FERS Eligibility for Retirement Benefits
FERS Eligibility for retirement benefits is determined by your age at retirement, your number of years of creditable service, and in certain circumstances, what type of retirement you chose when first becoming eligible. In some cases, you must have reached the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) to receive retirement benefits. This article discusses eligibility issues.
Minimum Retirement Age
Your minimum retirement age depends on when you were born. Here is a schedule for determining your MRA:
| If you were born | Your MRA is |
| Before 1948 | 55 |
| In 1948 | 55 and 2 months |
| In 1949 | 55 and 4 months |
| In 1950 | 55 and 6 months |
| In 1951 | 55 and 8 months |
| In 1952 | 55 and 10 months |
| In 1953 through 1964 | 56 |
| In 1965 | 56 and 2 months |
| In 1966 | 56 and 4 months |
| In 1967 | 56 and 6 months |
| In 1968 | 56 and 8 months |
| In 1969 | 56 and 10 months |
| In 1970 and after | 57 |
| Requirements for Retirement The requirements for retirement under FERS are as follows:
*The earliest a FERS employee may retire with “immediate” optional retirement benefits is when he or she reaches the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA). |
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Immediate Retirement
An immediate retirement benefit is one that starts within 30 days from the date you stop working. If you meet one of the following sets of age and service requirements, you are entitled to an immediate retirement benefit:
| Age | Years of Service |
| 62 | 5 |
| 60 | 20 |
| MRA | 30 |
| MRA | 10 |
If you retire at your MRA with at least 10, but less than 30 years of service, your benefit will be reduced by 5% a year for each year you are under 62, unless you have 20 years of service and your benefit starts when you reach age 60 or later.
Early Retirement
The early retirement benefit is available in certain involuntary separation cases and in cases of voluntary separations during a major reorganization or reduction in force. To be eligible, you must meet the following minimum requirements:
Age ` Years of Service
50 20
Any Age 25
Deferred Retirement
Deferred retirement refers to the delayed payment of benefits until certain criteria are met, as follows:
If you leave federal service before you meet the age and service requirements for an immediate retirement benefit, you may be eligible for deferred retirement benefits. To be eligible, you must have completed at least 5 years of creditable civilian service. You may receive benefits when you reach one of the following ages: age 62 with 5 years of service; your Minimum Retirement Age and 30 years of service; or your Minimum Retirement Age and 10 years of service.
Disability Retirement
You are eligible for disability retirement at any age as long as you have at least 18 months of service. There are, however, special requirements for disability retirements, as follows:
- 1. The employee must have become disabled for useful and efficient service in his or her current position, because of a disease or injury in your current position.
- 2. The disability must be expected to last at least one year.
- 3. The employee’s Agency must certify that it is unable to accommodate his or her disabling medical condition in his or her present position and
- 4. The employee’s Agency has considered the employee for any vacant position in the same agency at the same grade/pay level, within the same commuting area, for which he or she is qualified for reassignment.
Post-Federal-Service FERS Annuity
Many people leave federal service for the private sector and often forget about their FERS contributions and annuity. If you worked for the civil service or postal service for at least five years before leaving federal service and didn’t withdraw your funds, you can either collect a FERS annuity as early as age 60 with 20 years of service or at age 62 with 5 years of service or accept a lump-sum payment. The annuity is computed as a regular FERS annuity.
