(HRO) of the agency where he or she is currently working so the HRO can complete its portion 

of the form. If the individual seeking credit for the service is not currently employed with the 

Federal Government, or is the survivor of someone who performed the service, the individual 

can leave the agency portion of the application (Part B) blank. Survivors applying for the 

service credit should put their own identifying information (name, address, date of birth, Social 

Security number, retirement or survivor claim number, other names used) in Part A of the 

application and provide the identifying information of the individual who actually performed the 

service in the cover letter. 

In addition to completing the SF 3108, individuals seeking FERS credit for certain Government 

service performed abroad need to prepare a cover letter. The cover letter should identify the 

applicant as either the person who performed the service or the survivor of a person who 

performed the service. If the applicant is the individual who performed the service, the cover 

letter should indicate if the applicant is an employee, a former employee, or an annuitant or 

compensationer, providing all appropriate claim numbers. If the applicant is a survivor of a 

person who performed the service, the cover letter should include the identifying information 

(name, date of birth, social security number) of the individual who performed the service, and 

should indicate whether or not the survivor is currently receiving a survivor annuity. Attachment 

1 of this BAL provides samples of cover letters showing the kinds of information individuals 

should include in their cover letters. 

Applying for Service Credit – Submitting the Application and Cover Letter 

As noted above, individuals applying for FERS credit for certain Government service performed 

abroad who actually performed the service and who are currently employed with the Federal 

Government should submit their application and cover letter to their employing agency’s HRO. 

The HRO will in turn submit the application and cover letter to the Department of State, at the 

following address: 

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Department of State 

Office of Retirement HR/RET, SA-1 

2401 E Street NW 

Room H-620 

Washington, DC 20522 

Individuals applying for FERS credit for certain Government service performed abroad who 

actually performed the service and who are not currently working for the Federal Government, 

and survivors of individuals who performed the service, should submit the application and cover 

letter directly to the Department of State at the address noted above. 

Applying for Service Credit – Current Employing Agency Responsibilities 

If an individual applying for FERS credit for certain Government service performed abroad 

actually performed the service and is currently working for the Federal Government, the agency 

currently employing the individual must: 

 help the individual complete the SF 3108 and prepare the cover letter, as needed; 

 complete sections 1, 2, and 3 of Part B of the SF 3108 and the certification section; 

 enter the following in section 4 of Part B of the SF 3108 “See copies of SF 50s that are 

attached to this application.”; 

 make copies of all Standard Form 50s, Notice of Personnel Action, documenting the service 

for which the individual is seeking credit, and attach them to the SF 3108; 

 prepare a summary of service showing all of the individual’s service that is creditable for 

retirement purposes; and 

 send the application package consisting of the SF 3108, the individual’s cover letter, the SF 

50s, and the summary of service to the Department of State at the address noted in the 

Applying for Service Credit – Submitting the Application and Cover Letter section of this 

BAL above.

Processing the Service Credit Application – General 

Applications for FERS credit for certain Government service performed abroad will not be 

processed by OPM. Because the requirements in section 321 of Public Law 107-228 for 

crediting that service are unique, requiring interpretations of regulations established by the 

Department of State and requiring an agency deposit, these applications will first be processed 

by the Department of State and then by the agency where the service was performed. If the 

agency where the service was performed no longer exists, the Department of State will perform 

all functions related to the processing of the application, except that the Department of State will 

not have to actually submit the agency deposit to OPM. 

Processing the Service Credit Application – Department of State Responsibilities 

The Department of State will review the documents submitted with the service credit application 

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package and determine if the service qualifies as certain Government service performed abroad 

(as defined in the law and at the beginning of this BAL), and determine if all of the requirements 

for FERS credit are met (except for those requirements pertaining to the actual payment of the 

deposits). If the application package is submitted by an individual who no longer works for the 

Government, or by a survivor, the Department of State will have to obtain the Official Personnel 

Folder of the individual who performed the service so that it can review the appropriate SF 50s 

documenting the service in question and review the relevant service history (to verify that the 

service is not otherwise creditable under FERS or another retirement system for Federal 

employees). A checklist to help the Department of State verify that the service satisfies the 

conditions for credit is included in Attachment 2 of this BAL. 

If the application for FERS credit is submitted by a survivor of the individual who performed the 

service, the Department of State needs to verify that the applicant is entitled to FERS survivor 

annuity benefits based on the service of the individual who performed the service abroad. The 

survivor should provide the Department of State with evidence demonstrating that the survivor is 

currently receiving a survivor annuity, such as a recent annuity statement or other 

correspondence from OPM showing the survivor’s claim number. If a survivor is not currently 

eligible to receive a survivor annuity, but would become eligible to receive the survivor annuity 

after crediting certain Government service performed abroad, the Department of State must 

verify that the survivor will qualify for a survivor annuity with the additional service credit. The 

Department of State should review the records in the Official Personnel Folder of the deceased 

individual, and contact OPM for information about the deceased individual’s service, if 

necessary. The Department of State can obtain information from OPM by faxing a completed 

version of the document found in Attachment 3 of this BAL to the Refund Service Credit Inquiry 

line at (724) 794-6633. Do not include a cover letter with the service inquiry request. 

(The Department of State can also use the attachment to obtain a listing of an individual’s 

service from records on file with OPM if necessary. OPM’s records are limited to Individual 

Retirement Records (SF 2806s and SF 3100s) and paid redeposit and deposit service accounts. 

OPM will generally provide the Department of State with a fax reply within two weeks of 

receiving the request.) 

If the Department of State determines that the service qualifies for FERS credit under section 

321 of Public Law 107-228, it will forward the application package (including any additional 

information it may have obtained from the Official Personnel Folder or from OPM), to the 

agency where the individual who performed the service worked while performing that service. 

At the same time, the Department of State will send the applicant a letter informing the applicant 

of its determination and informing the applicant that it is forwarding the application package to 

the agency where the service was performed for that agency to compute and process the deposits 

due for the service. The letter should clearly note that while the individual is eligible to pay a 

deposit for the service, the service is not creditable until the deposit has been paid. 

If the Department of State determines that the service does not qualify for FERS credit under 

section 321 of Public Law 107-228, it must send the applicant a written notice explaining its 

decision. The notice should also explain the applicant’s rights to appeal the decision to the Merit 

Systems Protection Board. The Department of State must defend its decision if the applicant 

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appeals. 

Processing the Service Credit Application – Responsibilities of the Agency Where the Employee 

Worked While Performing Certain Government Service Abroad 

The agency where the service was performed must process the deposit. That means the agency 

must: 

 compute the amount of the deposit the applicant must pay to obtain credit for the service; 

 send the deposit information to the applicant with instructions for paying the deposit; 

 compute the deposit amount the agency owes for the service; 

 forward the employee and employer deposit payments to OPM with all the required 

documentation; and 

 prepare a memo to be filed in the individual’s Official Personnel Folder certifying that all of 

the conditions for service credit have been met and that the service is now creditable for 

FERS retirement purposes. 

Computing the Amount of the Deposit the Applicant Must Pay 

The applicant must pay a deposit equal to the amount of FERS deductions that would have been 

withheld from the base pay of the individual who performed the service had the service been 

subject to FERS deductions, plus interest. The FERS deduction rate for 1989 was 0.94 percent. 

It was 0.8 percent from 1990 through 1998. Interest is charged at a variable rate established each 

year by the Secretary of the Treasury. Interest should be computed from the midpoint of each 

period of service through the end of the calendar year before the applicant pays the deposit. We 

have included a list of the variable interest rates from 1989 until the present in Attachment 4 of 

this BAL. 

(The midpoint of a period of service is the date that is half way between the date the service 

began and the date the service ended. For example, if the service began on April 15, 1991, and 

ended on November 8, 1992, the midpoint would be January 27 1992. To compute the midpoint, 

add the beginning date to the ending date and divide by 2. 

Add Dates Year Month Day 

Beginning Date: 1991 04 15 

Ending Date + 1992 11 08

Sum = 3983 15 23 

Divide Dates by 2 

 (Years ÷ 2) 3983 ÷ 2 = 1991 6 

(Months ÷ 2) 15 ÷ 2 = + 7 15 

(Days ÷ 2) 23 ÷ 2 = + 12 (round 11.5 days to 12) 

Midpoint 1991 13 27 

[+ 1] [- 12]

1992 01 27 

You may have to convert time if the total days exceed 30, or if the total months exceed 12. In 

our example, after dividing 3983 years, 15 months, and 23 days by 2, we ended up with 1991 

years, 13 months, and 27 days. Since the total months in this example exceed 12, we need to 

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convert the months by subtracting 12 months from the month column and adding them to the 

year column (remembering that 12 months equals 1 year) to get the midpoint – January 27, 1992. 

In converting time, 30 days equals 1 month and 12 months equals 1 year.) 

If the applicant is seeking service credit for more than one period of service, the agency 

processing the deposit must compute separate deposits for each period and provide the applicant 

with the total of all the deposits. The agency should also alert the applicant that additional 

interest may be added to the deposit if the applicant does not pay the deposit before the end of 

the calendar year when the 6-month period the applicant has to pay the deposit spans the end of a 

calendar year. 

To compute the amount of the deposit without interest, the agency processing the deposit should 

break down the employee’s base pay earnings by calendar year and apply the appropriate FERS 

employee deduction rate to those earnings. (The agency must break down the base pay earnings 

by calendar year because it will be required to show how the total deposit without interest breaks 

down by calendar year. See Completing Required Documentation below.) 

Computing the Amount of the Deposit the Agency Must Pay 

The agency processing the deposit for the applicant must also compute, and pay, a deposit equal 

to the amount of the FERS Government contributions that would have been due had the service 

been subject to FERS, plus interest. Interest should be computed from the midpoint of each 

period of service through the end of the calendar year before the applicant pays the deposit. We 

have included a list of the FERS Government contribution rates from 1989 until the present in 

Attachment 4. 

If the applicant is seeking service credit for more than one period of service, the agency 

processing the deposit must compute separate FERS Government contribution deposits for each 

period and forward to OPM the total of all the deposits. The agency will owe additional interest 

on its deposit if the applicant does not pay the employee deposit before the end of the calendar 

year (when the 6-month period the employee has to pay the deposit spans the end of a calendar 

year). 

Notifying the Applicant of the Deposit Amount Due 

After computing the amount of the deposit the applicant must pay for certain Government 

service performed abroad, the agency must provide the applicant with a statement showing the 

total amount the applicant must pay. The statement should provide instructions for making the 

payment showing: 

 when the applicant must pay the deposit (no later than 180 days after the applicant receives 

the deposit statement), 

 how the applicant can pay the deposit (in one lump sum), 

 where the applicant should send the payment, and 

 who the applicant can contact at the agency if the applicant has any questions about the 

payment. 

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The statement should also note that the applicant will owe additional interest if the payment is 

not received by the agency processing the deposit by the end of the calendar year when the 6-

month period the applicant has to pay the deposit spans the end of a calendar year. 

Forwarding the Employee and Employer Deposits to OPM 

The agency processing the deposit must use the SF 2812 system through RITS to remit both the 

employee’s portion and the agency’s portion of the deposit. The agency needs to report the 

combined employee and agency share deposits, and both interest amounts in the applicable 

Withholdings and Contributions columns on the Regular FERS line of the Standard Form (SF) 

2812. The agency does not need to make a special entry or annotate the SF 2812 for the interest 

amounts. The agency also needs to report the employee share deposit without interest when 

completing the SF 3103 according to current procedures. Agencies are reminded that they are 

not to amend previously submitted SF 2812s to accommodate the deposit payment, but to 

prepare and send a new SF 2812. The complete deposit (both the employee’s portion and the 

agency’s portion) should be remitted to OPM at the end of the established payroll cycle in which 

the payment is made. Agencies can contact the Financial Management Division at 202-606-

0666 if they have any questions about completing the SF 2812 or RITS. 

If the agency where the service was performed no longer exists and the Department of State is 

processing the deposit, the Department of State needs to only remit the applicant’s portion of the 

deposit. It still must document the agency’s portion of the deposit on the records documenting 

the service credit payment, however. (See Completing Required Documentation below.) 

Completing Required Documentation 

After the applicant completes the deposit for certain Government service performed abroad, the 

agency processing the deposit must document the service and the payment on an SF 3100, 

Individual Retirement Record (Federal Employees Retirement System). The agency should 

insert the name and appropriate identifying information of the individual who performed the 

service at the top of the SF 3100. For each period of service covered by the deposit, the agency 

should document the following information in the Service History side of the form (columns 1-

4): 

 the effective date of the appointment, the nature of action, and the beginning basic pay 

salary rate; 

 the effective dates, natures of action, and basic pay salary rates for all pay changes that 

occurred during the appointment; 

 part-time tours of duty for any service performed on a part-time work schedule, and the 

amount of time actually worked (days or hours) for any service performed on an intermittent 

work schedule (record a separate action every time the employee’s work schedule changes); 

 periods of leave without pay (record separate actions documenting every time the employee 

entered a leave without pay status and returned to pay status); and 

 the effective date the appointment ended, nature of action, and basic pay salary rate. 

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Under the Fiscal Record side of the form (columns 5-8), the agency should post the following 

information: 

 the calendar year for which the deposit was made, the applicable employee share of the 

deposit without interest for that calendar year, and the accumulative employee share of the 

deposit without interest; 

 the total employee deposit without interest (shown as “Employee Deposit Without Interest: 

[amount]”); 

 the interest on the employee deposit (shown as “Interest on Employee Deposit: [amount]”); 

 the total employee deposit with interest (shown as “Total Employee Deposit With Interest: 

[amount]”); 

 the agency deposit without interest (shown as “Agency Deposit Without Interest: 

[amount”)]; 

 the interest on the agency deposit (shown as “Interest on Agency Deposit: [amount]”); and 

 the total agency deposit with interest (shown as “Total Agency Deposit with Interest: 

[amount]”). 

The agency can place multiple periods of service on a single SF 3100, provided that each period 

of service is listed separately and recorded as instructed above. The employee shares of the 

deposit without interest for each period of service performed within a calendar year do not need 

to be listed separately; the deposits can be combined and listed as a single calendar year entry in 

the year in which the service periods were performed. 

In addition to the information described above, the agency should also certify that the service 

meets all of the requirements for service credit under section 321 of Public Law 107-228 by 

including the following statement between the Service History and Fiscal Record under the last 

service or deposit information entry: 

ALL DEPOSITS PAID IN FULL. 

EMPLOYEE AND AGENCY DEPOSITS CERTIFIED CORRECT. 

SERVICE CERTIFIED AS QUALIFYING UNDER P.L. 107-228. 

This statement should be signed and dated by an appropriate certifying official. 

The agency should also include the following statement in the Register of Separations Number 

(SF3103) section of the Individual Retirement Record: 

DEPOSIT FOR CERTAIN GOVERNMENT SERVICE PERFORMED ABROAD PURSUANT 

TO PUBLIC LAW 107-228. 

Register of separations information can be placed above this statement on the SF 3100. 

We have included an example showing how the SF 3100 should be prepared in Attachment 5. 

If the Department of State is processing the service credit application because the agency where 

the service was performed no longer exists, the Department of State should provide the 

information about the FERS Government contribution on the SF 3100 even though it will not 

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remit that amount to OPM. It should note in the agency certification that the amount of the 

FERS Government Contribution should be treated as part of the supplemental liability referred to 

in section 8423(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code. 

In addition to documenting the service on the SF 3100, the agency must provide the applicant 

with a letter documenting the creditable service, confirming that the applicant’s deposit has been 

paid in full, and stating that the service is creditable for FERS retirement under section 321 of 

Public Law 107-228. The agency should file a copy of this letter on the right side of the 

employee’s Official Personnel Folder (if it has the Official Personnel Folder), or forward a copy 

of the letter to the agency where the employee is currently employed so it can be filed in the 

Official Personnel Folder. We have provided sample language an agency could use in its letter 

in Attachment 6. 

Forwarding Documentation to OPM 

Except as noted below, after the applicant pays the deposit, and the applicant’s share and the 

agency’s share has been remitted to OPM, the agency processing the deposit must forward the 

completed SF 3100 and SF 3103 to OPM along with the application for service credit, the 

applicant’s cover letter, the personnel actions documenting the service, and documentation of the 

deposit computations. The agency should forward this information to: 

Office of Personnel Management 

Retirement Operations Center 

P.O. Box 45 

Boyers, PA 16017-0045 

The SF 3100 and other documentation should be submitted no later than 30 days after the deposit 

is remitted to OPM. 

Exception: if the applicant is the person who actually performed the Government service 

abroad, and if the applicant is a current employee of the agency processing the deposit, the 

agency processing the deposit should wait until the employee transfers, separates, or dies in 

service before sending the SF 3100 and other documentation to OPM. 

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Additional Actions Required of the Current Employing Agency 

When a current Federal employee pays the appropriate deposit necessary to make certain 

Government service he or she performed abroad creditable, the agency processing the deposit 

will send the employee’s current employing agency (if the current employing agency is different 

from the agency processing the deposit) a copy of a letter it provided the individual confirming 

that the service is now creditable. (See Attachment 6 of this BAL for sample language that could 

be used in such a letter.) The employee’s current employing agency must file that letter on the 

right side of the employee’s Official Personnel Folder. It must also recalculate the employee’s 

service computation date for retirement to include credit for the service. If and when the 

employee retires, the current employing agency must include the service on the Certified 

Summary of Federal Service (SF 3107-1), with the following remark: 

“Non-deduction service creditable for FERS retirement under section 321 of P.L. 107-228.” 

 

Robert F. Danbeck, 

Associate Director 

Division of Human Resources Products & 

Services Division 

 

Attachment 1: Sample Cover Letter Language 

Attachment 2: Checklist 

Attachment 3: Retirement Operations Center Request 

Attachment 4: Variable Interest Rates – 1989 to Present

Attachment 5: Example Individual Retirement Record 

Attachment 6: Sample Language for Letter Verifying Certain Service Performed Abroad 

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