Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA)

Early retirements are a management tool that, in some instances, may reduce the number of involuntary separations or downgrades in an agency. There are two types of early retirements; Voluntary Early Authority (VERA) and Discontinued Service Retirement (DSR). VERA is a voluntary action taken by an employee when identified by management as eligible for the offer of VERA. DSR provides an annuity for employees who are separated against their will (involuntary). DSR is not available or appropriate for employees who are separated for cause on charges of misconduct or delinquency. The employee must meet one of the age and service requirements below at separation for both VERA and DSR:

Age Requirements Service Requirements

• 50 years of Age 20 years of service
• Any age 25 years of service

For more information on VERA and DSR go to:

• Planning and Applying for retirement
• Voluntary Retirement Based on Age and Service
• MRA + 10 Retirement
• Early Voluntary Retirement
• Discontinued Service Retirement

Other resources to determine minimum retirement age, etc... may be found at: https://www.ebis.army.mil/login.aspx

Updated: 12/16/2019