Does accepting a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, or VERA, reduce your pension?
For eligible FERS employees, VERA generally allows early retirement without the usual age-based reduction. That is one of its biggest advantages.
However, retiring early still means you stop adding years of creditable service to your pension calculation. You may also leave before reaching a higher salary or qualifying for the enhanced 1.1% FERS multiplier. As a result, your pension may be smaller than it would have been if you continued working, even though VERA does not add an early retirement penalty.
Before accepting VERA, compare your estimated pension under the offer with what you could receive by working longer. Federal retirement outcomes depend on your age, service history, retirement system, and offer terms.
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