On May 13, 2011, the Office of Personnel Management granted Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which allows the Department to offer all employees who meet the eligibility requirements to apply for an early retirement, also referred to as “early out.”
Employees who are interested in taking advantage of the VERA must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Covered by Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), and
- Are 50 years old and have more than 20 years of service or are any age with 25 years of service, and
- Are not in a VERA-excluded occupation: Veterinary Medical Officer, GS-0701, or Information Technology Specialist (Security), GS-2210, grade 9 and above, and
- Have been on the agency rolls at least 30 days prior to May 6, 2011, and
- Are not serving under a time-limited appointment, and
- Have not received a notice of involuntarily separation for misconduct or unsatisfactory performance, and
- Retirement date must be on or before the VERA expiration date.
The VERA offer begins June 1 and runs through August 30, 2011. Employees must retire no later than October 3, 2011.
For more information, see the VERA announcement.
