CIA Offers Career Opportunities for Veterans

CIA Offers Career Opportunities for Veterans
source: CIA

Your prior military service could qualify you to continue to serve your nation at the Central Intelligence Agency. Opportunities for qualified applicants are available in the U.S. and abroad.

If you join the CIA, your military service could affect the benefits you earn as a federal employee. The following information offers a concise description of what to expect in terms of benefits when transitioning from the military to a career at CIA.

Annual LeaveMilitary personnel who separate from uniformed service (but not retired) receive full annual leave credit for service performed under honorable conditions. Please review the chart below to see how much annual leave you will earn each pay period based on the years of uniformed service you performed…

Years of Military Service Hours/Pay Period Days/Year
Less than 3 4 13

3 but less than 15 6 20

15 or more 8 26

Military personnel who retire from uniformed service are generally not eligible for annual leave accrual credit. Exceptions to this rule are outlined below.

* Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004 provides that a newly appointed employee's non-federal work experience may be creditable in determining the amount of annual leave earned each biweekly pay period. Qualified non-federal work experience (at least three years) must have been performed in a position with duties that directly relate to the position to which he or she is hired at the CIA.

* Actual service during a war declared by Congress (includes World War II covering the period December 7, 1941, to April 28, 1952) or while participating in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized; or
All active duty when retirement was based on a disability received as a direct result of armed conflict or caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a period of war as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(11). "Period of war" includes World War II, the Korean conflict, Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War, or the period beginning on the date of any future declaration of war by the Congress and ending on the date prescribed by Presidential proclamation or concurrent resolution of the Congress.

Sick Leave
Your military service does not affect sick leave accruals. Full-time employees accrue four hours of sick leave per pay period, or up to13 workdays per leave year.

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
The Thrift Savings Plan is a retirement savings and investment plan for federal employees and uniformed service members www.cia.gov/careers/benefits or www.tsp.govfor more information about TSP). If you had a TSP account while serving in the military, you can merge most of your account balance after you establish a civilian account. Tax-exempt balances (contributions from combat zone pay) cannot be transferred to your civilian account.

Military service does not count towards eligibility for Agency Automatic (1%) contributions and Agency Matching contributions (up to 5%). New employees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) must serve a waiting period before becoming eligible to receive Agency contributions.

Service Credit for Retirement
Separated (but not retired) military personnel can use their uniformed service for credit toward civilian retirement by making a deposit to the retirement fund of 7 percent (for Civil Service Retirement System – CSRS) or 3 percent (for FERS) of basic military pay.

Retired military personnel can use their uniformed service towards civilian retirement by making a deposit to the retirement fund and waiving their military retirement pay at their civilian retirement. If a military retiree wants to keep his/her military retirement pay he/she cannot use the military service towards civilian retirement.

Dual-compensation Rules for Retired Military Personnel RepealedRetired military personnel no longer receive reductions to their retired or retainer pay when employed in a civilian office or position of the U.S. Government. The repeal ends two former reductions in military retired pay that applied to some federal employees:

* the pay cap that limited the combined total of Federal civilian basic salary plus military retired pay to $110,700 (Executive Level V) for all federal employees who are retirees of a uniformed service; and

* the partial reduction in retired pay required of retired officers of a regular component of a uniformed service.

Military Leave Accrual for National Guard or Reserves DutyEmployees who serve in the National Guard or Reserves for Active Duty or Training receive the following leave military leave benefits:

* Full-time employees serving in the National Guard or the Reserves accrue 15 days (120 hours) of military leave for each fiscal year (October 1 – September 30). Accrual rates for part-time employees are prorated.

* Unused Military Leave, up to 120 hours, is carried into the new fiscal year; and any unused leave over 120 hours is forfeited.

* Employees on Military Leave receive civilian and military pay.

Military Leave Insurrection
Employees required for emergency duty (for law enforcement or the protection of life and property) as ordered by the President or a State Governor, or in support of contingency operations as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(A)(13), receive the following leave military leave benefits:

* Employees earn up to 22 days per calendar year.

* Leave cannot be carried over into the next calendar year.

* Civilian salary is reduced by the amount of pay for the days of military leave. An employee may choose to take annual instead of military leave and receive both military and civilian pay.

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