Do excepted service years count toward federal retirement?

“I was in a Competitive Service position for 15 yrs and then moved into a Schedule A Excepted Service position. It’s been 5 yrs and I just looked at my SF50 -- they never changed it to Competitive Service after the 2 yr waiting period. I’m looking into this with my HR, but my larger question is whether these Excepted Service years count towards my total Federal Service retirement time.

Reg’s Response

They absolutely count toward your total years of federal service and will be treated no differently than your competitive service years when calculating your annuity. Still, you’ll want to make sure that your federal service record is accurate So, continue to follow up with your personnel office until the correction is made.

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Got a question for the Federal Times expert? Send inquiries to: fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service, is the resident expert on retirement and the federal government at Federal Times. From 1979 until 1995, he served as an assistant director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management handling recruiting and examining, white and blue collar pay, retirement, insurance and other issues. Opinions expressed are his own.

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