Required Years in Fire
Hey, guys! I have a question regarding age and mandatory retirement.
I started as an apprentice at nearly 36 and am really enjoying the job. I'm still in the military (reserves) and have a deployment on the horizon and my question is, from what I've seen, this activated Federal time can be used toward career years of Government service (when I buy it back) but not towards the 20 years in fire itself for the firefighter retirement.
How might this effect my retirement when I become 37 soon but may not be able to fully do 20 civilian years in fire before turning 57? I'm worried that when I hit 57 I'll only be at 18 or 19 years in fire.
The OPM website wasn't helpful and when I called HR they weren't really sure how that would work either (they are supposed to reach back out and follow up but I am not hopeful.) Any insight you all have would be really appreciated, thank you!