I got confused a bit, i thought the vesting was 3-5 years? not 10 years like in first post?
You'll be vested after 5 years (verify this, but I believe it's 5). The 10 years refers to taking your annuity at
Minimum Retirement Age (MRA), at a penalty. With less than 10 years, you cannot retire at MRA -- you have to wait until age 62. There are various other milestones along the way that increase the benefits or lower the withdrawal ages, like 20 years of service (retire at 60) or 30 years (retire at MRA with full benefits).
Second question is, can I retire after 10 years at age 38 and defer it until 57? From how I read it, it sounds like I can but I wanted to make sure.
Technically, you cannot
retire at age 38. You can resign and defer your annuity until you reach retirement age.
Retirement from the federal government, in the proper sense of the word, means reaching retirement age and drawing benefits immediately upon leaving, including an annuity, health care benefits, social security supplement, life insurance, etc.
and lastly, it doesn't seem like FERS pays out much :S other pensions pay around 60-70% of the 3 highest years, or it does for my parents on state pensions (and they won't be working 60 years, more like 20). Is FERS worth it for someone as youngish as me (namely, I want to retire at 40). Would I be better off not doing FERS (is it an option) and just saving it in a taxable investment account (assuming I max TSP/roths first).
Yup, the days of 60-70% pensions are long gone in the federal government. Those ceased somewhere around 1984 (although everyone who started in that plan was grandfathered for life). Under FERS, the annuity is seen as just one pillar of retirement, with SS and TSP making up the balance.
You don't opt out of FERS, it's a benefit that's given to you no matter what (and they'll withhold a portion of your pay for it no matter what). It's a sweet and rare benefit, make sure you go through all the details to maximize your benefits when the time comes. It doesn't just include a retirement annuity one day, it also includes a generous short and long term disability coverage while you're working, death benefits to survivors, etc.
And except for simple math of using $100k, how likely is it to be getting that much, average in government? My position [waiting on background check :(] is listed as GS-7 with a salary range of $42,327.00 to $62,297.00 / Per Year. Maybe you guys can't help with this question, just asking on the off chance someone might know, I don't anticipate it, but would be nice to hit the top range after a while. I doubt I'll start out that high, I'm hoping I stay at the same rate I am now, $50k but they haven't even told me how much I'd be making since they want to wait for background check before proceeding (is this part normal as well?). Well, if pay is comparable, I see no reason not to stick with it. If not, I would probably get out before the 10 years anyhow.
Yes, waiting for the background check before making an offer is normal. The pay they will offer you is very much dependent on the agency and job in question. They'll likely minimally match or increase your salary slightly beyond what you're earning now, but no guarantees. But don't scoff at just a matching salary, because the additional benefits and job security are significant. And your position may come with automatic grade increases, so check into this. For example, a lot of federal law enforcement positions have an automatic GS7/10/12 path after only a couple of years.
When you're on the GS scale, you'll have a combination of "grade" (range 1 - 15) and "step" (range 1-10). Your pay will be determined by the combination of the two. Step increases happen automatically on a set schedule (more frequently on the lower end -- every year) and less frequently on the higher end (every 3 years). Sometimes step increases can be awarded outside of the normal schedule for exceptional performance, but this is fairly rare. Depending on how much Congress continues to fuck with federal employees, you may also get an annual cost of living raise.
Increases in grade also happen pretty regularly (as long as you're not a screw-up), but it depends on your agency and job classification. In some agencies and jobs, promotion up to GS-13 tends to be pretty standard, but after that it's much more selective and restricted to management or "expert" positions.