Q. I have 15 years on active duty and am working toward a FERS retirement. I received a severance payment. Do I have to buy back the active-duty time or the severance pay to count the time on my present federal retirement?
A. You would only have to make a deposit to the civilian retirement system to get credit for your active duty service. The severance payment is yours to keep.
So are you saying that we have to make a deposit what is currently taken out for FERs for retirement? I say this because the separation payment for years of service is paid back in full if you file for disability compensation. I don't think it's right to have to payback for compensation twice in order to have the same amount of years rendered.
Here's what I wrote: "You would only have to make a deposit to the civilian retirement system to get credit for your active duty service." And you only have to do that if you want to have that time included when your civilian annuity is computed. Making a deposit is optional.