CSRS Civil Service

Re tire ment 

Sys tem 

Retirement 

Facts 

9 

Re funds 

Un der the 

Civil Service 

Re tire ment 

System 

RI 83-9 

March 1995 edition is usable Re vised October 1997

United States 

Office of 

Personnel 

Management 

Retirement and 

Insurance 

Service 
Ad di tional retire ment infor ma tion and all 

pub li ca tions of the U.S. Office of Person nel 

Man age ment listed in the pamphlet are available 

on the Internet. 

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

Page 

In tro duc tion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
 

Eli gi bil ity Require ments . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
 

Pos si ble Advan tage of
 

Leav ing Contri bu tions in the Fund . . . . . 2
 

In ter est . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
 

How to Obtain a Refund . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
 

Ad di tional Infor ma tion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
 

i 
In tro duc tion 

This pamphlet is for Federal employees who are 

cov ered by the Civil Service Retirement System 

(CSRS) and who want general informa tion about 

refunds of CSRS contri bu tions. For further informa tion concern ing refunds of CSRS contri butions, you should contact your last employing 

office. 

Eli gi bil ity Require ments 

You may receive a refund of your Civil Service 

Retire ment System (CSRS) contri bu tions if: 

1. You separate from Federal service for at least 

31 consecu tive days; or you transfer to a position in which you are not subject to CSRS 

deduc tions or deductions under the Federal 

Employ ees Retirement System (FERS), and 

you remain in such a position for at least 31 

con secu tive days; 

2. You file an applica tion for a refund of your 

retire ment contri bu tions with the U.S. Office 

of Person nel Manage ment (OPM); 

3.	 You are not reemployed in a position subject 

to retirement deductions at the time you file 

an applica tion for a refund; 

4. You will not become eligi ble to receive an 

annu ity within 31 days after filing the applica tion; 

5. You notify your spouse and any former 

spouse that you have filed an applica tion for 

a refund (Note: Under the CSRS, you do not 

have to notify a former spouse if you were 

divorced before May 7, 1985, or if your marriage to that person lasted less than 9 months, 

or if you had less than 18 months of 

retirement - covered service); and 

1 
6. Your receipt of the refund would not end the 

court - ordered right of any spouse or former 

spouse to future benefits based on your service. 

Regard less of your length of service, if you leave 

Gov ern ment service for any reason or transfer to 

another Federal job under another retirement system, you may withdraw your contri bu tions under 

the above condi tions. Gener ally speaking, your 

receipt of a refund of retirement contri bu tions 

voids any future annuity rights unless you are 

later reemployed under the CSRS or FERS and 

work long enough to earn new retirement rights. 

Remem ber that only the amount you have paid in 

can be refunded to you — the agency contri bu tion 

remains in the Retirement Fund. 

Pos si ble Advan tage of Leaving 

Con tri bu tions in the Fund 

Employ ees with 5 years or more under the CSRS 

are eligi ble for a deferred annuity at age 62. You 

may find that the value of the deferred annuity 

will exceed the amount of your refund. 

There are additional Retirement Facts publi cations on comput ing the amount of retirement 

bene fits and deposits and redepos its; these should 

help you decide whether to withdraw your contribu tions or leave them in for a deferred annuity. 

You should also check on the “govern ment pension offset” and “windfall elimina tion” which 

may affect your Social Security benefits, if you 

are eligi ble for a CSRS annuity, with your Social 

Secu rity office. 

Leav ing your contri bu tions in does not prevent 

you from requesting a future refund, provided you 

file an applica tion for refund with OPM at least 

31 days before the commenc ing date of your 

deferred annuity. 

2 
If you have not withdrawn your contri bu tions and 

should die before attaining age 62, a lump sum of 

the total of your contri bu tions would be paid to 

your survi vors as a death benefit. 

In ter est 

You are not paid interest on a refund of CSRS 

con tri bu tions if the contri bu tions cover a period(s) of service totaling less than 1 year or if you 

have more than 5 years of total service (unless the

serv ice was performed prior to December 31, 

1956). In other words, interest is gener ally payable on a refund of contri bu tions cover ing service 

of 1 to 5 years. Any interest due you is paid at 

the rate of 3 percent, compounded annually, to the 

date you separated or became eligi ble for a refund 

by virtue of a transfer. Interest does not accrue 

after your separa tion or transfer. No additional 

inter est would be due you, for example, if you 

waited 2 years before applying for a refund. 

How to Obtain a Refund 

If you meet the eligi bil ity requirements for a 

refund and want to apply for a return of your contri bu tions, you should file an Appli ca tion for 

Refund of Retirement Contri bu tions, Standard 

Form 2802. 

The applica tion form is available from your 

former agency and should be filed through that 

agency if you have been separated for less than 

30 days. If you have been separated for more than 

30 days, the form should be submit ted to the: 

U.S. Office of Person nel Manage ment
 

P. O. Box 45
 

Boy ers, PA 16017-0045.
 

Refund applica tion forms can also be requested 

from this address. 

3 
Ad di tional Infor ma tion 

You may obtain copies of the pamphlets listed 

below from your person nel office, from OPM’s 

Inter net site (http:\\www.opm.gov\asd), or from 

OPM ONLINE (OPM’s electronic bulle tin board) 

at 202-606- 4800. To access OPM ONLINE, your 

com mu ni ca tions software should be set to the follow ing: 

Baud: Up to 28,800
 

Par ity: None
 

Data bits: 8
 

Stop bit: 1
 

The pamphlets in the CSRS Retirement Facts 

Series are: 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #1 - The Civil Service 

Re tire ment System (RI 83-1) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #2 - Military Service Credit 

Un der the Civil Service Retire ment System 

(RI 83-2) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #3 - Depos its and Rede pos its 

Un der the Civil Service Retire ment System 

(RI 83-3) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #4 - Disabil ity Retire ment 

Un der the Civil Service Retire ment System 

(RI 83-4) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #5 - Survi vor Benefits Under 

the Civil Service Retire ment System (RI 83-5) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #6 - Early Retire ment Under 

the Civil Service Retire ment System (RI 83-6) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #7 - Comput ing Retire ment 

Bene fits Under the Civil Service Retire ment 

Sys tem (RI 83-7) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #8 - Credit for Unused Sick 

Leave Under the Civil Service Retire ment 

Sys tem (RI 83-8) 

•	 Re tire ment Facts #9 - Refunds Under the Civil 

Serv ice Retire ment System (RI 83-9) 

4 
•	 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 and Federal 

Employ ees Retirement System are: 

•	 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 #2 - Infor ma tion About 

Re em ploy ment for FERS Annui tants (RI 90-18) 

5 
For employees who are eligi ble to transfer to the 

FERS: 

•	 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: 

•	 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 Health Benefits Guide 

(RI 70-1) 

•	 Fed eral Employ ees Group Life Booklet 

(RI 76- 21) 

6 
Re tire ment & Insur ance Service 

Serv ing over 10 million custom ers, Federal employ ees, 

an nui tants, and their families.