Retirement Policy

If you leave federal service before you meet the age and service requirements for an immediate retirement benefit, you may be eligible for deferred retirement benefits, also called discontinued service benefits. To be eligible, you must have completed at least five years of creditable civilian service. You may receive benefits when you reach age 62 with five years of service or age 60 with 20 years of service. In addition, FERS employees may begin to receive benefits upon reaching their minimum retirement age with 10 years of service.

If you retire at the MRA with at least 10, but less than 30 years of service, your benefit will be reduced by 5 percent a year for each year you are under 62, unless you have 20 years of service and your benefit starts when you reach age 60 or later.