At what age can federal employees retire?
James Williams
Published Feb 25, 2026
Normally, an employee is eligible to retire from federal service when the employee has at least 30 years of service and is at least age 55 under the Civil Service Retirement System or 56 and two months under the Federal Employees Retirement System; has at least 20 years of service and is at least age 60; or has at …
What is retire fers on my Les?
Frequently Asked Questions Retirement FERS stands for the Federal Employees Retirement System. FERS became effective in 1987 and most new Federal civilian employees hired after 1983 are automatically covered by FERS. FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan.
Can I retire after 30 years of federal service?
If you have less than five years of creditable civilian federal service, you’re not eligible for retirement. You can choose to take a refund of your Federal Employees Retirement System contributions. With 30 or more years of service, you’re eligible for an unreduced retirement at your MRA.
How old do you have to be to retire from the government?
Retirement can be tempting at age 51. An employee can decide to do something different and still have enough time left to make a real career out of it. Retirement is still tempting at age 57, but many employees choose to ride out federal service until retiring sometime in their early 60s.
Who is the oldest federal employee to retire?
Federal employees in Hawaii retire at an older age than any other state. Federal employees in Kentucky retire earlier. All data are from the latest OPM report on federal retirement. Here are the data on the average age of those retiring from the federal government from fiscal years (FY) 2015-2017:
Is there a bill to lower the retirement age for government employees?
The bills proposing to lower the retirement age of government employees are as follows: House Bill No. (HBN) 8683 – An Act Lowering the Optional Retirement Age of All Government Workers from Sixty (60) Years Old to Fifty-Six (56) Years Old;
How old do you have to be to retire from FERS?
Like many retirement systems, FERS uses the “Rule of 80.”. This states that an employee must reach a combined 80 years when adding age and federal service to be eligible for retirement.
