Employee Retirement Contributions
CSRS employee contributions are 7% and agency contributions are 7%. FERS employee retirement contributions are 0.8% and agency contributions are 11.2%. If an employee is in a covered position, retirement contributions are mandatory and are automatically withheld.
Retirement Eligibility Requirements
There are currently five options for retirement. Employees must meet the age and service requirements under each category. Age and service requirements will differ for CSRS and FERS; therefore, employees should utilize the Benefits Line by calling EBIS or going to the www.opm.gov/retire site to obtain detailed information:
Voluntary/Optional Retirement is available to employees who have met the age and service requirements to retire voluntarily with an immediate annuity without any reduction.
Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA)/Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) is an option used to assist an agency in completing a major personnel or workload change, such as a major Reduction-in-Force, with minimum disruption (otherwise known as an “early out” option).
Discontinued Service Retirement (DSR) is a type of retirement available to employees who are involuntarily separated and who receive a written notice of involuntary separation. The involuntary separation cannot be due to misconduct.
Deferred Retirement is a type of retirement where employees separate from government service prior to meeting the age and service requirements necessary for immediate annuity.
Disability Retirement is an option of retirement available to employees who are unable to perform the duties of their position due to a physical or mental disability that is expected to last at least one (1) year. The disability does not have to be work related in order to receive an annuity from OPM.
CSRS Retirement Options and Age Requirements
Voluntary/Optional Retirement Age Requirements:
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| 55 | 30 years |
| 60 | 20 years |
| 62 | 5 years* |
* Minimum amount of creditable civilian service is 5 years.
VERA/VSIP Age Requirements:
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| Any Age | 25 years |
| 50 | 20 years |
Discontinued Service Retirement Age Requirements:
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| Any Age | 25 years |
| 50 | 20 years |
Deferred Retirement Age Requirements:
A CSRS employee may apply for deferred retirement at age 62. Employees must have 5 years of creditable civilian service and must not be eligible for immediate annuity. Retirement contributions cannot have been withdrawn. Employees who opt for this retirement may not reinstate health insurance and life insurance. Submit application directly to OPM via the OPM-1496 form.
Disability Retirement Age Requirement:
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| Any Age | 5 years |
Depending on whether employee is covered under CSRS or the CSRS Offset will determine whether or not the employee will be required to apply for Social Securitydisability. CSRS Offset employees must apply for Social Security Disability. Employees covered under CSRS will fill out the SF 2801 and SF-3112 forms to apply for disability retirement.
FERS Retirement Options and Age Requirements
Voluntary/Optional Retirement Age Requirements:
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| MRA (55-57) | 30 years |
| 60 | 20 years |
| 62 | 5 years |
| *MRA+ | 10 years |
* Minimum amount of creditable civilian service is 5 years.
Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) Chart:
| Birth Year | MRA |
| Before 1948 | 55 years |
| 1948 | 55 years, 2 months |
| 1949 | 55 years, 4 months |
| 1950 | 55 years, 6 months |
| 1951 | 55 years, 8 months |
| 1952 | 55 years, 10 months |
| 1953-1964 | 56 years |
| 1965 | 56 years, 2 months |
| 1966 | 56 years, 4 months |
| 1967 | 56 years, 6 months |
| 1968 | 56 years, 8 months |
| 1969 | 56 years, 10 months |
| After 1969 | 57 years |
FERS MRA+10 Retirement:
This type of retirement only applies to FERS employees. Employees who have met their MRA may retire with 10 years of service; however, for employees who retire under the age of 62, their annuity is reduced 5% for every year under the age of 62.
VERA/VSIP Age Requirements:
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| Any Age | 25 years |
| 50 | 20 years |
Discontinued Service Retirement Age Requirements:
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| Any Age | 25 years |
| 50 | 20 years |
Deferred Retirement Age Requirements:
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| 60 | 20 years |
| 62 | 5 years |
| MRA | 10 years |
A FERS employee must meet one of the two conditions to be eligible for Deferred Retirement –
Employee must have separated before meeting the age and service requirements and must have had a least 5 years of creditable civilian service.
OR
Employee must have 10 years of creditable service and attained their Minimum Retirement Age (MRA), and retirement contributions cannot have been withdrawn.
Disability Retirement Age Requirements:
Employees who may be eligible to retire under disability retirement must apply directly to OPM. Contact the Benefits Line at 1-888-320-2917 to speak with a benefits specialist, fill out SF-3107 and SF-3112 to submit along with a physicians statement and medical documentation to be considered for this type of retirement.
| Minimum Age | Minimum Service |
| Any Age | 18 Months |
Annuity Calculations
Annuity calculations for CSRS and FERS are based on a formula that combines Length of Service (the amount of creditable civilian service, military service, and unused sick leave), the average HI-3 salary, and the CSRS or FERS general formula. CSRS may contribute 100% of their unused sick leave towards retirement. FERS employees who retire on or after January 1, 2014 may contribute 100% of their unused sick leave. FERS employees who retire before January 1, 2014 may contribute 50% of their unused sick leave.
A benefits specialist contacted through EBIS will be able to calculate each employee’s specific annuity.