How much would it cost to buy back 14 years active service to put towards a GS position?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 10:50:33 -0500

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 17 at 2020 11:38 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:38:20 -0500

If you've got 14 years of Active service and you're voluntarily getting out, you're just crazy. The GS retirement at 20 doesn't come close to comparing to the AD retirement at 20

Response by MAJ Javier Rivera made Nov 17 at 2020 11:45 AM

MAJ Javier Rivera — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:45:00 -0500

First, you need to stop consuming whatever is making considering getting out when you’re so close to meet your 20 years mark. Got it, there some exceptions!!!!

Then, whatever it cost, t will never compare to your military retirement.

Response by PO1 Jamie Springman made Nov 17 at 2020 11:57 AM

PO1 Jamie Springman — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:57:53 -0500

I agree that it would be better to wait it out and get your military retirement. But if you choose not to there are calculators online that can help. You will need information that we could only speculate, so it would be best for you to look this one up on your own. Here are two calculators that are fairly accurate:
https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/militaryservice/militaryservicedeposits/estimator/

https://myfedbenefitshelp.com/benefits/military-time/

Defense Finance and Accounting Service CivilianEmployees militaryservice ...

The official website of the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS)

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Nov 17 at 2020 1:18 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 13:18:52 -0500

The direct answer is 3% of all your base pay for FERS. DFAS calculates that. Pretty straightforward process. I bought 10 years when I went from AD to Reserves. That worked out to be $10K considering I started out earning $253/month. It pays me $14K/year now. I finished with 30 years MIL and 42 years CS. Also, your AD time counts for leave purposes regardless of a buyback or not.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 17 at 2020 4:55 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 16:55:57 -0500

Let me if you find a place selling time. Many on here likely know. SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint

Response by SFC Chuck Martinez made Nov 17 at 2020 9:00 PM

SFC Chuck Martinez — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 21:00:52 -0500

William to answer your question, I am retired Military as well as GS DOD law enforcement. The general rules was, Military service is credible for Federal retirement purposes only if was active service was under honorable conditions. Your rating will be established according to you MOS and if Close to a GS job, you might up getting a higher GS rating. The process is rather simple and all you need is you DD214 and all the your military ratings!

Response by LCDR Howard Tillison made Nov 19 at 2020 11:29 AM

LCDR Howard Tillison — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 11:29:17 -0500

I believe it is 2% of your active duty base pay for those years. I did the same thing to get credit for almost 12 years, and it was well worth it. I retired as a GS-13 step 10 with just over 21 total years of creditable government service.

It is WELL WORTH IT to make this deposit, but you can do it after going to work as a GS. You will also find that you get credit for 14 years of service toward annual leave, which means, 8 hours per payday. 26 days of leave plus paid holidays works out to a lot of paid time off, and you only have to take leave to cover actual working days. It's an hour by hour benefit of leave against scehduled working hours. I would combine long weekends with holidays and get a LOT of paid time off.

You do NOT have to make the deposit before you get credit for years of service to qualify for 8 hours per payday of leave. You only have to complete the deposit before you retire to get retirement credit for those 14 years.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Nov 23 at 2020 4:04 PM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 16:04:22 -0500

If possible you should finish your 20 years active duty, then look for a civil service job. Civil Service jobs are not necessarily easy to get. I was a Department of the Army Civilian hiring manager. I had over 20 applicants for jobs I opened. Several had "veterans preference." Disabled vets get an exceptionally high preference. All that being said, you probably have to have the technical, experience, and education qualifications to be considered for a civilian job. Your profile doesn't address your education and certifications, so I can't judge how competitive you would be for civil service HR jobs.

My recommendation is to stay active duty if at all possible. Use the next 6 years to gain the education and certifications that will make you attractive to a hiring manager in the career field you want to pursue. The good thing is gaining these qualifications normally makes you competitive in both the public and private sectors.

In the end, you should be able to get two government retirements. First, your military retirement, which starts paying immediately upon retirement. Then you can retire from civil service after 6 or more years of employment. There's rules about retiring before age 62, after age 62, and after "full retirement" age. Read up on the choices. The rules will probably change before you get to that point. I retired with 22 years military retirement and 6 years civilian service.