One of the Most Asked Questions About CSRS

The federal retirement annuity is an important aspect of your retirement plan. Employees who retire under FERS receive an average of $1,834 for retirement, while CSRS employees receive an average of $4,973. This article addresses the common questions about annuities, health, and life insurance for federal retirees.

 

Some of the questions include:

1. What are the age and service year requirements for a CSRS employee to be eligible for retirement, and what is the annuity worth?

2. What are the age and service year requirements for a FERS employee to be eligible for retirement, and what is the annuity worth?

3. What are the requirements for a federal employee to carry their FEHB benefits into retirement?

4. What are the requirements for a federal employee to carry their FEGLI benefits into retirement?

 

We will discuss the first question in this post and discuss the others in subsequent blogs.

 

What is the Age and Service Year Requirement for a CSRS Employee to be Eligible for Retirement, and What is the Annuity Worth?

As a CSRS employee, you can retire when you attain the following age and service year requirement.

 

Suppose you are 60 years old and have up to twenty years of service or are age 55 and have up to thirty years of service. Despite these facts, the years of service requirement may change if your agency is undergoing a reduction or reorganization of the workforce. Let’s say you receive a formal notice that your job will be affected. In this case, you can retire earlier with a lower age and service year combination. It can be age 50 and twenty years of service or twenty-five years of service and any age.

However, regardless of how you meet your retirement eligibility, your annuity will be calculated with a formula that uses the average of your highest three consecutive years’ pay (high-3) and the years of creditable service you have.

 

1.5% X your high-3 X 5 years of service + 1.75% X your high-3 X 5 years of service + 2.0% X your high-3 X all your remaining years of service.

 

Aside from your annuity, you will be entitled to an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) every January. The initial adjustment will be based on the length of time you have been on the annuity roll at that point. Subsequent adjustments will cover the full amount as determined by the inflation index.