How long do I have to make up TSP contributions after I return?

You must file your makeup election within 60 days of reemployment. You then get up to three times the length of your military service, capped at five years, to contribute the missed amounts, and your agency owes the matching on your makeup contributions as you make them.

Deploying While Federal: Your FEHB, FEGLI, and FERS Clock

Q: Does my FEHB continue while I'm deployed?

Yes, for up to 24 months, but the cost depends on the track. If your deployment is a contingency operation, your agency has authority to pay the entire premium, including your share, for all 24 months, though that is a discretionary agency decision you should confirm before leaving. For all other USERRA-covered duty, you pay your normal share for months 1 through 12, then 102% of the full premium for months 13 through 24.

Q: What happens to my FEGLI during deployment?

Basic FEGLI continues automatically for 12 months at no cost, with no election needed. To keep it for months 13 through 24, you must notify your agency in writing before the first 12 months end and pay both the employee and government shares. Miss that election and Basic terminates at month 12. Optional coverage continues up to 12 months with premiums owed.

Q: Does my deployment time count toward my FERS pension?

It can, but not automatically. Military LWOP under USERRA is creditable only if you pay a deposit, calculated as the lesser of 3% of your military basic pay or the FERS deductions that would have come out of your civilian salary. That lesser-of formula is unique to USERRA-interrupted service and is often cheaper than the standard buyback rate.

Q: Is the USERRA deposit different from the military buyback?

Yes. The classic buyback covers military service performed before your federal career and always costs 3% of military basic pay plus interest. The USERRA deposit covers deployments that interrupted your federal career and uses the lesser-of formula, which frequently comes out lower for employees whose civilian salary is modest relative to their deployment pay. Paid military leave under 5 U.S.C. 6323 needs no deposit at all.

Q: Who enforces USERRA for federal employees?

Not the Department of Labor, which handles private-sector cases. Federal employees file with the Office of Special Counsel or go directly to the MSPB under 38 U.S.C. 4324. There is no filing deadline for USERRA claims, and ESGR (1-800-336-4590) offers free informal mediation as a first step.

Last Updated: July 29, 2026 Reading Time: 10 min

When a Guard or Reserve member who works for the government gets mobilization orders, the reemployment question is usually the one they know to ask, and the answer is solid: USERRA holds your job. The questions most deploying feds don't ask are the ones that cost money: what happens to FEHB premiums in month 13, the FEGLI election that silently expires at month 12, and whether two years of deployment LWOP will ever count toward a FERS pension.

Each benefit runs on its own clock, with its own deadline and its own default. Some defaults are generous. Some quietly terminate coverage. This is the full benefit-by-benefit map, including the deposit rule that even HR offices routinely get wrong.

FEHB continues up to 24 months, on two tracks: contingency-operation deployments may have the agency pay the entire premium (confirm before you leave), while all other duty means normal cost for 12 months, then 102% of the full premium.
FEGLI Basic is free and automatic for 12 months, but keeping it for months 13 to 24 requires a written election before month 12 ends. Miss it and coverage terminates.
Deployment LWOP counts toward FERS only if you pay a deposit, and USERRA gives you a lesser-of formula that is often cheaper than the standard 3% buyback rate.
TSP makeup contributions require an election within 60 days of reemployment; you then get up to three times your service length (max five years) to make up contributions, with the match paid as you do.
Federal employees enforce USERRA through OSC and the MSPB, not the Department of Labor, and there is no filing deadline.

The Benefit Clock: Every Deadline in One Table

Save this one. It is the cross-benefit view that exists nowhere else, including OPM's own guidance, which scatters these rules across five documents:

Benefit	Before you leave	Automatic during deployment	On return	Hard deadline
FEHB	Elect continuation; confirm contingency-op status with HR	Agency keeps paying government share	Nothing; re-enrollment is automatic	Pre-departure election
FEGLI Basic	Nothing	Continues 12 months, free	Nothing if under 12 months	Written extension election before month 12
FEGLI Optional	Arrange premium payment	Continues 12 months, premiums owed	Debt reconciled	Terminates after month 12
TSP	Nothing	Contributions stop	File makeup election	60 days after reemployment
FERS (paid military leave)	Nothing	Credited automatically	Nothing	None
FERS (deployment LWOP)	Nothing	Creditable on paper only	Pay the USERRA deposit	Before your FERS retirement application
Reemployment	Give advance notice	Position protected, escalator applies	Apply for reemployment	90 days after release (for 181+ day service)

FedTools 2026 USERRA Federal Employee Benefit Checklist. Sources: OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook Ch. 22, 20 CFR Part 1002, 5 CFR 1620.42, OPM FEHB and FEGLI military service guidance.

FEHB: The Two-Track Premium Rule Nobody Explains

Your health coverage can continue for up to 24 months of military duty. What you pay depends entirely on which track your deployment falls under, and the difference is thousands of dollars.

Track 1: contingency operations. If your orders are for a contingency operation under 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(13), which covers most post-9/11 style mobilizations, your agency has statutory authority to pay the entire FEHB premium, including your employee share, for the full 24 months. The catch: it is discretionary, agency by agency. Ask HR the specific question before you leave: "Will the agency pay my full FEHB premium under the contingency operation authority?"

Track 2: everything else. For USERRA-covered duty that is not a contingency operation, months 1 through 12 work like normal employment: you pay your share, the agency pays the government share. Months 13 through 24 flip to self-pay at 102% of the total premium, employee share plus government share plus an administrative fee. Functionally COBRA, with one major improvement: when you come back, re-enrollment is immediate, with no waiting period and no pre-existing condition exclusions except service-connected conditions.

If you also carry TRICARE eligibility, you can weigh suspending FEHB during the deployment, but continuing it avoids any gap and preserves uninterrupted family coverage. Compare what your plan actually costs against the 102% rate with the FEHB Calculator before deciding.

FEGLI: The Month-12 Election That Silently Expires

FEGLI Basic is the most forgiving benefit on the list for short deployments and the most dangerous for long ones. For the first 12 months of nonpay status it continues automatically, at no cost, with no paperwork.

Then month 12 arrives. To keep Basic for months 13 through 24, you must notify your agency in writing before the first 12-month period ends and pay both shares of the premium. There is no reminder system. A reservist on a 15-month mobilization who never sends that letter is uninsured for the final three months, at exactly the moment their family would need the coverage.

Optional FEGLI (A, B, C) continues up to 12 months with premiums owed as a debt reconciled on return, then terminates with conversion rights to a private policy.

If your orders say 12 months or less, do nothing and you are fine. If they say more, or deployments have a habit of extending, calendar the election for month 10.

FERS Credit: Three Kinds of Military Time, Three Different Rules

This is the most misunderstood piece of the entire deployment picture, because "military service credit" means three different things:

Paid military leave (5 U.S.C. 6323). Your 15 days a year of paid military leave is civilian service, full stop. FERS deductions come out of your civilian pay as normal, and no deposit is ever required. (The full rules live in our military leave guide.)

Deployment LWOP under USERRA. Here is the trap: the time is "creditable" for FERS, but only if you pay a deposit after you return. The USERRA formula is the lesser of 3% of your military basic pay for the period, or the FERS deductions that would have been withheld from your civilian salary had you never left, plus interest if you wait. That lesser-of comparison exists only for USERRA-interrupted service, and it can meaningfully undercut the standard rate. Pay it before you file your retirement application or the deployment years vanish from your pension math.

Pre-employment military service. The classic buyback: 3% of military basic pay plus interest, no lesser-of option. Run your numbers with the Military Buyback Calculator.

A two-year mobilization for a GS-12 is worth roughly 2% of your high-3 in annual pension, for life, under the 1% multiplier. The deposit that secures it is usually a four-figure number. Few trades in the federal benefits system are that lopsided.

TSP, Reemployment, and Enforcement: The Short Versions

TSP: contributions stop during LWOP and restart on return. You have 60 days from reemployment to file a makeup election, then up to three times your service length (capped at five years) to contribute what you missed, with agency matching paid on the makeup contributions. The full mechanics, including the traditional-vs-Roth wrinkle, are in the TSP makeup contributions guide.

Reemployment: notice before you leave, apply on return within the deadline for your service length (90 days for 181+ days of service), and the escalator principle entitles you to the position you would have reached, promotions included. Details and the deadline table: USERRA reemployment rights.

Enforcement: federal employees do not go to the Department of Labor. Your path is the Office of Special Counsel (osc.gov, online form) or directly to the MSPB under 38 U.S.C. 4324. There is no filing deadline. For a free informal fix first, ESGR (1-800-336-4590) mediates most disputes without a case ever opening. Being RIF'd or passed over while deployed are the classic violations: USERRA does not exempt you from a RIF, but your military status cannot be a motivating factor, and your retention standing must reflect continuous seniority.

Calculate What Your Military Time Is Worth

Whether it is a deployment deposit or a pre-career buyback, the pension value of crediting military time is a specific dollar figure. Use the free Military Buyback Calculator to see what the deposit costs and what it adds to your FERS annuity for life. Try it now →

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my FEHB continue while I'm deployed?

Yes, up to 24 months. Contingency-operation deployments may have the agency pay the entire premium (discretionary; confirm before leaving). Otherwise: normal cost-sharing for 12 months, then 102% of the full premium for months 13 to 24.

What happens to my FEGLI during deployment?

Basic continues free and automatically for 12 months. Keeping it for months 13 to 24 requires a written election before month 12 ends, plus premiums. Optional coverage runs 12 months with premiums owed, then terminates with conversion rights.

Does my deployment time count toward my FERS pension?

Only if you pay the USERRA deposit after returning: the lesser of 3% of military basic pay or the civilian FERS deductions you would have paid. Pay it before you retire.

Is the USERRA deposit different from the military buyback?

Yes. Buyback covers pre-career service at a flat 3% plus interest. The USERRA deposit covers career-interrupting deployments and uses the lesser-of formula, which is often cheaper.

How long do I have to make up TSP contributions?

File the election within 60 days of reemployment; then up to three times your service length, capped at five years, with matching paid as you contribute.

Who enforces USERRA for federal employees?

The Office of Special Counsel and the MSPB, not the Department of Labor. There is no filing deadline, and ESGR offers free mediation first.

Military Buyback Calculator: The deposit cost and pension payoff for crediting military time
USERRA Reemployment Rights: Deadlines, the escalator principle, and getting your job back
USERRA and Your TSP: The makeup contribution deep dive
Military Leave Under 5 U.S.C. 6323: Your 15 paid days and how they interact with deployments
Guard & Reserve Retirement Points: The military-side pension you are also building

Sources: OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook, Chapter 22 · OPM FEHB military service guidance · OPM FEGLI active-duty FAQ · TSP Fact Sheet FS08 · OSC USERRA page