5 U.S.C. § 8411 Creditable Service

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-34 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/26/2023), except for [P. L. 118-31]
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 5 U.S.C. § 8411

(a)

(1) The total service of an employee or Member is the full years and twelfth parts thereof, excluding from the aggregate the fractional part of a month, if any.

(2) Credit may not be allowed for a period of separation from the service in excess of 3 calendar days.

(b) For the purpose of this chapter, creditable service of an employee or Member includes-

(1) employment as an employee, and any service as a Member (including the period from the date of the beginning of the term for which elected or appointed to the date of taking office as a Member), after December 31, 1986;

(2) except as provided in subsection (f), service with respect to which deductions and withholdings under section 204(a)(1) of the Federal Employees' Retirement Contribution Temporary Adjustment Act of 1983 have been made;

(3) except as provided in subsection (f) or (h), any civilian service (performed before January 1, 1989, other than any service under paragraph (1) or (2)) which, but for the amendments made by subsections (a)(4) and (b) of section 202 of the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986, would be creditable under subchapter III of chapter 83 of this title (determined without regard to any deposit or redeposit requirement under such subchapter, any requirement that the individual become subject to such subchapter after performing the service involved, or any requirement that the individual give notice in writing to the official by whom such individual is paid of such individual's desire to become subject to such subchapter);

(4) a period of service (other than any service under any other paragraph of this subsection and other than any military service) that was creditable under the Foreign Service Pension System described in subchapter II of chapter 8 ¹ of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, if the employee or Member waives credit for such service under the Foreign Service Pension System and makes a payment to the Fund equal to the amount that would have been deducted from pay under section 8422(a) had the employee been subject to this chapter during such period of service (together with interest on such amount computed under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 8334(e));

(5) a period of service (other than any service under any other paragraph of this subsection, any military service, and any service performed in the employ of a Federal Reserve Bank) that was creditable under the Bank Plan (as defined in subsection (i)), if the employee waives credit for such service under the Bank Plan and makes a payment to the Fund equal to the amount that would have been deducted from pay under section 8422(a) had the employee been subject to this chapter during such period of service (together with interest on such amount computed under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 8334(e)); and

(6) service performed by any individual as an employee paid from nonappropriated funds of an instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105(c) that is not otherwise creditable, if the individual elects (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Office) to have such service credited under this paragraph.

Paragraph (5) shall not apply in the case of any employee as to whom subsection (g) (or, to the extent subchapter III of chapter 83 is involved, section 8332(n)) otherwise applies.

(c)

(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and (5), an employee or Member shall be allowed credit for-

(A) each period of military service performed before January 1, 1957; and

(B) each period of military service performed after December 31, 1956, and before the separation on which title to annuity is based, if a deposit (including interest, if any) is made with respect to such period in accordance with section 8422(e).

(2) If an employee or Member is awarded retired pay based on any period of military service, the service of the employee or Member may not include credit for such period of military service unless the retired pay is awarded-

(A) based on a service-connected disability-

(i) incurred in combat with an enemy of the United States; or

(ii) caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in line of duty during a period of war as defined by section 1101 of title 38; or

(B) under chapter 1223 of title 10 (or under chapter 67 of that title as in effect before the effective date of the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act).

(3) An employee or Member who has made a deposit under section 8334(j) (or a similar prior provision of law) with respect to a period of military service, and who has not taken a refund of such deposit-

(A) shall be allowed credit for such service without regard to the deposit requirement under paragraph (1)(B); and

(B) shall be entitled, upon filing appropriate application therefor with the Office, to a refund equal to the difference between-

(i) the amount deposited with respect to such period under such section 8334(j) (or prior provision), excluding interest; and

(ii) the amount which would otherwise have been required with respect to such period under paragraph (1)(B).

(4)

(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), for purposes of computing a survivor annuity for a survivor of an employee or Member-

(i) who was awarded retired pay based on any period of military service, and

(ii) whose death occurs before separation from the service,

creditable service of the deceased employee or Member shall include each period of military service includable under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) or under paragraph (3). In carrying out this subparagraph, any amount deposited under section 8422(e)(5) shall be taken into account.

(B) A survivor annuity computed based on an amount which, under authority of subparagraph (A), takes into consideration any period of military service shall be reduced by the amount of any survivor's benefits-

(i) payable to a survivor (other than a child) under a retirement system for members of the uniformed services;

(ii) if, or to the extent that, such benefits are based on such period of military service.

(C) The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations to carry out this paragraph, including regulations under which-

(i) a survivor may elect not to be covered by this paragraph; and

(ii) this paragraph shall be carried out in any case which involves a former spouse.

(5) If, after January 1, 1997, an employee or Member waives retired pay that is subject to a court order for which there has been effective service on the Secretary concerned for purposes of section 1408 of title 10, the military service on which the retired pay is based may be credited as service for purposes of this chapter only if the employee or Member authorizes the Director to deduct and withhold from the annuity payable to the employee or Member under this subchapter an amount equal to the amount that, if the annuity payment was instead a payment of the employee's or Member's retired pay, would have been deducted and withheld and paid to the former spouse covered by the court order under such section 1408. The amount deducted and withheld under this paragraph shall be paid to that former spouse. The period of civil service employment by the employee or Member shall not be taken into consideration in determining the amount of the deductions and withholding or the amount of the payment to the former spouse. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations to carry out this paragraph.