Which Jobs Count Toward Federal Retirement? Creditable Service

Last Updated: June 28, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

Not every year you spent working for, or near, the federal government counts toward your pension. Creditable service is the legal term for the time that actually builds your FERS or CSRS annuity, and the rules trip up a lot of people, especially anyone who did temporary work, served in the Peace Corps, or worked at a quasi-government agency. Some of that time counts automatically. Some counts only if you pay a deposit. And some never counts at all. Here's how to tell the difference.

Key Takeaways

  • Permanent federal employment counts automatically. Temporary, military, and Peace Corps time can count, but usually only if you pay a deposit.
  • The single most misunderstood rule: post-1988 temporary (non-deduction) civilian service generally does NOT count toward FERS, and no deposit fixes it.
  • Quasi-government answers vary: FDIC and USPS count, but TVA, the Federal Reserve Board, and Fannie/Freddie do not.
  • Refunded FERS service counts toward eligibility either way, but counts toward your pension amount only if you pay the redeposit.
  • Contractor time never counts, period.

What Counts Automatically

If you worked in a regular federal job with retirement deductions taken out of your paycheck, that time counts toward both your eligibility (when you can retire) and your annuity computation (how big the pension is). This is the standard case:

  • Career and career-conditional appointments
  • Term and permanent positions with FERS or CSRS deductions withheld
  • Pre-1957 military service (credited automatically, no deposit needed)

For everyone in a normal federal career, the bulk of your service falls here and you don't have to do anything to claim it.

What Counts Only If You Pay a Deposit

This is where the money and the missed credit live. Several types of service are creditable, but only if you buy them back with a deposit.

Military service (post-1956). Counts only if you pay a military deposit of 3% of your basic military pay, plus interest. You get a roughly two-year, interest-free grace period after entering federal service, then interest accrues at the annual variable rate (4.25% in 2026). The deposit must be completed before you retire. This is often the highest-value buyback a fed can make. See our military buyback guide.

Pre-1989 temporary (non-deduction) civilian service. Creditable with a deposit of about 1.3% of the basic pay you earned during that period, plus interest.

Peace Corps and VISTA service. Creditable even for post-1988 periods, with a deposit of about 3% of the allowance or stipend you received. This is a deliberate exception to the temporary-service cutoff.

Refunded service (redeposit). If you previously took a refund of your retirement contributions, a 2009 law made that time count toward eligibility automatically. But it only boosts your annuity computation if you pay back the refund plus interest, the redeposit.

What Never Counts

No deposit, election, or paperwork makes these creditable:

  • Federal contractor time. Not federal employment, full stop.
  • State or local government and private-sector jobs.
  • Post-1988 temporary (non-deduction) civilian service, except Peace Corps/VISTA.
  • Leave without pay over six months in a single calendar year.
  • Most non-appropriated fund (NAF) employment beyond a limited eligibility-only election (more below).

Quasi-Government: The Part That Surprises People

"Quasi-government" jobs are the gray zone, and the answers are not intuitive. The deciding factor is simple: were you a federal employee covered by FERS or CSRS, administered by OPM? If yes, it counts. If the entity ran its own separate retirement system, it usually doesn't.

FedTools 2026 Creditable Service Matrix

Employer Counts toward FERS? Why
FDIC Yes FDIC staff are federal employees in FERS/CSRS
USPS Yes Postal workers are federal employees (~99% FERS)
Smithsonian (appropriated positions) Yes Civil-service positions are federal employment
Smithsonian (trust-fund positions) No Separate plan, not OPM-administered
Congressional Budget Office Yes FERS-covered
TVA No Separate TVA Retirement System
Federal Reserve Board No (while at the Fed) Bank plan; credit only after transfer to a federal agency
Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac No Private corporations (GSEs)
National Academy of Sciences No (most staff) Private nonprofit despite a federal charter
Federal contractors No Not federal employment

The NAF case has a wrinkle. Department of Defense and Coast Guard NAF employees (think base exchanges and morale/welfare/recreation jobs) can make a portability election under a 2001 law. It gives you eligibility credit only. It does not increase your annuity computation, because the benefit is actuarially offset. So NAF time can help you reach retirement age sooner without making the check bigger.

The Deposit Math, and the Redeposit Trap

The deposit rates are low (1.3% civilian, 3% military and Peace Corps), but interest compounds over decades, so the cost of waiting is real. Two rules matter most:

  1. Deposits buy time you'd otherwise lose. For non-deduction service, no deposit means no credit, both for eligibility and for the annuity.
  2. The redeposit asymmetry. For refunded FERS service since October 2009, you get eligibility credit free, but a larger annuity only if you redeposit. Many people assume taking a refund erased the time entirely. It didn't, but recovering the pension value costs the redeposit.

Because creditable service drives both when you can retire and how much you get, confirm your service history (your SF-50s and any deposit/redeposit balances) well before you file, not at the last minute.

Estimate Your Pension With Verified Service

Once you know which years count, model the pension. Use our free FERS Retirement Calculator to see how your creditable years and high-3 salary translate into an annual annuity, then check whether a military or temporary-service deposit is worth it. Estimate your FERS pension.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does federal contractor time count toward FERS retirement?

No. Contractor service is not federal employment, no matter how long you worked on a federal contract or sat in a federal building. There is no deposit or workaround that converts contractor time into creditable service. Only time as an actual federal employee counts.

Does Peace Corps or VISTA service count toward FERS?

Yes. Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA service is creditable even for post-1988 periods, which is a narrow exception to the temporary-service rule. You must pay a deposit of about 3% of the readjustment allowance or stipend you received, plus interest, to get the credit.

Does my pre-1989 temporary federal service count?

Yes, if you pay a deposit. Pre-1989 non-deduction (temporary) civilian service is creditable under FERS only if you pay a deposit of roughly 1.3% of your basic pay from that period plus interest. Post-1988 temporary service generally is not creditable and no deposit can fix it, except Peace Corps/VISTA.

If I took a refund of my FERS contributions, can I still get credit for that time?

Since a 2009 law (PL 111-84), refunded FERS service counts toward your retirement eligibility whether or not you repay it. But it only counts toward your annuity computation if you pay the redeposit (the refunded amount plus interest). That split is the trap: eligibility is automatic, but a bigger pension requires the redeposit.