Q: In many FedSmith articles on retirement I see the phrase “creditable civilian service”; what exactly does that mean?
A: Creditable civilian service is service that counts towards your eligibility to retire under the CSRS or FERS retirement systems. The definitions are slightly different between the two systems, so I have listed both definitions. These definitions were taken from my book The Answer Book on Your Federal Employee Benefits, published by LRP.
For CSRS, creditable service is service where you are covered by the CSRS retirement system (e.g., a career or career conditional appointment). Once an individual is covered by CSRS, non-creditable service can become creditable (e.g., temporary service). No credit is given for temporary service that took place after 09/30/1982 unless a deposit is made to the retirement fund to cover that time (if the temporary time took place on or before that date it is creditable whether or not a deposit has been made). Credit is given for retirement eligibility for re-deposit service (i.e., service for which you withdrew your retirement contributions), whether or not the re-deposit is made.
For FERS, creditable service is service where you are covered by the FERS retirement system (e.g., a career or career conditional appointment). No credit is given for temporary service unless a deposit is made to the retirement fund to cover that time. Deposits can only be made for temporary service that occurred before 01/01/1989, with the exception of Peace Corps or VISTA service. Credit is given for retirement eligibility for re-deposit service (i.e., service for which you withdrew your retirement contributions), whether or not the re-deposit is made.
