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Do You Know Your Retirement Service Computation Date?

By Sno-Cap Agency

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

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Most federal employees are aware of their SCD (Service Computation Date) and use that date as the date that OPM (the Office of Personnel Management) uses to calculate your CSRS or FERS annuity.

What most federal employees are not aware of is that the SCD is used for annual leave calculations. OPM, at retirement, creates the Retirement Service Computation Date to calculate your CSRS and FERS annuity--not the SCD.

There is a term that all federal employees need to become familiar with: “creditable service.” The definition of creditable service is the service used by OPM to calculate the CSRS and FERS annuity. Service that is used to calculate the SCD may not be the same service used to calculate the RSCD.

The following is creditable service recognized by OPM at retirement:

1. All service whereby contributions were made to the CSRS or FERS retirement system.
2. Leave without pay: Up to 6 months or less in a calendar year.
3. Worker’s compensation (return to work before retirement)
4. Part-time: Prior to 4/7/86 all creditable. Part-time: On or after 4/7/86 creditable for eligibility, pro-rated when calculating the CSRS or FERS annuity.
5. Intermittent service: Up to 260 days in a calendar year
6. Break in service of 3 days
7. Non-deduction service (temporary or casual time). This will be different for those in the CSRS and FERS systems. Usually a deposit plus interest must be made to make this service totally creditable for retirement purposes. FERS employees can make a deposit for non-deduction service prior to 1/1/89 to make it creditable. FERS cannot make deposit for this time if it was on or after 1/1/89.
8. Re-deposit: This refers to a break in service. If the contributions to the CSRS or FERS retirement were not withdrawn, all the service is creditable. If the contributions were withdrawn, and the contributions are not fully re-deposited plus interest, the service is not fully creditable for retirement under CSRS. Under FERS, withdrawn FERS contributions, once rehired, no re-deposits are allowed and this service is not creditable at all.
9. Active Military Service: A federal employee must waive active military retirement pay at retirement to get credit for that service under their civilian service. The exceptions are combat disability and Title 10 of the Reserves.

CSRS

Military service before 1/1/57 is totally creditable with no deposit. Military service on/after1/1/57 depends on civilian service and eligibility for social security.

1. If 7% deposit is made plus interest, all military service is creditable.
2. If service in CSRS is before10/1/82 and not eligible for social security at age 62, all military service is creditable without a deposit.
3. If service in CSRS is before10/1/82 and is eligible for Social Security at age 62,and no deposit made credit is given for eligibility, however, military service is subtracted from annuity at age 62.
4. If service in CSRS is on/after 10/1/82, deposit required or no credit for military service, even for eligibility.

FERS

Military Creditable Service is the same as CSRS above concerning active military retirement pay. Also, the rule for any military service prior to 1/1/57, does not require a deposit. That service is totally creditable.

If your military service dates were on or after 1/1/57, you must deposit 3% of military pay plus interest, and then all the service is creditable. If you do not make the deposit, there is no credit at all for this military service.

The best way for a federal employee to document creditable service is to get copies of the appropriate SF-50’s and read Box 30 on the form. If Box 30 says CSRS, CSRS & FICA or FERS & FICA, then that service is creditable. If Box 30 on the SF-50 says only FICA, it may not be totally creditable or or provide any credit at all. It is not sufficient to obtain only the last or most recent SF-50. It is important to get copies of all SF-50’s. Every time federal employee has a “change in status,” an SF-50 is created. These are the forms that the Human Resource Department will use to communicate all creditable service to OPM at retirement.

Another way to document” creditable service” is submit form # SF 2801-1 for CSRS or SF3107-1 for FERS. Upon receipt of this form, the human resources (HR) department will provide a print out of all the creditable service to date. Whenever the HR department creates an SF-50, a copy is always provided to the federal employee. It is imperative to keep all copies of SF-50’s. A federal employee may request all copies of personal SF-50’s.

OTHER CREDITABLE SERVICE:

Specific statues have made some civilian service that does not meet the definition of Federal employment creditable for leave or retirement. Civilian service that is creditable for retirement is also creditable for leave accrual purposes

1. National Guard Technician Service. This category has been considered Federal service since January 1,1969. All those who have served in a National Guard Technician position since January 1, 1969, receive credit for all their service, including any pre-1969 service. Specific legislation granted limited credit for those who had only pre-1969 National Guard Technician service.
2. Non-appropriated Fund Employment (NAF) service employees may get credit for leave accrual and RIF purposes for NAF service of employees who move on or after January 1, 1987 from the Department of Defense, NAF employment to Department of Defense civil service employment, or from Coast Guard NAF employment to Coast Guard civil service employment without a break in service of more than three calendar days. Once credited, this service remains creditable during any subsequent period of civil service employment. Periods of NAF employment under retrained civil service retirement coverage are creditable for leave accrual. Other NAF service performed between 1952 and 1966 may also be creditable.
3. Vista Volunteer Service performed on and after October 1, 1973, is creditable if the person was enrolled as a volunteer for a period of at least one year. The volunteer did not have to complete the enrollment but the enrollment had to be for a period of a year or more.
4. Peace Corps Volunteer Service. Satisfactory volunteer service with the Peace Corps is creditable. The training prior to enrollment as a volunteer is not creditable; only actual volunteer time is creditable
5. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service County Committee Service. Credit is allowed for service as an employee of an Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service county committee.

In some situations, deposits plus interest may be necessary.

© 2008 Snow-Cap Agency, Inc. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced without express written consent from Snow-Cap Agency, Inc.

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