Separation from Service
If you are a federal employee and considering leaving federal service, you should be aware of both your immediate and deferred benefits.
Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) employees who separate and have at least 5 years of creditable federal service qualify for a deferred retirement annuity. If you do not want an annuity or qualify for an annuity, you can request a full refund of your FERS contributions.
The age when you are eligible to begin receiving payments from your deferred retirement annuity is determined by your service years. To qualify, you must meet one of the following criteria:
If you have 5 years of service but less than 10 years, you are eligible to begin annuity payments at age 62.
If you have 10 years of service but less than 30 years, you are eligible to receive reduced annuity payments at your minimum retirement age (MRA).
If you have 20 years of service, you are eligible to receive unreduced annuity payments at age 60.
If you have 30 years of service, you are eligible to receive unreduced annuity payments at your minimum retirement age (MRA).
Your Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) will terminate 31 days after your separation unless you register for the Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) program. This program will extend your health insurance coverage for up to 18 months but you will pay the full cost of the insurance premiums (both the employee and government cost) plus a 2% administration charge.
Your Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) will also terminate 31 days after your separation unless you convert your FEGLI coverage into an individual policy with MetLife. The cost of the individual policy will be determined by several factors but conversion can be especially important for uninsurable employees.
At the time of separation, you will receive a lump-sum payment for any unused annual leave but you will forfeit all unused sick leave. If you return to service in the future, your forfeited sick leave will be restored.
The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) considers your 1% agency contributions fully vested after 3 years of service for most employees. Your TSP contributions and the government matching contributions are considered immediately vested.