Federal benefits glossary: 40 terms in plain language

A to C

Annuitant: A person receiving a federal annuity: a retiree, or a survivor receiving a survivor annuity.
Annuity: The monthly pension OPM pays a retired federal employee under FERS or CSRS, figured from high-3, service and age. See the FERS annuity.
Basic Employee Death Benefit: A FERS benefit for the eligible spouse or former spouse of an employee who dies in service after at least 18 months of creditable service: a lump sum plus a share of pay. See survivor benefits.
COLA: Cost-of-living adjustment, the yearly increase to federal annuities based on inflation, first paid each January. See COLA.
Court order acceptable for processing: OPM's term for a divorce or separation order that meets its requirements to divide an annuity or award a former spouse survivor annuity. See divorce and benefits.
CPI-W: The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, the inflation measure used to set Social Security and federal retiree COLAs.
Creditable service: Federal civilian and qualifying military service that counts toward retirement eligibility, the annuity computation, or both.
CSRS: The Civil Service Retirement System, which covers most employees hired before 1984. CSRS employees generally do not pay into Social Security. See CSRS.
CSRS Offset: A CSRS variant for employees with a break in service who also pay Social Security; their annuity is reduced at 62 by the Social Security earned during federal service.

D to F

Deferred retirement: An annuity claimed later by a FERS employee who leaves federal service before retirement eligibility with at least 5 years of creditable civilian service.
Diet COLA: The FERS COLA rule: full inflation if it is 2 percent or less, 2 percent if it is between 2 and 3 percent, and inflation minus 1 point above 3 percent.
Discontinued service retirement: An immediate retirement for employees separated involuntarily, not for cause, at 50 with 20 years or at any age with 25 years.
eOPF: The electronic Official Personnel Folder, the online record of your personnel actions, including every SF-50. See your SF-50 and records.
FEDVIP: The Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program, supplemental dental and vision plans paid fully by the enrollee. See FEDVIP.
FEGLI: Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance: Basic coverage plus Options A, B and C. See FEGLI.
FEHB: The Federal Employees Health Benefits program, the health insurance plans available to federal employees, annuitants and their families. See FEHB.
FERS: The Federal Employees Retirement System, which covers most employees hired since 1984. It has three parts: a basic annuity, Social Security and the TSP. See FERS.
FERS supplement: A monthly payment for FERS employees who retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity before 62, approximating Social Security earned in federal service and ending at 62. See the supplement.
FSAFEDS: The Federal Flexible Spending Account Program, which lets employees set aside pre-tax pay for eligible health care and dependent care costs.

G to L

G Fund: The TSP fund invested in special U.S. Treasury securities. Its principal is protected, and its rate is set monthly. See TSP funds.
High-3: The highest average basic pay you earned in any 3 consecutive years of service, used in the FERS and CSRS formulas.
IRMAA: The income-related monthly adjustment amount, an extra charge on Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for higher-income beneficiaries. See IRMAA brackets.
L Funds: TSP lifecycle funds that mix the five core funds and grow more conservative as their target date approaches.
Leave and Earnings Statement: Your pay stub, showing pay, deductions, leave balances and FEGLI and FEHB withholdings each pay period.
Locality pay: A percentage added to GS base pay based on your official duty station's pay area. It counts toward your high-3. See GS pay.

M to R

MRA: Minimum retirement age under FERS, from 55 to 57 depending on your birth year. See eligibility.
MRA+10: A FERS retirement at your MRA with 10 to 29 years of service. The annuity is reduced 5 percent for each year under 62 unless you postpone it.
Open Season: The yearly window, generally mid-November to mid-December, when you can change FEHB, FEDVIP and FSAFEDS elections for the next year. See Open Season.
Postponed retirement: An MRA+10 retirement in which you delay the start of your annuity to reduce or remove the age reduction.
PSHB: The Postal Service Health Benefits program, a separate health program for Postal Service employees and annuitants that began in 2025.
Redeposit: Repaying a refund of retirement contributions you took after leaving service earlier, so that service counts again under OPM's rules.
RIF: Reduction in force, the formal process an agency uses to separate or downgrade employees when it cuts positions. See RIF, VERA and VSIP.
Roth TSP: TSP contributions made after tax, so qualified withdrawals, including earnings, are tax free. See Roth TSP.

S to Z

Service computation date (SCD): The date used to credit your federal service. You may have separate SCDs for leave, retirement and RIF. See your SF-50 and records.
SF-50: The Notification of Personnel Action, the form recording each personnel action, such as hiring, promotion or pay change. Block 30 shows your retirement plan. See SF-50.
Special provisions: The retirement rules for law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and certain other positions: earlier eligibility and a 1.7 percent multiplier for the first 20 years. See special provisions.
Survivor annuity: A monthly benefit paid to a spouse or former spouse after a retiree dies, paid for by a reduction in the retiree's annuity. See survivor benefits.
TSP: The Thrift Savings Plan, the federal defined contribution retirement savings plan, similar to a 401(k). See TSP.
VERA: Voluntary early retirement authority, which lets eligible employees retire early when their agency has OPM approval to offer it.
VSIP: Voluntary separation incentive payment, a lump-sum payment an agency may offer to encourage employees to resign or retire.

Need more than a definition?

Each term links to the guide that explains it in context. For quick answers, see the federal retirement FAQ. To see how these terms apply to you, a Federal Retirement Consultant (FRC®) can walk through your records. Get matched with an FRC, free.

Reviewed by the FFEBA education team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Sources

U.S. Office of Personnel Management, CSRS/FERS Handbook, retrieved 2026-07-05
U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS computation, retrieved 2026-10-11
Thrift Savings Plan, individual and lifecycle funds, retrieved 2026-07-05

Every government figure on this page carries its source and retrieval date. Worked examples are educational estimates on the assumptions shown, not a projection of any person's benefit. FFEBA is an education organization, not a financial advisor.

Federal benefits glossary