Last Updated: September 2, 2026 Reading Time: 7 min
If you served in the Peace Corps or as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer before your federal career, that time can count toward your FERS retirement. It can move your eligibility date and raise your annuity for life. It also disappears entirely if you never pay a deposit that, for most volunteers, is a few hundred dollars. The rule, the math, and the two forms are below.
Why Volunteer Service Is the Exception
FERS draws a hard line at January 1, 1989. Civilian service after that date during which no retirement deductions were withheld, temporary and seasonal appointments for example, generally cannot be made creditable by deposit. Peace Corps volunteer and volunteer leader service and VISTA volunteer service are exempt from that line by regulation: 5 CFR part 842, subpart K (Peace Corps) and subpart L (VISTA). OPM's service-credit guidance states the service is creditable "regardless of when the service was performed," provided the deposit is paid.
Training time before you were sworn in as a volunteer does not count. Service performed after you have already retired under CSRS or FERS does not count either.
What the Peace Corps FERS Deposit Costs
The deposit is a percentage of the readjustment allowance (Peace Corps) or stipend (VISTA) you earned during service: 3% under FERS, 7% under CSRS. If you took an education award instead of a VISTA stipend, the deposit is computed as if the stipend had been paid.
Current Peace Corps readjustment allowance rates (Peace Corps Manual Section 223): $400 a month for the first 24 months from your oath date, $500 a month for any months beyond 24, and $500 a month flat for Peace Corps Response volunteers.
FedTools 2026 worked example, standard 27-month tour:
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Months 1 to 24 at $400 | $9,600 |
| Months 25 to 27 at $500 | $1,500 |
| Total readjustment allowance | $11,100 |
| FERS deposit at 3% | $333.00 |
Volunteers who served years ago earned lower allowances and owe proportionally less principal, but more interest if they waited.
The Interest Clock, and the Grace Period That Is Really Three Years
Interest starts two years after you first become a FERS-covered employee, or two years after October 1, 1993, whichever is later. It compounds annually at OPM's variable rate: 4.25% for 2026, 4.375% for 2025.
Because 5 CFR 842.305 charges interest at the end of each year, a deposit completed before the end of the year after interest begins carries no interest at all. In practice the interest-free window runs close to three years from your appointment date. After that, the cost grows slowly:
| Deposit paid | Years accruing interest | Approximate cost (2026 rate held constant) |
|---|---|---|
| Within the grace period | 0 | $333 |
| At 5 years | 3 | $377 |
| At 10 years | 8 | $465 |
| At 20 years | 18 | $704 |
OPM applies each year's actual historical rate, so a real bill will differ modestly from this illustration.
What You Get Back
Credit for 27 months is 2.25 years of service. At a $95,000 high-3 and the standard 1.0% FERS multiplier:
$95,000 × 2.25 × 1.0% = $2,137.50 a year, about $178 a month, for every year of retirement.
| Deposit paid | Deposit cost | Break-even in months of retirement |
|---|---|---|
| Within grace period | $333 | 1.9 months |
| At 5 years | $377 | 2.1 months |
| At 10 years | $465 | 2.6 months |
| At 20 years | $704 | 4.0 months |
FedTools 2026 computation. A volunteer who waits 20 years to pay, letting interest accrue the entire time, still recovers the full cost in under four months of retirement. At the 1.1% multiplier (age 62 with 20 years) the annual gain is $2,351 and the break-even is shorter.
The short-assignment case holds too. A 12-month Peace Corps Response volunteer at $500 a month earned $6,000; the deposit is $180; one year of credit at a $95,000 high-3 is $950 a year; break-even is about 2.3 months.
The Part Most People Get Wrong: Eligibility
Under FERS, this deposit is all or nothing. If it is not paid, the Peace Corps or VISTA time is not creditable under 5 U.S.C. 8411 at all. It does not count toward the five-year minimum, toward MRA plus 10, MRA plus 30, or the 20- and 30-year thresholds, and it does not count in the annuity computation.
That is the opposite of the rule for refunded FERS service. Since Public Law 111-84 in 2009, service you took a refund for counts toward eligibility even if you never redeposit; only the computation is affected. Employees who know the refund rule often assume volunteer time works the same way. It does not. Two years and three months of Peace Corps service can be the difference between retiring at your MRA with 30 years and waiting another two years and three months, and it only makes that difference if the $333 is paid.
How Volunteer Service Compares to Other Deposits
| Service type | Deposit rate | Counts toward eligibility if unpaid? | Interest grace | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peace Corps / VISTA (FERS) | 3% of allowance or stipend | No | ~2 years after FERS coverage (practically ~3) | SF-3108 |
| Peace Corps / VISTA (CSRS) | 7% of allowance or stipend | Varies by CSRS rules | Same | SF-2803 |
| Military service (FERS buyback) | 3% of military basic pay | No | 2 years after civilian appointment (practically ~3) | RI 20-97 then SF-3108 |
| Refunded FERS service (redeposit) | Amount refunded plus interest | Yes (since 2009) | Interest from refund date | SF-3108 |
| Post-1988 temporary or seasonal federal service (FERS) | Not permitted | No | Not applicable | Not applicable |
The military buyback is the closest cousin: same 3% rate, same all-or-nothing structure, same form. Volunteers who also served in uniform should run both. The Military Buyback Calculator handles the military side.
The Two Documents and Where They Go
- Certification of Service. Log into the Peace Corps RPCV Portal and request it. Request your Description of Service at the same time if you do not have a copy; agencies sometimes ask for both.
- Standard Form 3108, Application to Make Service Credit Payment (FERS). Complete it and submit it with the certification to your agency's HR or benefits office, not directly to OPM. HR certifies your current coverage and forwards the package. OPM computes the deposit, including any interest, and sends you a bill you can pay in a lump sum or installments.
Pay it before your retirement application is finalized. OPM will not backdate credit for a deposit that was still open when the annuity was computed. VISTA volunteers follow the same path using their AmeriCorps service documentation.
One thing the deposit does not do: it has nothing to do with the one-year hiring preference. Returned volunteers' non-competitive eligibility under Executive Order 11103 is a separate benefit, used to get the federal job in the first place, and it expires (one year after close of service, extendable to three at an agency's discretion). The retirement deposit is filed after you are already in.
See What the Extra Years Do to Your Annuity
Enter your service with and without the volunteer time in the FERS Retirement Calculator to see the annuity difference and whether the added years move your eligibility date. Run both scenarios →
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Peace Corps service count toward my FERS retirement?
Yes, for both eligibility and the annuity computation, but only if you pay a deposit of 3% of the readjustment allowance you earned as a volunteer, plus interest if you pay late. Peace Corps and VISTA service are the named exceptions to the FERS rule that non-deduction civilian service after 1988 is not creditable; they count regardless of when you served.
Does AmeriCorps VISTA count too? What about regular AmeriCorps?
AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer service is named alongside Peace Corps under the same 3% FERS deposit rule in 5 CFR part 842, subpart L. Regular AmeriCorps State and National service is not on OPM's list of creditable non-deduction exceptions, so treat it as not creditable unless your agency benefits officer confirms otherwise in writing.
How much does the Peace Corps FERS deposit cost?
Three percent of the total readjustment allowance you were paid. At current rates of $400 a month for the first 24 months and $500 a month after that, a standard 27-month tour earns $11,100, so the deposit is about $333 before interest. Under CSRS the rate is 7%.
When does interest start on the deposit?
Interest begins two years after you first become a FERS-covered employee (or two years after October 1, 1993, whichever is later), compounded annually at OPM's published variable rate, 4.25% for 2026. Because interest is charged at year end, paying before the end of the year after it begins avoids any charge in practice.
If I never pay, does the time still count toward my MRA plus 30 eligibility?
No. Under FERS an unpaid Peace Corps or VISTA deposit means the time does not exist for retirement purposes: it counts toward neither eligibility nor the annuity. That is different from refunded FERS service, which has counted toward eligibility without a redeposit since 2009.
How do I document the service?
Request a Certification of Service, and your Description of Service if you do not have it, through the Peace Corps RPCV Portal. Submit them with Standard Form 3108, Application to Make Service Credit Payment, to your agency's HR office, which forwards the package to OPM. Pay the deposit before your retirement application is finalized; OPM does not backdate credit.
Is the deposit still worth it if my assignment was short?
Almost always. A 12-month Peace Corps Response assignment at $500 a month earns $6,000, so the deposit is $180. Against a $95,000 high-3, one year of credit adds about $950 a year to the annuity, which repays the deposit in under three months of retirement.
Is the one-year hiring preference for returned volunteers related to the deposit?
No. Non-competitive eligibility under Executive Order 11103 is a hiring advantage that normally lasts one year after your close of service and can be extended by an agency up to three years. The retirement deposit is a separate benefit from the same service, filed after you are already a federal employee.
Related Resources
- FERS Retirement Calculator: Annuity and eligibility with and without the volunteer years.
- Military Buyback Calculator: The same 3% deposit structure for military service.
- Military Buyback for Federal Employees: How the military deposit works, for volunteers who also served in uniform.
- High-3 Calculator: The other half of the annuity formula.
Sources: 5 CFR part 842, subparts K and L; 5 CFR § 842.305; 5 U.S.C. § 8411; OPM FERS creditable service; OPM webcast, Crediting Peace Corps/VISTA Service; Peace Corps, Federal Retirement Credit; Peace Corps MS 223 Attachment A (readjustment allowance); OPM SF-3108; OPM BAL 26-301 (2026 interest rate); Public Law 111-84 (2009).