So I'm finding out more from HR, and it looks like I can buy three years for $30,000 (ouch). I can also buy less if I want, so I don't have to roll that much out of my 403b. I didn't think I would be eligible to buy that much, so that's nice. I wish it were a little cheaper, though. Sun Hat, 11k for three years sounds like a bargain, especially at your salary!
To answer some of your questions: I'm not too worried about the volatility of the job, so it's likely I could easily stay here a while. I don't want to do this forever, however, so buying this time would mean I'd only have to work 5.5 more years to get to the 25 mark. Then I can stay in the job and earn more time towards the pension if I decide I can stand it, or I can look for another job, or whatever seems financially feasible by then. If I left before 25 years, I would just have a lower pension and wouldn't be eligible for the whole amount until 65. Not great, but not a total loss either. I would not likely pull the money out if I left early because the health insurance I would have at 65 is too valuable.
I've run different calculations, and leaving the 30k in the 403b would yield a little more income at 4% WR eventually. BUT, I am leaning towards buying the credit. The service buy would be worth maybe 2k/year in my pension, but the freedom to leave this job sooner may be priceless. When I think of how I feel now and project that a few years into the future, it's not pretty. It's not a bad job, I like my coworkers, it doesn't harm anybody, etc., but it's not a good fit for me, and I'm a bit burned out on it and not challenged by it. I feel like I'm losing IQ points daily, and I didn't have a great surplus of those to begin with!
One big con is that this cuts a big hole in my stash and will make it harder for me to have as much saved on the side as I had always planned. But since I think I'll have to work somewhere doing something anyway in the interim between leaving this job and age 60, that could be fixable with additional money I would save during that period. If you look at it in purely mathematical terms, buying the time may not be a great idea, but I think I will derive a lot of comfort from the idea that I could leave sooner. And if I do decide to stay in this system, I'd have 30 years at a younger age and be able to retire before 60 with the full benefits. Can't really see that happening, but you never know.
Pensions are great if you can get them, but they do tend to make you stay in jobs that are maybe not a good match for you. Let this be a lesson to all the young folk out there--don't spend your money on stupid shit when you're in your 20s. I could have been retired already if I'd been smarter a couple of decades ago.
Thanks for indulging me as I think through this. I'm still not sure what I'll do.