{"id":27848,"date":"2023-12-11T22:03:10","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T22:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/12\/11\/does-combat-time-earn-a-special-exception-from-fers-requirements\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:10:16","slug":"does-combat-time-earn-a-special-exception-from-fers-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/your-career\/2023\/12\/11\/does-combat-time-earn-a-special-exception-from-fers-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"Does combat time earn a special exception from FERS requirements?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cI recently saw a friend who works for the FAA and said \u201cI thought you were \u2018going to retire in a year\u2019 a couple years ago.\u2019 He responded \u201cI am.\u201d He\u2019s wanting to get something resolved that I\u2019ve not heard of, and don\u2019t believe is correct. He\u2019s retired Army active duty with combat time. He has about 15 years in FERS. Is just over 62. He believes he\u2019s entitled to FERS retirement credit for combat time while on active duty, with no FERS buyback cost. Just the combat time. He\u2019s not looking to buy back active duty in lieu of military retirement. As I understand it, his combat time gets him longevity credit for leave accrual (for free) but nothing towards FERS. Is this correct?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reg\u2019s Response<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If they make a deposit to the civilian retirement system, FERS employees can get credit for their active duty service performed 1) before they came to work for the federal government and 2) after they come to work for the federal government when they are called to active duty in the service of the United States. The latter does not include weekends drills or two-week annual active duty for training periods. There is no special exception for combat time. It\u2019s treated no differently than the other periods of active duty service described above.<\/p>\n\n\n\t