Does 12 Years Of Service Under Blended Retirement Still Qualify For Tricare?

Table of Contents

Does Military Service Count Towards Civil Service Retirement?
Tin I Collect Military Retirement and Civil Service Pay?
Let's Accept a Closer Look
Guard or Reserve Retirement with a Civil Service Alimony
The Benefits of Serving in the Civil Service After the Military
The Disadvantages of The Civil Service

Many armed services veterans are drawn to government service in their post-military careers. There is often a desire to proceed serving our nation, a sense of continuity for many, and a continuation of respectable pay and benefits. And, y'all may besides be able to utilise your military machine service toward a government pension. Let'southward take a deeper expect at how you can utilize your military service to supercharge your ceremonious service career.

A reader asks:

I served 14 years of active duty and six years in the National Guard. I received my 20-year letter of the alphabet. I began working for the mail and "bought back" my 14 years of active duty towards my postal service retirement. For example I have 12 years actual with the postal service but 26 years on the books due to the buy dorsum option.

My question is, how does this affect my retirement through the National Guard when I attain age 60? Volition I receive retirement pay for only my six years served in National Baby-sit, or for the full 20 years of war machine service?

I gauge what I am asking if it was "benign" for me to purchase back my military time. Do I lose the six years of National Guard fourth dimension if I buy back my fourteen years of active duty time? I suppose I am a little confused as to what happens to the six years for National Guard time since the fourth dimension spent in the Guard after the buy dorsum would be less than 20 years.

Does Armed services Service Count Towards Civil Service Retirement?

The short reply is Yep if you want it to.

Federal employees who are veterans can receive retirement credit for military service once they make a deposit into a civilian service annuity roofing their military service. This blended retirement system is known equally a armed services purchase-back dominion and varies based on the year the veteran became employed by the federal Government.

There are some important things to know nearly how a war machine pension and ceremonious service pension work together

Most military retirees are barred from receiving credit toward a civilian annuity unless they waive their armed services retired pay. Y'all can't receive credit for whatsoever active service in your Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) civil service retirement system computation if you are receiving military retired pay, unless you were awarded the retired pay:

Due to a service-connected disability either incurred in combat with an enemy of the United States or acquired by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a period of state of war, or
Under the provisions of Affiliate 1223, Title 10, United statesC. (pertaining to retirement from a reserve component of the Armed Forces).

Detailed information regarding creditable military service for retirement purposes is in the Federal Employees Retirement System Transfer Handbook on the Office of Personnel Management's website.

Can I Collect Military machine Retirement and Ceremonious Service Pay?

Yes, you can collect military retirement benefits and work in the ceremonious service as well. The complications ascend when determining how yous want to handle your civil service retirement.

Military retirement pay does not completely replace military machine income, which is why some military members await at a civil service career. Retiring in a federal service job can enhance retirement pay, only there are factors that require the employee to consider some of import alterations to their retirement plans. You can't draw both armed forces and federal retirement for the aforementioned span of time. This is known every bit double-dipping.

You take two options:

Forfeit military retirement pay and purchase into the federal retirement plan.
The other option is not to buy in, and to kickoff fresh with federal service with no credit for fourth dimension served in the military. This means y'all start from year zero as a federal employee and begin building creditable noncombatant service toward federal retirement while maintaining your military pension.

Let's Take a Closer Expect

This is a great question on a very confusing effect. (If there's anything more complicated than retiring from the armed services, it's retiring from federal civil service.) Federal law entitles military veterans who become federal civil service employees to receive credit for their war machine service by "ownership back" their active duty fourth dimension. The money they pay to the Federal Employees Retirement Organisation pension fund for each yr of their agile-duty time gives them an boosted year of credit toward their FERS pension.

For veterans inbound federal ceremonious service after active duty,the armed forces service credit deposit is a fantastic fashion to boost the civil service alimony. When our reader left active duty after 14 years, they were not eligible for a military pension. The only way to receive some sort of retirement benefit for those years of active duty is to transfer to the Reserves or National Guard… or showtime a bridge career with the federal civil service.

In this case, the reader paid a meaningful sum of money (out of their own savings) to exist credited with an boosted fourteen years of time for their civil-service pension.In most cases, that investment is a smashing move! They're eligible for a larger alimony (because they paid for it) and they receive additional credit toward two more civil-service seniority benefits.

Guard or Reserve Retirement with a Ceremonious Service Pension

At present the reader has a proficient deal on federal civil-service retirement.But what happens when they continue to drill with the National Guard and then qualify for that pension as well?

The result behind the reader'south National Guard retirement question is the blazon of military machine service:

less than xx years of active duty without qualifying for an agile-duty pension, or
xx years (or more) of active duty resulting in an active-duty pension, or
a combination of active duty and more years in the Reserve or National Baby-sit, resulting in a Reserve/Guard pension at age 60.

ane. In the beginning instance, the veteran could purchase back that time toward a federal ceremonious service pension with the military machine service credit deposit.

two. In the second instance, federal laws against "double dipping" would require the armed forces retiree to waive their military retirement pay if they buy the civil service's war machine service credit deposit. This is a bad financial motility. Military retirees could still request two other civil-service benefits which are based on their agile-duty service, and those benefits are worth applying for.

3.Federal law makes an exception! The federal civil service employee tin still make a military service credit deposit for their years of active duty, and they tin also receive a Reserve/Guard pension. They've earned that Reserve/Guard pension on their own and they haven't bought it as a credit, fifty-fifty though they took the credit for their active-duty service.

I realize that this looks also good to be true. (A great deal from both the military and the federal civil service?!?) A Reserve/Guard retirement is handled under Affiliate 1223 of federal law (10 UsC. 12731). The details of the civil-service exception are in Chapter 22 of the CSRS/FERS Handbook. Here's the quote from Chapter 22 section 22A4.1-1 of the CSRS/FERS Handbook.

The specific rule from the "Receipt of Military Retired Pay" section is in the third bullet point:

In determining eligibility for CSRS retirement or in estimating the corporeality of annuity for an employee (special rules for survivors of employees who die in service are covered in Chapter 70), who receives military retired or servant pay, practise not requite credit for whatsoever military service at the date of separation for civilian retirement unless one of the post-obit is truthful.

2. The employee is receiving military retired pay that was awarded:
On account of a service-connected inability incurred in combat with an enemy of the United States; or

On account of a service-connected disability caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a flow of war; or
Under the provisions of 10 UsaC. 12731-12739 (Affiliate 1223) which grants retired pay to members of reserve components of the war machine on the basis of age and service (agile and reserve).

For those who've noted that the section refers to the onetime CSRS pension system, not the current FERS pension, it'due south covered under section 22B1.1-ane.C "Applicative CSRS Provisions":

The following sections and parts of subchapter 22A apply to FERS employees:
Part 22A4: Receipt of Military Retired Pay .

The Benefits of Serving in the Civil Service After the Military

The most obvious benefit is that you tin broaden your retirement with civil service pay after a full military career.

Compensation packages are excellent and most include regular basic pay raises, a pension plan, health benefits, long term health insurance, dental and eye insurance, life insurance, alternative work schedules, and options to piece of work at home. Some agencies fifty-fifty help pay for student loans and offering other incentives.

In that location are only five executive core qualifications (ECQs) when you apply for a position, and they are exactly the aforementioned for every position:

Leading People
Leading Modify
Business Acumen
Results
Building Coalitions

The Office of personnel management (OPM) has specific guidance on how to write ECQs, including format and length

In that location are ii types of job announcements: Merit Promotion and Delegated Examining Unit (DEU).

Merit Promotion announcements recruit from existing or former civil servants.
DEU announcements are used to recruit from the general public. Military personnel and veterans tin employ for Merit Promotion announcements under a law called VEOA – the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.

For many DEU applications, Veterans' Preference (VP) – gives you an reward because of your veteran status. Veterans with a service-related disability rating from the VA are eligible for additional preferences.

If the task annunciation says "relocation expenses will be paid," or like linguistic communication, then the bureau will pay for some or all of your movement.

The Disadvantages of The Civil Service

You'll take lots of competition when y'all apply for a job. The process isn't quick or easy.

A Federal resume is not the same as a typical corporate resume. It's a lot more than comprehensive and requires boosted information.

If you're hired, ceremonious service salaries are fix, although there is some room for negotiation. Wait the offer to be at the minimum amount (Stride ane) of the appropriate grade.

While there are no restrictions on applying for civil service positions in other federal agencies, if you are a retired fellow member of the war machine, you cannot be appointed to a civilian position in DoD within 180 days later on retirement, with a few select exceptions.

Y'all should also know that you will probably exist dismissed from ceremonious service if your application is falsified. Also, on your commencement mean solar day, you will accept an oath of office. It's similar to the adjuration yous took while on active duty.

Ane other thing, all federal jobs require a National Agency Check and some positions crave clearances or trust investigations.

Bottom line: if you serve in the Reserve or National Guard and likewise work in the federal ceremonious service, then you tin can have your military service credit deposit and still receive your full Reserve/Guard pension. Y'all've earned both of them!

Military Guide to Fiscal Independence

This book provides servicemembers, veterans, and their families with a critical roadmap for becoming financially independent. Topics include:

Military alimony
TSP
Tricare Health System
& More

Doug Noordman is a United States Navy submarine force veteran with xx years of service. Noordman retired in 2002 and wrote "The Military machine Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement" to share the stories of over 50 other financially independent servicemembers, veterans, and families. Noordman donates 100% of the revenue from his volume sales to military-friendly charities.