Revised March 1998
OPM Form 1496
Section E - Military Service
Military service can be added to your civilian Federal service under
the circumstances outlined below:
Item 1:
if you have performed active duty that terminated under
honorable conditions in the armed services or other uniformed services
of the United States, enter, for each period of active duty, (a) the
branch of service (Army, Navy, etc.), (b) your serial number for that
period of service, (c) the beginning and ending dates of active duty,
(d) your last grade or rank during that period of service, and (e) your
organization (company, division, etc.) at discharge. If available, attach
a copy of your discharge certificate or other documentation of the
active military service.
Active military service, generally rendered on a full-time basis with
military pay and allowances, includes the following:
a. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard of the
United States.
b. Cadet or Midshipman of the United States Military Academy,
United States Air Force Academy, United States Coast Guard
Academy, or United States Naval Academy.
Service in reserve components and/or the National Guard is not
considered active Federal military service
except
when ordered to
active duty in the service of the Unites States and during an initial
training period.
Information about your active duty military service is needed so that
we can compare your claim with other records and request verification
of all claimed military service. This assures that you are credited with
the correct amount of active military service.
Item 2:
Indicate whether or not you are receiving or have applied for
military retired pay.
If you are receiving military retired pay, your military service cannot
be used for civil service retirement purposes, unless:
a.
b.
If you are receiving military retired pay, the conditions in a or b above
do not apply to you, and you wish to combine your military and
civilian service to compute your civil service annuity, you must waive
your military retired pay.
In order to waive military retired pay you should send a written
request, specifying the effective date of the waiver and your social
security number, directly to the Military Finance Center from which
you receive retired pay. Preferably this should be at least 60 days
before the commencing date of your civil service annuity (your 62nd
birthday). Your letter might say, "I, (full name, military serial number,
and social security number), hereby waive my military retired pay for
civil service retirement purposes, effective close of business (the day
before annuity commences)." If you wish, add "I authorize the Office
of Personnel Management to withhold from my civil service retirement
service retirement annuity any amount of military pay granted beyond the
effective date of this waiver due to any delay in receiving or processing this
election." This authorization may hasten the processing of your waiver and
your retirement application.
If you have already waived military retired pay in order to receive credit for
active duty military service for civil service retirement purposes, attach a
copy of your request for waiver and of any reply you have received.
Section F - Other Claims Information
Item 1:
Indicate whether or not you have ever applied for retirement,
refund, deposit or redeposit, or voluntary contributions, under the Civil
Service Retirement System. If you have, indicate which in 1a and the
applicable claim numbers in 1b. This helps to assure that all of your records
are located and that proper credit is given for your service, and for any
deposit, redeposit, or voluntary contribution payments you have made.
Item 2:
Indicate whether or not you have ever been employed under
another retirement system for Federal or District of Columbia employees. If
your answer is "yes," fill in the name of that retirement system in 2a and the
dates of services in 2b. This helps to assure proper consideration is given to
all of your service. The service you show here cannot be used to compute
your civil service annuity if the other retirement system is paying you
retirement based on the service.
Item 3:
If you have applied for, or received, workers' compensation from
the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, U.S. Department of Labor,
because of a job-related illness or injury sustained during Federal
employment, check the "yes" box and furnish your claim numbers and dates
of benefits in 3a and 3b.
The information requested regarding benefits from the Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs is needed because the law prohibits payment of
both civil service retirement annuity and compensation for total or partial
disability under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act at the same time.
In some cases, credit for service, particularly for periods of leave without
pay, may also be affected.
Section G - Certification of Applicant
Be sure to sign (do not print) and date your application, after reviewing the
warning.
FILING YOUR APPLICATION
Send your completed application, and any attachments requested in the
instructions or the letter, to Office of Personnel Management, Civil Service
Retirement System, Retirement Operations Center, Boyers, Pennsylvania,
16017.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU FILE YOUR APPLICATION
1.
2.
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The Office of Personnel Management will acknowledge receipt of
your application and give you an identification card. This card will
give you your claim number, which will begin with the letters "CSA."
This number will be very important to you as an annuitant, because
you will need to refer to it any time you write or call us in connection
with your annuity.
We will search our files for all records and previous claims related to
your Federal service and place these with your application in your
CSA claim file.
Your final separation was before April 1, 1948,
and military
retired pay was based on disability, or under Chapter 67, Title
10 (formerly Title III, Public Law 80-810), or
Your final separation was on/after April 1, 1948, and
on/before September 30, 1956,
and military retired pay was
either on account of disability incurred in combat with an
enemy of the United States or which resulted from an explosion
of an instrumentality of war, or under Chapter 67, Title 10,
formerly Title III, Public Law 80-810).