Service credit & buybacks.
How to add, buy back, or recover service credit — military buybacks, deposits for older service, and your options if you separate before the five-year vesting mark.
Every guide in this cluster
NAF to a Federal Job: The 30-Day Retirement Election
Moving between a DoD NAF job and FERS? You may keep your old pension, but you have 30 days and it’s permanent. What doesn’t move with you.
Peace Corps and VISTA Service Credit: A Small Deposit, a Lifetime Return
Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA service counts toward your federal pension if you pay a small deposit. Cost, value, and how to apply.
Coming Back to Federal Service After You Left
Returning to federal service after a break? Your old service still counts, a refund can be redeposited, and you may keep the 0.8% FERS rate.
Unused Sick Leave to Service Credit: The 2,087-Hour Rule (2026)
Unused sick leave converts to service credit and permanently raises your FERS or CSRS annuity. The 2,087-hour rule, the full-month trap, and a calculator.
Military Service Buyback for FERS: The 2026 Complete Guide
The deposit pays for itself in months. The math, the deadlines, the military retired pay waiver decision, and the process — for veterans who joined federal civilian service.
Buying Back Refunded FERS Service: The Complete 2026 Guide
Eligibility under the 2009 rule, the cost math at the 2026 OPM interest rate of 4.25%, the SF-3108 process, and when the buyback actually pays off. With a break-even calculator.
Deposit Service: Buying Back Pre-1989 “Temporary” Federal Time
Old temporary, seasonal, or co-op time before 1989 can be bought back for 1.3% of pay plus interest — adding real pension years. The rules, the deadline, and a payoff calculator.
Leaving Federal Service With Fewer Than 5 Years (Non-Vested)
Under 5 years means no FERS pension from that service — ever. Refund your contributions or leave them on deposit? The redeposit rule, your hire-year tier, and your always-yours TSP, with a refund calculator.
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This is one cluster of the FERS & CSRS pillar. Explore your pension, retiring early, and survivor topics in the full pillar.
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