OPM Form 1515: Military Service Deposit Election

OPM Form 1515, the Military Service Deposit Election, no longer exists as a form you fill out. The Office of Personnel Management discontinued it in 2013 and folded the election into the CSRS and FERS retirement applications themselves.¹ The military service deposit process it represented is very much alive, and the paperwork now runs through two current forms: SF 3108 for FERS employees and SF 2803 for CSRS employees.² If your HR office still hands you a copy of Form 1515, treat it as a counseling handout. The actual election and payment happen elsewhere.

The deposit itself matters because it is the only way, in most cases, that your post-1956 active-duty time counts toward your federal civilian retirement. Skip it, and years of service can disappear from your annuity calculation the day you separate. You cannot pay OPM after you leave; the money has to reach your employing agency before your separation date.²

What Replaced Form 1515

Two forms now carry the election, depending on your retirement system:²

FERS employees file SF 3108, Application to Make Service Credit Payment.
CSRS employees file SF 2803, Application to Make Deposit or Redeposit.

The retirement application, SF 3107, still asks whether the employee was counseled using Form 1515, which is why the form’s name persists in agency conversations even though the form is no longer used to make the election.³

Documents to Gather First

Before you can complete SF 3108 or SF 2803, you need two things: proof you served, and an official record of what you were paid.

Your DD Form 214, the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, verifies the dates and character of your service. One DD-214 per period of service. If you served in more than one branch, you need one from each. Copies are free from the National Archives for veterans and next of kin.⁴

The second document is Form RI 20-97, Estimated Earnings During Military Service. You complete blocks 1 through 11, attach your DD-214, and send it to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. DFAS returns a certified statement of your basic military pay, and that figure is what your deposit is calculated from. Use a separate RI 20-97 for each branch you served in.⁵

Where to Send RI 20-97

DFAS accepts submissions through the AskDFAS Military Buy Back upload tool online, or by mail. For Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records, mail to DFAS–Indianapolis Center, 8899 East 56th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46249, with the attention line varying by branch. Coast Guard records go to the Pay and Personnel Center in Topeka, Kansas.⁵

Turnaround is by mail, so start this step early. Nothing else can move until the certified earnings statement is in your hands.

Completing the Deposit Application

Once DFAS returns the earnings statement, take it to your agency’s human resources or benefits office. The HR specialist works through SF 3108 or SF 2803 with you: you enter the military service dates from your DD-214, attach the certified earnings statement, and sign. HR reviews the package and forwards it to payroll, which computes the deposit amount along with any interest owed.

You will see a total before you commit to paying. Check it against the earnings statement. Errors at this stage are easier to fix than errors caught after payroll deductions have started.

How Much You Will Owe

The base deposit is a percentage of the basic military pay listed on your DFAS earnings statement:

FERS: 3 percent of basic military pay.⁶
CSRS: 7 percent of basic military pay, with slightly higher rates of 7.25 percent for 1999 and 7.4 percent for 2000.⁷

On top of that, interest may apply. You have a two-year interest-free grace period from the date you first became a federal civilian employee.⁷ FERS uses the same two-year window under § 8422(e).⁶ Interest does not actually post until one year after the grace period ends, giving you an effective three-year window before charges begin. After that, interest compounds annually at a rate that resets each calendar year. For 2026 the rate is 4.25 percent.⁸

The practical takeaway: the earlier in your federal career you start this, the cheaper it stays.

One Boundary on Eligibility

If you are drawing military retired pay, you generally cannot get civilian retirement credit for the same service unless you waive the military pay through DFAS. Two exceptions: retired pay awarded for a combat-related disability incurred during a period of war, and retired pay under Chapter 1223 of Title 10 (reserve component retirement).⁹ If either exception applies to you, you can make the deposit without waiving.

Paying the Balance

Once payroll gives you the total, you have three ways to pay:²

Lump sum. One payment closes the balance and stops interest immediately.
Payroll deductions. Biweekly withholdings, typically a $25 per pay period minimum, with the option to set a higher amount. Your Leave and Earnings Statement will show the total and the remaining balance.
Pay.gov. Online installment payments, available after your payroll office has issued the official amount due.

When the balance hits zero, your agency issues a completion notice and updates your electronic personnel record. Keep personal copies of the deposit application, the DFAS earnings statement, and the completion notice. You will need them when you file for retirement.

What You Lose If You Skip the Deposit

The consequences are permanent once you separate, and they depend on your retirement system and hire date.

FERS employees who do not make the deposit get no credit for post-1956 military service. That time counts for neither eligibility nor annuity computation.¹⁰ If those years would have carried you across a retirement threshold, losing them can delay retirement or shrink your benefit for life.

CSRS employees first hired before October 1, 1982, have a choice. Pay the 7 percent deposit and keep the credit for good, or skip it and accept a recalculation at age 62. At that point, if you qualify for Social Security, OPM removes the post-1956 military service from your annuity.¹¹

CSRS employees first hired on or after October 1, 1982, are treated like FERS: no deposit, no credit.¹⁰

If You Die Before Retiring

Unpaid deposits carry over to the survivor annuity. For employees first hired on or after October 1, 1982, the post-1956 military service cannot be used in the survivor calculation. For those hired before that date, the service is excluded from the survivor annuity if the survivor qualifies for Social Security.¹² Under FERS, a survivor may make the deposit on the deceased employee’s behalf, which can protect a larger survivor benefit.⁶ Deadlines apply, so contact OPM or the employing agency’s benefits office quickly.

Common Mistakes

Waiting is the expensive one. Every year past the interest-free window adds compounding interest, and someone who waits 15 years to buy back four years of service can easily owe double the base amount. Send the RI 20-97 as soon as you enter federal civilian service.

Incomplete RI 20-97 packages are the second holdup. DFAS will not process the request without the DD-214 attached, and each branch of service needs its own form.⁵ Missing one period means starting that piece over.

The third mistake is assuming you can finish paying after retirement. You cannot. Payment has to reach your employing agency before your separation date.³ If retirement is close and you have not started, contact HR now, get the calculation, and set payroll deductions at the highest amount you can afford.

1
Office of Personnel Management. Benefits Administration Letter 13-103
2
Defense Finance and Accounting Service. What Is Military Buy Back?
3
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Application for Immediate Retirement – SF 3107
4
National Archives. Request Military Service Records
5
United States Office of Personnel Management. Estimated Earnings During Military Service
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8422 – Deductions From Pay, Contributions for Other Service, Deposits
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8334 – Deductions, Contributions, and Deposits
8
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Benefits Administration Letter 26-301
9
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Military Retired Pay
10
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Service Credit
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8332 – Creditable Service
12
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Will My Deceased Spouse’s Military Service Be Used to Determine the Amount of My Survivor Annuity?