I see there are a good number of federal excepted service careers represented here, including others in the Foreign Service. Our MRA is 20/50 (20 years in, 50 years of age). It just so happens that I joined when I was 29, so I will be right at 20 years in the year I turn 50 (2029). I am sticking it out because 7 years feels very close at this point. I can feel the wind picking up at my feet, and I can almost see the finish line; I can definitely sense it on the horizon.
What would I give up by leaving earlier? A supplemental annuity worth what Social Security would pay if I were eligible to receive it at age 50 and which would then run until full SS age (62), my Cadillac health insurance plan (which I get to keep for life after retirement and which, supplemented by Medicare Part B, will reduce health care expenses to practically nothing after age 65)… anything else? Let’s see… oh, my pension calculation will go from 1.7%/year to 1%/year. That’s significant. Payout of my sick leave, of which I use very little, so probably $30k worth of that. A few more things I am probably forgetting.
In short, in my circumstances, with only seven years to go, the juice seems worth the squeeze, as the saying goes. I will say this: I have been in for over 12 years at this point; I though the time would pass slowly, but it has passed very quickly. That said, I know some folks are looking at a much longer horizon, and I understand the hesitancy to stick it out if you are looking at 20 more years or more.
Then again… it does go quicker than we think when all is said and done, no?