Originally Posted by
Otterbox
Check the FERS benefit guide- you can get credit for a deferred retirement with a lot less than 17 years... I think it's 5yrs. It's not a lot, but it's something for time served while you build hrs.
That's civil service retirement which is separate and additional to a military retirement. Yes, you have to do 5 years to become vested. You can also buy back your active duty military time into civil service. It all depends on cumulative pay but it's ROUGHLY $1K for every year of active duty you want to buy back for civil service. I did 5 years civil service + 9 years of active duty. Wrote a check for $11K and now I have a 14 year civil service retirement which equates to about $14K per year starting at age 57.