Federal Retirement

Earn retirement credit for your Peace Corps service

Did you become a federal employee after your Peace Corps service? You may be eligible to "buy back" service credit toward your retirement.

How you can get credit

Also see: State and Territorial Retirement Benefits (Updated Nov. 6, 2023)

Employees who are covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) are eligible to receive credit for their Peace Corps Volunteer service to put toward their retirement.

If you’re eligible and would like to receive retirement credit for your service, you must make a deposit through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for your period of service. This occurs because when you finish your Peace Corps service, no money is deducted from your monthly service award* to put towards your retirement. To receive retirement credit under FERS, your deposit will be 3% of your monthly service award plus interest. Under CSRS, the deposit is 7% of your monthly service award plus interest.

Deposits made more than two years after October 1, 1993, or more than two years after the date on which the individual making the deposit first becomes a covered employee, whichever is later, must include interest, compounded annually and beginning on the date of the expiration of the two-year period. Please note that your training period is not a creditable service.

*readjustment allowance

Why buy back your service retirement credit?

To receive a monthly annuity from the federal government, you must be vested in a retirement system. Being vested in FERS or CSRS requires five years of creditable civilian service. Peace Corps service counts toward the vesting requirement.

Under FERS, your retirement annuity is calculated as 1% of the average of your high-three average salary multiplied by your number of years of service. So, additional years will increase the amount of your annuity.

For example:

• High-3 average is $70,000 and 20 years of service
  1% of $70,000 is $700
• $700 x 20 is $14,000 annuity per year
• Adding two years increases the annuity: $700 x 22 is $15,400

Under CSRS, your annuity is calculated as 1.5% of your high-three average for your first five years of service, 1.75% of your high-three for the next five years, and 2% of your high-three for any remaining years.

How to request your service credit