A special 20-year retirement system was created for certain designated positions which require employees to meet vigorous physical demands. Because of the physical demands, this retirement system allows employees to retire sooner, with just 20 years of service. It also includes a mandatory retirement when the employee reaches a designated age or years of service.
Eligibility to retire under the special 20-year provision depends on the both the retirement system (CSRS or FERS) and the position.
Positions covered under the 20-year retirement system
Check Block 30 of your Notification of Personnel action, SF-50. If you are covered under the special retirement system, the retirement code will be either:
CSRS
Retirement Eligibility |
|
Law
Enforcement Officers (LEO),
Firefighters (FF), and Nuclear Weapons Couriers (NWC) |
|
|
Years
of Service |
50 |
20 |
Note: You must have 3
years primary coverage first, followed by secondary coverage with no
break. |
FERS
Retirement Eligibility
|
|
Law
Enforcement Officers (LEO), Firefighters
(FF), and Nuclear Weapons Couriers (NWC) |
|
Age |
Years
of Service |
50 |
20 |
Any Age |
25 (at least 3 years primary) |
Note: You must have 3 years primary coverage first, followed by
secondary coverage with no break. |
CSRS
and FERS Eligibility |
|
Air
Traffic Controllers (ATC) |
|
Age |
Years
of Service |
50 |
20 |
Any Age |
25 |
Under both CSRS and FERS, the payroll deductions for CSRS/FERS are ½ percent more than for regular federal employees. Under the special provisions for FERS, the payroll deduction is 1.3% and for CSRS, the payroll deduction is 7.5%.
To meet the goal of maintaining a young and vigorous work force, a mandatory separation provision applies to these positions. Employees must be separated when they meet specific age and service requirements. The law does allow departmental agency heads to waive mandatory retirement when it is in the public interest.
Mandatory Retirement |
||
Group |
Age |
Years
of Service |
LEO/FF/NWC |
57 |
20 |
ATC |
56 |
20 |
Employees without 20 years of covered service at age 56 or 57, are separated at the end of the month in which they attain 20 years of covered service. If an employee is no longer in a position under the special retirement provisions, the mandatory separation provisions do not apply.
The law also allows federal agencies to establish maximum entry age of 36 or
37, which allows the employee to attain the 20 years of service before the
mandatory retirement age.