What you Need to Know as a FERS Dual Status Technician/Military Reservice Technician

Are you a Dual Status Technician?

More names for this can be: Military Reserve Technician, Air Reserve technician, or National Guard Technician.

If so, your retirement benefits/rules are different from the traditional FERS or special provision FERS federal employees.

That is why it is so important that you understand exactly what benefits you will get and what benefits you can’t get.

Big Differences

Being a dual status technician can have a lot of perks like base benefits and tuition assistance, however, this article will focus on the key differences between your retirement benefits and those of your traditional FERS counterparts.

If you want a full guide for smaller benefits/differences, check out these articles:

–Air Reserve technician

–National Guard Technician

Biggest Difference

As you probably already know, one of the biggest benefits of being a dual status technician is that you can concurrently earn a FERS civilian retirement and a reserve retirement without penalty.

This means that you can have two pensions in retirement earned from the same service time!

But there are some hiccups to watch out for which I’ll discuss below.

When Can You Retire as a Dual Status Technician?

To be eligible for the FERS civilian pension, you have to meet the traditional FERS retirement requirements.

Here are the most common requirements to retire and get a full pension right away:

-Be your MRA with at least 30 years of service (MRA+30) or

-Be at least 60 with at least 20 years of service (60+20) or

-Be at least 62 with at least 5 years of service (62+5)

There are some other types of retirements you potentially can qualify for as well which I go into more depth about those here.

Reserve Retirement

Most people become eligible for the reserve retirement portion at age 60.

The Hiccups

Here are some of the biggest hiccups that you have to know about being a dual status technician.

-You are NOT eligible to receive the increased 10% (1.1% factor) when attaining age 62 with 20 years of service.

Here is more information about this 10% bonus.

-You are NOT allowed to buy back any concurrent military service.

Here is more information about buying back military time.

-You are NOT eligible to participate in TRICARE in retirement (based on your own work record).

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Dallen J. Haws, CFP®, MBA

CEO and Lead Planner

Dallen is one of the most sought after federal retirement experts in the country.

He routinely speaks/consults with thousands of federal employees about their benefits and retirement. He is a self-professed nerd about helping those under FERS to maximize benefits, reduce taxes, and retire confident.

He is a regular contributor to Govexec and FedSmith and many other federal employee new sites.

When he is not perfecting retirement plans, you can find him training for triathlons or going on adventures with his family.

Common Questions

What do you do?

We are the go-to financial planning firm/financial advisors for FERS federal employees all around the country (and the world). We help our clients maximize their benefits, reduce taxes, and retire confident.

Who do you serve?

We serve FERS federal employees everyday, all day, and twice on Sunday. We eat and breath federal benefits and are proud to be the go-to financial planners for FERS federal employees all around the world.

How do you make money?

We are a commission-free (a.k.a. fee-only) financial planning firm for FERS federal employees. Our fees depend on the complexity of your situation but our fees are always very transparent. Some financial advisors are commission-based, which may cause fees to be hidden or create conflicts of interest. Not us. Our goal is to lower your taxes, maximize your benefits, and make sure you can retire without worry. For more info about our fees, click here.

Can you meet virtually and work with people in other locations?

Yep! We work with people from all over the U.S. as well as many federal employees who are stationed overseas.

What areas do you help your clients with?

Great question. Here are the 5 areas that we help our clients with:

-Retirement Planning: Planning for the day when work is optional

-Investment Planning: Building wealth for your future

-Tax Strategy: Taking advantage of opportunities in the tax law

-Insurance Planning: Protecting your loved ones and what you’ve already built

-Estate Planning: Planning for those you leave behind

One thing we found that clients really appreciate is that no other financial advisor is able to help them with their federal benefits as well as the rest of their financial lives like we can.

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