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FERS refund decision guide

Check timing and service-credit consequences.

Your record

Use official records.

A covered position withholds FERS or CSRS retirement deductions. Treat a transfer to noncovered employment separately from a separation.

OPM applies this window from receipt of the refund application and includes an annuity reduced for age.

Use the agency or OPM retirement record; calendar time alone may not be creditable.

This date changes whether refunded FERS service permanently loses eligibility credit or can later be redeposited.

Include any CSRS component or deductions, even if the latest appointment was under FERS.

Current spouses must be notified. Certain living former spouses also qualify based on marriage and service length.

Answer six record questions to see the filing gate and service-credit consequences. No dollar amount is estimated.

This is a record-first decision

Rule snapshot
Reviewed
Primary sources
OPM, SF 3106, and 5 U.S.C. § 8424
Privacy
Inputs stay in your browser

The guide can screen

It checks the 31-day filing gate, deferred-annuity warning, public redeposit boundary, mixed-service flag, notification issue, and the filing step OPM supports for your status.

OPM must determine

OPM controls the account balance, included deposits, interest, debts, tax reporting, rollover treatment, court-order effect, and any later redeposit.

A refund is not an early annuity

Leave deductions in

At least five years of creditable civilian service may support a future deferred annuity under OPM's age-and-service rules.

Take the refund

Payment can permanently eliminate retirement rights for refunded service; post-2009 coverage has different unpaid-redeposit treatment.

Return later

A later return to covered service may open a redeposit path, but the post-2009 rule and OPM review still apply.

To model the benefit you may be giving up, use the FERS retirement calculator with verified service and high-3 inputs before filing.

FERS refund FAQ

Who can apply for a FERS refund?

Under 5 U.S.C. 8424, an applicant generally must be separated from covered service, or in a noncovered position, for at least 31 consecutive days; must not be reemployed in covered service when filing; and must not become eligible for an annuity within 31 days after filing. OPM decides the claim from the complete record.

Does a FERS refund permanently cancel my pension credit?

It depends on the coverage date. OPM's current SF 3106 says a person not employed under FERS on or after October 28, 2009 permanently loses retirement rights for the refunded service, even after later reemployment. Under the post-2009 rule, unpaid-refund service may still count for eligibility and average salary, but not the annuity computation unless the refund plus interest is redeposited.

Can I repay a refunded FERS account later?

OPM says people covered by FERS on or after October 28, 2009 may redeposit refunded FERS deductions, plus interest, in a later retirement context. Without the redeposit, OPM says the service may count toward retirement eligibility and average-pay computation, but not toward the annuity computation. OPM must apply the rule to the later covered-service record.

How much will my FERS refund be?

Only OPM can determine the payable amount from the retirement account, included deposits, interest, debts, court orders, tax treatment, and rollover election. This guide does not estimate a refund or compare a lump sum with a lifetime annuity.

Where do I send SF 3106?

OPM says people separated for 30 days or less send the application to the former servicing personnel office. People separated for more than 30 days send it to OPM's Retirement Operations Center using the current form instructions.

What if I transferred from CSRS to FERS?

OPM says a refund application normally pays all FERS and CSRS retirement deductions to the applicant's credit. A transferee may specify that only the CSRS deductions should be refunded. The service components and later redeposit rules are different, so OPM should identify them before filing.

Does a spouse or former spouse have to be notified?

SF 3106 includes SF 3106A. A current spouse and certain former spouses must be notified, and a qualifying court order can affect whether the refund may be paid. Follow the current form and include the requested marriage and court-order information.

Primary sources