Retirement & Financial Planning Report

Unlike CSRS employees who can retire at age 55 if they have 30 years of service, FERS employees have to wait until they reach their minimum retirement age. If you were born before 1948, your MRA is 55. However, if you were born after that, it’s higher. The chart below will let you find your own MRA.

If you were born Your MRA is
1948   55 and 2 months
1949   55 and 4 months
1950   55 and 6 months
1951   55 and 8 months
1952   55 and 10 months

In 1953 through 1964           56

1965   56 and 2 months
1966   56 and 4 months
1967   56 and 6 months
1968   56 and 8 months
1969   56 and 10 months

In 1970 and later  57

Unlike CSRS employees, FERS employees can retire when they reach their MRA and have at least 10 but fewer than 30 years of service. While that’s a real plus for anyone who wants to leave before completing a full career, it can be a costly decision.

If you retire under the MRA+10 provision, your annuity will be calculated using the standard formula: 0.01 x your high-3 x your years and full months of service. However, it will be reduced by 5/12 percent for every month you are under age 62. That’s 5 percent per year. You can reduce or eliminate that penalty by retiring and postponing the receipt of your annuity to a later date.

If you have at least five years of consecutive coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits or Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance programs on the day you retire, you’ll be able to carry that coverage into retirement, with the premiums being deducted from your annuity payments. If you retire and postpone the receipt of your annuity to a later date, your coverage will stop; however, you’ll be able to reenroll when your annuity begins.

During the period before your annuity begins, you’ll receive a 31-day extension of coverage at no cost to yourself. You’ll also be able to continue your FEHB coverage for up to 18 months by paying the full premiums plus 2 percent to your former agency. You may also elect to convert your FEGLI to a private life insurance policy, for which you’d pay the premiums.