We all love extra credit and Peace Corps Volunteers who work in federal government (and some state level institutions) can pick up some for their service computation date. This means the years spent making a difference in communities around the world counts towards the date you started as an employee and thus your retirement benefits. For those looking to get a federal job, bookmark this page for later!
In the immediate present, you become closer to getting a bump up (or will receive it) to the amount of leave hours received each pay period. When you reach three years of employment (how long you’ve worked plus the time in service you buy back), you’ll receive 6 hours of annual leave every 2 weeks rather than 4 hours. If you completed service, than this happens after your first year of employment.
The long term benefit brings your retirement date closer by the amount of time you served. This helps to either A.) retire earlier or B.) gain a higher percent of retirement pay when you do.
Good deal, right? The only stipulations to participate in the service buyback program are that you must have completed at least one year of service with the Peace Corps and currently be a federal employee.
If you meet these requirements, check out the instructions below and reach out to your HR department or the representative they provided you to start the process.
Let’s do this…
Step 1. Reach out to certify@peacecorps.gov or log into your account on the Peace Corps RPCV Portal. Request your letter of service with your period of service indicated as this is what the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will use to adjust your service computation date.
Step 2. Submit your letter of service to the HR representative provided to you by your department or agency. If you’re unsure who this is, that’s ok! Just ask a co-worker who an HR rep is or how to contact their office. Once you find a rep, they may ask you to fill out an additional form that is needed for certification.
Step 3. Submit and Wait. Once completed and returned, your HR rep will submit all to OPM who will then calculate the amount owed for the adjustment. OPM can get backlogged, so if you don’t hear anything after a couple weeks, reach out only to your HR rep to see if they can check in. Don’t contact OPM as they will not provide any information or a status update.
Step 4. When your HR rep or OPM do reach out to you with a bill, pay it as soon as possible as this can accrue interest. It’s a small but still, who wants to pay more than needed? The amount depends on how many months you served and how much you earned per month as a PCV. It may seem like a good chunk of change, but you’ll make it back within the first year after you receive your leave increase. Not to mention the larger amount for when you retire.
Step 5. Submit and wait again. After sending in your check, OPM will send you a new balance indicating that the deposit has been paid. Forward this along to your HR rep who will then update your service computation date and you’ll be credited!
And that’s it!
We highly recommend doing this as soon as possible so that you can 1. get credited through leave and in retirement and 2. not have interest build up.
Remember, the service buyback program is a unique opportunity that other industries don’t pay you for. Don’t let it slip away! Contact your HR rep or department today to get started and have Peace Corps service give you another little boost.