Under CSRS, you must have at least 5 years of creditable civilian service to be eligible for an annuity. Additionally, you must be subject to CSRS for 1 out of the 2 years of service before separation on which your retirement is based (this requirement does not apply in disability retirement cases).

Immediate Retirement Age Years of Service 62 5 60 20 55 30

If you retire on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd of the month, your annuity will commence the next day. If your retirement date is on the 4th day of the month or later, your annuity will commence on the 1st day of the month following the month in which you retired.

Early Retirement

Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) Age Years of Service 50 20 Any Age 25

Annuity commences the first day following the date separation. Your annuity is reduced by 2% for each year you are under age 55.

Discontinued Service – Involuntary Age Years of Service 50 20 Any Age 25

Annuity commences the first day following the date of the involuntary separation. Your annuity is reduced by 2% for each year you are under age 55.

Disability Retirement Age Years of Service Any Age 5

Annuity commences the last day of pay or the day following your date of separation. A redeposit may be required to make refunded service creditable.

Deferred Retirement

Deferred Retirement Age Years of Service 62 5

You must not have taken a refund of retirement deductions for the last period of service. In a deferred retirement, you will have no credit for unused sick leave, or have your life and health insurance reinstated. You, as the former employee, should apply to OPM approximately 3 months before your 62nd birthday. Annuity will commence on your 62nd birthday.

The amount of an annuity is determined by:

• Length of service
• Length of service for annuity computation purposes is based on whole months (30 days). To determine the total length of service for annuity computation purposes, add all creditable civilian and military service and the period represented by the unused sick leave; then eliminate any fractional part of the month (remaining days).
• High-3 average basic pay
• The high-3 average pay is the largest annual rate resulting from averaging your rates of basic pay in effect over any period of 3 consecutive years of creditable civilian service, with each rate weighted by the length of time it was in effect. Normally, the highest rate of pay will be the last three years of work.

Basic pay includes locality pay, environmental differential pay for certain employees, night differential pay for wage grade employees, premium pay for firefighters and law enforcement officers. It does not include bonuses, allowances, occasional overtime pay, military pay, cash awards, or holiday pay. The basic pay for employees paid at other than an annual rate is determined by multiplying the basic rate of pay by the appropriate unit (for example; hourly rate of pay x 2087 hours).

For intermittent employees, the basic pay is determined by multiplying the basic rate of pay per day by the actual number of days worked at that rate.

For part-time service performed prior to April 7, 1986, the basic pay rate is the pay applicable to the pre-arranged tour of duty. For part-time service on and after April 7, 1986, the average salary will be computed using the full-time salary of the position. This computation will be reduced by a proration factor that reflects only the part-time service.

Your basic annuity is computed based on your length of service (including unused sick leave if you retire on an immediate annuity) and your 'high-3' average salary. The basic formula is as follows:

• First 5 years of service x 1-1/2 percent of your high-3 average salary PLUS
• Number of years of service from 6 to 10 years x 1-3/4 percent of your high-3 average salary PLUS
• Number of years of service over 10 years x 2 percent of your high-3 average salary

A simple way to calculate this is to take your years of service, SUBTRACT TWO and MULTIPLY by TWO. This will give you a very close estimate of the percentage of your high-3 average salary that you will receive in retirement.

Your annuity will be increased periodically by cost-of-living increases that occur after you retire. Your initial cost-of-living increase will be prorated based on how long you have been retired when that cost-of-living increase is granted.

Deposit service or Non-deduction service is the period of service during which retirement contributions were not withheld from your salary, i.e.; temporary appointments.

Deposit service is creditable toward eligibility for a CSRS annuity. Generally, deposit service performed before October 1, 1982, is creditable in the annuity computation; however, if you do not make a deposit to cover the service, the annual annuity is permanently reduced by 10 percent of the deposit due.

Deposit service performed on or after October 1, 1982, is not creditable for computation purposes (other than average salary) unless you pay the deposit.

Redeposit service (often referred to as refunded service) is any period of creditable civilian service for which retirement deductions were taken and later refunded upon your separation from service.

Payment is not required for refunded service to be creditable towards meeting CSRS retirement eligibility; however if the refunded service was performed on or after October 1, 1990, you must pay the redeposit in order to receive credit for the service toward your annuity computation. Refunded service performed before October 1, 1990, for which no redeposit is made reduces the annuity based upon an actuarial table.

You are encouraged to contact your PCR or servicing PMT as soon as possible if you to have deposit or redeposit service to obtain information regarding the amounts of payment required and procedures for making the deposit or redeposit. These types of payments also accrue interest normally at a variable interest which can be costly.

As a general rule, military service in the Armed Forces of the United States is creditable for retirement purposes if it was active service terminated under honorable conditions and performed prior to your separation from civilian service. Military service performed on or after January 1, 1957 is normally creditable for Social Security benefits at age 62.

Individuals first employed before October 1, 1982, have the option of either (1) making a 7 percent deposit, plus interest, for post-1956 military service, thereby avoiding a reduction in their CSRS annuity at age 62, or (2) not making the deposit and having their annuities reduced at age 62 IF they are then eligible for Social Security benefits.

Employees first hired by the Federal Government on or after October 1, 1982, must make the deposit for military service or receive no credit at all, including to meet eligibility to retire, for military service.

A CSRS disability annuitant receives the higher of : (1) the amount obtained under the general formula for computing the basic annual annuity (the "earned annuity"); or (2) the "guaranteed minimum" disability annuity.

The guaranteed minimum annuity is the lesser of: (a) 40 percent of your "high-3" average pay, or (b) the regular annuity obtained after increasing your service by the time between your retirement and your 60th birthday. This guaranteed minimum applies if you are under age 60 when you retire and your earned annuity based on your actual service is less than this minimum.

Exception: The guaranteed minimum does not apply if you are receiving military retired pay and/or VA compensation in lieu of all or part of the military retired pay. However, if your earned annuity plus your military benefit (or compensation) is less than what it would have been under the guaranteed minimum, the annuity is increased to bring it up to that level.

If you die while in a position covered by CSRS retirement and after completing at least 18 months of creditable civilian service your widow(er) will get an annuity, provided you were married for at least 9 months. The 9-month requirement does not apply if your death is accidental or there is a child of the marriage.

Generally, your widow(er) is entitled to 55 percent of the basic annuity earned by your creditable service and average salary. However, if it will produce a higher annuity, your widow(er) will receive 55 percent of the guaranteed minimum benefit described under "Disability Retirement."

Note: if you have a former spouse from whom you were divorced after May 6, 1985, he or she may receive, by court order all or a part of the annuity that your widow(er) would otherwise get.

Your unmarried dependent children will also be entitled to annuities if you die in service. Their annuities will continue until they reach age 18--or age 22 if they remain in school full-time. The annuity of a child who is incapable of self-support because of a disability incurred before age 18 will continue indefinitely unless the child becomes capable of self-support.

If you have no eligible survivor annuitant at the time of death, a lump-sum payment of your retirement contributions is payable to your designated beneficiary or in the absence of a designated beneficiary, in the order of precedence established under Federal statue.

If you are married when you retire, your annuity will be reduced to provide a full survivor annuity for your spouse (unless he or she consents to a lesser benefit).

To provide for a survivor annuity, your annuity will be reduced by 2.5 percent of the first $3,600, plus 10 percent of the annuity over $3,600. The survivor annuity will be 55 percent of the amount of your annuity before this reduction.

Note: If you were divorced after May 6, 1985, your former spouse may receive by court order, all or part of the survivor annuity that your current spouse would otherwise get. You can also elect a survivor annuity for a former spouse (but if you are married, you must have spousal consent).

If you are not retiring for disability, and are in reasonably good health, you can provide a survivor annuity for a person who has an "insurable interest" in you such as a relative who is in your care, or a current spouse who would not otherwise get a survivor annuity because of a court-ordered award to a former spouse. To provide this benefit, your annuity would be reduced from 10 to 40 percent depending on the difference in your age and the age of the person named. This reduction would be added to any reduction required to provide a survivor annuity for a spouse or former spouse.

You are a "CSRS Offset" employee if you are one of the employees covered by CSRS and Social Security at the same time. You will be eligible to receive a CSRS annuity just as if you were covered by CSRS alone, except that the annuity payment will be reduced when you become eligible for Social Security benefits (usually at age 62). The amount of the reduction will be the amount of the Social Security benefit attributable to your service after 1983 that was covered by both CSRS and Social Security. A survivor annuity based on your service will be reduced for any survivor Social Security benefits in the same manner.