How does a retiring from a second federal career work after retiring from Active duty?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 22:09:34 -0500

Please somebody explain how getting a second federal government career after retiring from the military and only having to work for maybe 10-15 years more and receiving another pension and being able to retire fully by the age of 60. Is this even possible? I heard it was.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2021 10:23 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 22:23:09 -0500

If you were to go GS your time will start fresh or you could waive your retirement pension from the military and tap into the federal side. When I worked for the Transition Assistance Managment Program office, I had retired coming in and asking about the federal side and HR would give them the below altimadum.

https://militarybenefits.info/military-civil-service-pensions/

Hopefully this helps.

Military and Civil-Service Pensions

One of the most common questions people have is whether or not you can draw a military pension and a civil service pension at the same time.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2021 10:48 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 22:48:32 -0500

A government employee can retire with as little as 5 years but it's based on how many years you've worked. One thing that's nice is as a military retiree you will start as a government worker making the max amount of leave.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2021 11:18 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 23:18:22 -0500

OPM.gov is a great place to look for more info

Response by CPT Andrew Wright made Jan 30 at 2021 4:17 AM

CPT Andrew Wright — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 04:17:10 -0500

Under the current retirement system (FERS) you can retire from the federal government after only five years but the check is very small and usually won't start until age 55. After 8 years with the federal government as a civilian and buying back 6 years of Active Duty time my annuity from OPM is only $251 a month. My Army retirement check is ten times that amount! I only bought back six years because you had to pay out of pocket to buy the years back and it can be expensive. Hope this helps.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Jan 30 at 2021 5:00 AM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 05:00:43 -0500

It works because it is two distinct agencies. However, you mention 10 to fifteen years as a Fed. The calculation is 1%, in a high three determination. They do offer TSP at 5% which helps depending on how much you put in. Based on your federal salary, you will likely receive enough for a car payment. I am not discouraging it because it is better than a lot that the private sector may offer. If you retire from the military fairly senior and qualify for a GS 13 or more then it can be a house payment. Anyway, it can be done, retuirement at 60 is a great goal, most people don’t save enough on there own to do that.

There is a lot to retirement planning, if you have not done so, I recommend reading about all that you have earned and what you will earn. 60 can be your goal, what earnings you have, coupled with your lifestyle have to be taken into consideration.

Response by SR Kenneth Beck made Jan 30 at 2021 10:36 AM

SR Kenneth Beck — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 10:36:17 -0500

When I retired in 1988 the double dipping rules made federal employment not an option. I liked the idea of “job security” and I was employed with an electric utility. Everyone needs electricity. Southern Company has paid quarterly dividends for seventy years. The training I received in the Nuclear field make this possible.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Jan 30 at 2021 12:24 PM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 12:24:53 -0500

SFC Private RallyPoint Member, Based on my experience as a retired officer and private and public sector employee here's my advice.
-Go through the pre-retirement training the Army offers. It will help prepare you for the move to either a private sector company or a public sector job.
-Start looking for public sector jobs, usajobs.gov, now. Follow the trends in jobs you might be interested in based on organizations and locations. Prepare a generic resume you'll customize later to apply for these jobs. When you're within 6 months of retirement, more or less, start applying for federal jobs. (The Federal hiring process is long. Sometimes taking a year from the time a manager identifies a manpower requirement to the time there's an employee on board.) As an intel analyst your target organizations could be intel agencies inside and outside of DoD, Unified Command J2, Service Major Commands intel organizations (G2, A2, N2, etc.).
-Go to OPM website (OPM.gov) and read information on hiring process, veteran preference, pay, benefits, and retirement. You will get some preferential treatment as a veteran. It won't guarantee you a federal job, but it can give you a leg up. If you are disabled, then you will get a significant boost as a disabled vet.
-Look at the private sector also. Government contractors may be happy to hire you as an analyst doing intel or other work. Again having a resume ready to use is important. Networking is very important in the private sector. Get to know any contractors in you current work area. Also join and participate in professional organizations related to your field of expertise or interest. In short, get to know people in your business sector other than military personnel. I got my first private sector job because I knew contractors in my work area.
-Retirement: Your military retirement pay does not effect civil service pay or retirement. Federal civil service retirement rules are explained in OPM publications and do change from time to time, so check that out. In general, civil service retirement pay is based on the number of years of civil service converted to a percent (10 years = 10%) times the average of your high three years of employment salary. There are rules about retiring before you reach 62 years of age and before you reach your "full" social security age (mine was 66). You'll have opportunity to contribute to a civil service TSP. Strongly recommend you do so.
-Medical: After retirement you will have TRICARE available. You will want to compare health plans offered by your private or public sector employer to determine the best choice for you and your family. If you pay for a healthcare plan from your employer as your primary insurance, then TRICARE reverts to a secondary payer. You can use TRICARE standard as a primary and then purchase a TRICARE supplement plan to cover most or all of what TRICARE doesn't pay (MOAA and others offer TRICARE supplements). If you live near a military medical facility, you can use the pharmacy there to fill prescriptions at no cost. When you're eligible for MEDICARE you also get TRICARE for Life. TRICARE for Life picks up what MEDICARE doesn't pay. VA medical is a whole subject area I can't comment on because I haven't' used it.

There's lots more to say on each of these subjects. Message me if you have specific questions.

Response by MSgt Robert Branscome made Jan 30 at 2021 1:19 PM

MSgt Robert Branscome — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 13:19:02 -0500

One job does not have anything to do with the other if you have the time in as far as I know

Response by SFC Keith Gardner made Jan 30 at 2021 2:05 PM

SFC Keith Gardner — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 14:05:27 -0500

That’s actually what I’m doing right now. SGT Padin is correct. Once you retire from the military and join the civil service you start at day one working towards your next pension— with a few caveats:
1) Under FERS you have to reach the minimum retirement age of 55 with 20 yrs of civil service. There are some exceptions, but that’s the most common. So let’s say you enlist at 18 and retire at 38. You start your Fed job the next day, do 20 more and retire at 58. Congratulations, you’re a double-dipper. (The same could be true with a private sector job — and you’d likely get better pay and benefits in the private sector) Let’s say your gross military pension is $2,000/month. It’s taxable income, so deduct Federal, State and Social Security taxes and maybe you net $1,400/month every month for the 20 years you earn a salary as a Fed. Caution: That military pension will put you into a higher tax bracket. Uncle Sam always wins. Still, $1,400 x 240 = some good money. Especially if at least some of it earns interest.
2) At any point during your civil service career, right up to retirement, you can “buy-back” your military pay and your military time is added to your civil service time — as if you’ve been a Fed for 40 years. But you waive your military pension the moment you retire from the civil service. No more double-dipping, but a much larger single-dip. You have to run the numbers carefully. The cost of the buy-back and the loss of your military pension might not be worth the difference between the total of the double-dip vs the single dip. You’ve just got to crunch some serious numbers along the way.
3) There are a few other factors that come into play that will determine your pay:
a) If you do 20+ years in uniform you’ll wind up with some service-connected disabilities reflected as a percentage. That percentage is deducted from your gross (before tax) monthly pension and is paid — tax free by the VA. Let’s say you get a disability rating of 20%. Instead of the $2,000 pension you’ll get a $1,600 pension (20% of 2,000 is 400). You’ll pay all those taxes above on $1,600 instead of $2,000. But you’ll get $400 a month from the VA TAX FREE.
b) In your 20+ years in uniform you’ll get to do some pretty hairy shit and the civil service will recognize your campaign time. When you first get hired on as a Fed it’s your “SCD” or Service Computation Date. There is a SCD for leave and a SCD for retirement. Usually they’re the same dates and they don’t change over the course of a federal career. You start out accruing 4 hours of leave per 2 week pay period for the first 2 years of service, then 6 hours for the next 2 years and then you top out at 8 hours after 6 years. Your SCD for leave will get adjusted back for each month that you collected Hostile Fire, Imminent Danger or Hazardous Duty pay. So, even though I started as a Fed in October of 2005, my SCD for leave is May 2003 because of the total of 2 years and 5 months of Danger Pay. This is limited to certain AORs though, so I got it for Iraq and the Balkans but not for a year in the Sinai with the MFO.
c) Buying back your military pay not only gives you a larger civilian pension (GS-13 with 40 years vice a GS-13 with 20 years) it can help you retire earlier. My SCD for retirement was October 2005, I need to work 5 more years under the 55 and 20 rule. But because I wrote a check for $16,000 a year ago to buy back my military pay my SCD for retirement was adjusted to May of 1985 — well over 20 years and, although I’m giving up $1,875 month in military pension, I’m gaining just over $2,000 more in my civil service pension.

HOW TO RETIRE AS A MILLIONAIRE:

When I first raised my right hand to swear an oath there was no such thing as TSP or even IRAs. And that $350 a month was spent on beers and womens and not much else. And to make matters worse, in the 20 yrs 5 months of active duty, I started out in the barracks with a meal card earning $350/ month. Eventually I drew Separate Rats and BAH plus Special Qualification pay, Family Separation pay, Hostile Fire pay, etcetera. Taking a big paycheck to the bank, but the Army only deducted and paid Social Security taxes based on my Base Pay. Fast forward 47 years and my Social Security check is much lower than you’d think because of all that extra pay that wasn’t taxed. I’m not complaining. I had a great time and I’ll be more than okay money-wise. But, “if I knew then what I know now”... I’d take half of every pay raise and put it into a Roth IRA — that’s every annual pay raise and promotion. And I’d max out my TSP into a Roth TSP. That’s not a big pile of money each paycheck, but after accruing sight unseen for that 40 years you’re planning on working.... well don’t thank me now, wait until your at your beach house tying your boat to the dock.

Response by PO2 Jasmire Thomas-White made May 11 at 2022 7:23 PM

PO2 Jasmire Thomas-White — Wed, 11 May 2022 19:23:05 -0400

I retired from the USPS after leaving active duty. I’m lucky enough to be retired on disability, so the money equals as if I retired from both. Also having the medical cuts down the cost of paying medical insurance.

Response by SMSgt David Dillon made May 18 at 2022 6:59 PM

SMSgt David Dillon — Wed, 18 May 2022 18:59:28 -0400

If you have a skill its a good choice for a second retirement