Early Retirement in Federal Employment
Federal employees may retire early from the workforce under special circumstances. Early retirement that is extended to employees could be either voluntary or involuntary. Employees should speak with their human-resources specialist to explore all options before making the decision to retire from the federal workforce.
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Retirement Systems
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Federal government employees are funded either by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Since 1987, all new civilian federal employees have been covered by FERS.
Eligibility
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Eligibility for early retirement from the federal workforce is based on age and years of service. A federal employee is eligible for early retirement at the age of 50 with a minimum of 20 years of service or at any age with a minimum of 25 years of service.
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Voluntary Incentive
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Agencies that need to reorganize and downsize must seek authorization from the Office of Personnel Management before offering employees a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) or a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP). A VERA allows employees to voluntarily retire or resign to avoid potential loss of their position by an agency reduction in force. A VSIP or buyout is a monetary incentive (as much as $25,000) offered to employees to voluntarily separate from federal service.
Involuntary Action
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A Discontinued Service Retirement (DSR) is an involuntary action, forcing an employee into regular or early retirement. The reasons for a DSR include abolishment of an employee's position, reduction in force, and reassignment of duties outside the employee's commuting area.
Considerations
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Personal budget planning Annuities are reduced for federal employees who accept an early retirement offer. Employees need to carefully weigh their options and make sure that their financial outlook is stable.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Jacob Bøtter Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Casey Serin
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Comments
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Is there a possibility a single mother, a Federal Employee, mother of a Fragil X son; who has just been treated with radition for testicular cancer, and he is not understanding the emergency of all of this, can she get help here, through a Full Disability or Early Retirement? After all, she IS unable to work. She even missed her scheduled Retirement training yesterday. Any help or advice how to proceed with this is appreciated.
