Can LEO Employees Extend Their Service Outside of Law Enforcement to Become Eligible for the 1.1% Annuity Computation?

Can a law enforcement employee extend working years in a non-law enforcement capacity to become eligible for the 1.1% FERS annuity calculation?

Q: Is it possible for an employee who did the 20 year minimum in a law enforcement (LEO) agency to lateral over to a non-LEO capacity to continue working to 62, or earn 30 working years? If so, will said employee be eligible for the 1.1% annuity calculation instead of the 1%, earned after the 20 years of 1.7% as an LEO?

A:

  1. Yes it is possible to transfer to a non-LEO position to extend your service.
  2. No it will not make one eligible for the 1.1% factor.  Those covered under the special provisions for LEOs, etc. are specifically excluded from the 1.1% computation factor.

About the Author

John Grobe is the former President of Federal Career Experts, a firm that provides pre-retirement training and seminars to a wide variety of federal agencies.