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Return to Article: Best Dates to Retire 2009

• 87880
  

  Most retirement questions are from CSRS employees. I am under FERS and will have 30 years on 24 Jun 10 (military time repaid and included). What are the best times to retire after 24 Jun 10? It looks like like I should wait until 31 Jul 10. Is this correct? I do not not to wait until 1 Jan 11 -which looks like the only day the end of a pay period falls on the first of a month.

  Bonnie Moore Posted September 28, 2009 11:29 AM
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  My husband is going to take advantage of the Postal Service $15,000 offer and retire before 10/31/2009. He is a CSRS employee. Should his retirement date be 10/31/2009 or 10/30/2009?

  Mary Camarillo Posted August 29, 2009 11:41 AM
• 85485
  

  I copied and pasted the below as this parallels my situation would like to read the answer to the posting.

  I am in the CSRS/Offset retirement program and I selected 1/02/2010 as my retirement date. I will be carrying 448 hours of annual to the end. I am on 10 hour days, Monday thru Thursday. After reading the previous comments, it appears like Jan 1st of 2010 is a better date to retire. That gives me 29/30 of my January annuity instead of 28/30 if I go on January 2nd. My work week is over on 12/31 so I should get full credit for leave purposes for the pay period that ends on Jan 2nd and because Friday Jan 1st is also my RDO, my holiday becomes Thursday 12/31 and my last day at work becomes 12/30. This all makes me real nervous - please ease the pain and tell me if I am correct in my assumptions. Thanks...

  John Walker Posted August 25, 2009 1:23 PM
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  I am in the CSRS/Offset retirement program and I selected 1/02/2010 as my retirement date. I will be carrying 448 hours of annual to the end. I am on 10 hour days, Monday thru Thursday. After reading the previous comments, it appears like Jan 1st of 2010 is a better date to retire. That gives me 29/30 of my January annuity instead of 28/30 if I go on January 2nd. My work week is over on 12/31 so I should get full credit for leave purposes for the pay period that ends on Jan 2nd and because Friday Jan 1st is also my RDO, my holiday becomes Thursday 12/31 and my last day at work becomes 12/30. This all makes me real nervous - please ease the pain and tell me if I am correct in my assumptions. Thanks...

  Larry Adams Posted August 11, 2009 3:03 PM
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  My question to you is: what the heck is the role of agency's HR specialists or counselors? or OPM staffers? Could not they provide the best dates for agency's employees based upon the emps's employment history? and pay-scale. I am almost too afraid to ask. Why does it take a column (which I enjoy reading) in GovExecutive to address the issue? Thanks for your advice, Tammy. I hope that OPM is paying you to do their work!! LOL Tony at the IRS

  Anthony B. Cincotta Posted July 10, 2009 9:56 AM
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  NSPS causes a major porblem in the retirement strategy if you are accruing all your annual leave to retire on 31 December with 408 hours. The delima is to cash in the additional 208 hours you have to retire at the end of the pay year or loose the leave. Under NSPS you have to be on the books the first pay period of the new year to receive bonus money for the previous year rating period. Right now you can't have both even though you are entitled to both. In many cases we'er talking thousands of dollars on both sides of the decision. How does something like this get fixed short of a class action suit?

  Don

  DM Posted June 19, 2009 4:05 PM
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  So many people are fretting over a measly 8 hrs of annual leave in this life decision. It's laughable. If you carried over 240 hours from the last year and earned another 200 or 208 hours - that 8 hour difference is meaningless!!! 8 / 440 = 1.8% COLAs are not earned until the year after you retire. It is based upon the ratio of months retired since the last COLA was effective. If you retire in February you get 11/12 of the next COLA. March 10/12, April 9/12, etc.

  Gnatman Posted April 22, 2009 8:36 AM
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  I would also like the answer.......We see several inquiries regarding retiring over the 4th of July holiday 2009, but don't see the explanation for the most advantageous date, would it be the 2nd, 3rd or 4th? We are under CSRS with 39 years of continuous service, working a regular Monday to Friday work schedule. Which date would allow entitlement for annuity for the remainder of July in addition to accrual of annual leave for the pay period ending July 4th? Thanks.

  DYS Posted April 14, 2009 8:33 AM
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  We see several inquiries regarding retiring over the 4th of July holiday 2009, but don't see the explanation for the most advantageous date, would it be the 2nd, 3rd or 4th? We are under CSRS with 39 years of continuous service, working a regular Monday to Friday work schedule. Which date would allow entitlement for annuity for the remainder of July in addition to accrual of annual leave for the pay period ending July 4th? Thanks.

  Susan and Sheryl Posted April 10, 2009 12:54 PM
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  I am CSRS and will be retiring with 34 years of service. Is the best date to retire December 31st, Januaury 1 or 2? It's mentioned you could lose part of your COLA if your retire any other date than the 31st.

  Suzie Posted March 16, 2009 3:35 PM
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  I would like to maximumize my lump sum payment for my accured annual leave. I intend to retire at the end of CY2009. Since Jan. 1, 2010 and Jan. 2, 2010 fall on Friday and Saturday, and Jan. 3rd starts a new leave year, would my best day to retire without losing my accured annual leave be Thursday, Dec. 31, 2008?

  Mike Musmeci Posted March 11, 2009 11:43 AM
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  Regarding "Best Dates To Retire 2009", I'm considering retiring Friday, August 28th (end of a leave period). Would my retirement still begin on the first day of the following month even though the end of the month is Monday August 31st?

  ALAN D. LEVY Posted March 4, 2009 12:31 PM
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  I am confused about the best day to retire at the end of 09. I want to get the last 8 hours of leave earned and I will have use or lose leave. Should I choose Dec 31, Jan 1,2 or 3 to get the best advantage?

  Paulette Burrus Posted February 9, 2009 10:54 AM
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  Tammy, after reading all of these, I have come to the conclusin that December 31, 2009 would be the best day to retire at the end of calendar year 2009, is this correct? I am CSRS, with no breaks in service for 36 years.

  Donna Posted January 30, 2009 1:27 PM
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  Please clarify the issue on annual leave. If you retire on the Friday and Saturday is the end of the pay period do we receive the 8 hrs annual leave for that pay period or do we have to retire on the Saturday to get the 8 hrs annual leave? Another issue: If Saturday is the holiday (7/4) and end of the pay period, by electing Friday (7/3)as the retirement date will an individual receive the 8 hrs annual leave and be paid for the Friday holiday?

  dawn statler Posted January 26, 2009 11:44 AM
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  Tammy thanks for the superb service and information you provide us. I recent retired on 31 December 2008 under the FERS system. My question is should the annual leave that I sold included the 2009 pay increase? The leave payment did not include the 2009 pay incrase. Please help me understand the rules regarding this issue. In addition, if I was payed incorrectly what are my options to correct the error. Thank you Tammy for your assistance. Bud Rabuano

  Bud Rabuano Posted January 22, 2009 9:42 PM
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  This is a comment regarding the comment on retiring on 31 Dec 08 for a CSRS employee. I am already retired but my wife hasn't yet we are/were CSRS. I would think if you retired on 31 Dec 08 you would not get credit for the 1 Jan 09 holiday because you are already retired. You would also not get leave accumulated for the pay period because you would not be working or on leave until the end of the pay period. If you stay on the rolls until the end of the pay period 3 Jan 09, you will not get one month of the COLA, which will probably be slim to none in 2009. On an unrelated subject, I would like all to know that Tammy provided me with information that saved my bacon regarding a problem I had with OPM on setting up a Voluntary Contribution Account. Thanks

  Steve Palmore Posted January 10, 2009 7:10 AM
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  Since July 4 is a Saturday and the end of a pay period, by retiring on that day, would I get the holiday, celebrated on July 3rd, plus 8 additional hours of annual leave?

  Tom P Posted January 9, 2009 11:26 PM
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  I just retired under CSRS on 31 December 2008. I had initially picked 2 January 2009 as my retirement date but moved it up because of a tip I receved from an earlier retiree. The date change did not affect my receiving full credit for the pay period ending 3 January, since 1 Jan was a holiday, 2 Jan was my RDO and 3 Jan was Saturday. The issue here is the effect that the date change will have on the my retiree's COLA computation at the end of 2009. New retirees only receive a portion of the full COLA since it is prorated over the number of months of actual retirement. The critical point is that only FULL months of retirement are counted in the COLA determination made by OMB. If even one day of active service occured during a month, then that month is not credited as a retirement month in the retiree's COLA calculation at the end of the year. In my case, the date switch to 31 December vs 2 January means that I will get credit for retirement during all of 2009, including January, and will get the full COLA rather than a prorated 11/12 of full COLA, as would be the case if I had retired on 1 or 2 January 2009. Depending on the amount of a person's pension and the COLA percentage for the year an additional one month credit can make a difference of hundreds of dollars a year, as long as the pension is paid. This situation will occur at the end of 2009 when retirees have the option of retiring on 31 December as the last working day of the payperiod ending on 2 January 2010.

  John Polk Posted January 9, 2009 12:34 PM
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  I ran some figures and discovered that July 3rd is MY very BEST date to retire this year (straight CSRS) for me. Since this date will be observed as the Holiday day off this year AND July 2 will become my alternate work schedule day off because of the in lieu of Holiday day off, is there ANY reason why I should not use July 3rd as my retirement date?

  Dotty Posted January 9, 2009 10:10 AM
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  I was looking at retiring tjon the 3rd of July however it is an observed holiday. How will this affect my retirement?

  Cindy Posted January 8, 2009 3:26 PM
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  Tammy, I'm planning to retire on the 31st of July 09. Being that the 1st of August 09 is technically the end of the pay period (Saturday) would I have completed the pay period and be able to cash in on the annual and sick leave?

  Stanley Ormita Posted January 6, 2009 4:47 PM
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  Those individuals who are in organizations, which were "BRACed" this last round, can carry over the year-end in excess of 240 hours of Annual Leave. Those excess hours are captured in a new leave category called BRAC Restoration Leave. How does BRAC Restoration Leave affect the "best day to retire" calculation? Thanks.

  steve @ DoD Posted September 19, 2008 7:47 PM
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  Under Pay For Performance (PFP); managers manage their rater profile, in the military that means always finding those folks who are leaving service to downgrade to round out your profile ... does that happen with PFP, I'm sure it will, but does it now? Does Congress know that this system encourages managers to lie on evaluations of a retiring employee to allow them to overstate buddies evaluations who are not retiring (long live the buddy system)? How does one evaluation change your lifetime income under PFP? It might even be your last two or three if the manager is good and plans ahead to get a few years of rater profile lowball points so they can be Santa to others who are younger and stay longer. Does that define age descrimination against your retirement and lifetime income?

  Gary Posted September 19, 2008 8:17 AM
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  Best Date to Retire = Never Now that inflation has raised the price of everything up so high. FERS is just a sick joke. I always wondered how they would handle all of the babyboomers retiring. Looks like their plan worked.

  NoBodySpecial Posted August 27, 2008 1:20 PM
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  Are there other ramafications (under CSRS)for not retiring on or before the 3rd work day other than you will not received the first annuity check on the 1st day on the next month? I assume if you retire on the 4th day or later that the first annuity check paid approximately 57-60 days later would be for that same period of time and not just for one month? Is my assumption correct?

  John Madigan Posted August 26, 2008 12:15 PM
• 57122
  

  Ms. Flanagan, Your information has been informative and interesting but I am retiring in 2008 and have a question on best dates for this year. I had planned my retirement to be effective 1 Oct so that my creditable service would then be for the entire month. Now I'm not sure if this logic is correct. Wiil I in fact get credit for the entire month if i work jsut the first day? And is there anything I am missing. Thanks Randy

  Randall Britton Posted August 25, 2008 10:11 AM
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  Thank you for providing this very informative column. I plan to retire on 31 Mar 09 and would like to know if I accrue leave for those days in that last payperiod. I can only have 240 hours of annual leave accrued so I need to take all leave earned before the 31st of March.

  Alicia Delallo Posted August 22, 2008 11:19 AM
• 56841
  

  Tammy: I must work through 11 Jan 2009 to achieve my 5 years of health insurance coverage and retain health insurance coverage into retirement. What would you select as the best retirement date following the 11th of Jan 2009?

  Brenda Posted August 20, 2008 5:55 PM
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  I retired January of 2007 in the middle of a pay period. Looking back, once you have retired, gotten everything straight with OPM, you will realize it didn't really matter a whole lot when you retired so long as you had your AL squared away, up on the military deposit (if applicable), and all the other loose ends tied up. In other words, I wouldn't agonize about what date is the best date to retire. Just set a date and enjoy the benefits afterwards. It really is great once you walk out the door.

  Keith Barton Posted August 16, 2008 10:36 AM
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  I plan on retiring January 2, 2009. It's my understanding that even though January 3, 2009 is the end of a pay period, since I complete my 80 hours on Friday, January 2, I still get my sick leave and annual leave for the pay period. And, that would mean only two days in January are not part of my retirement pay for the month, instead of three days. I hope I'm understanding this and have not been misinformed.

  Sandy Fulmer Posted August 15, 2008 10:39 AM
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  Tammy,I am a CSRS employee planning to retire January 3, 2009 because it is the end of a pay period and falls in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of the month recommendation. Will this allow me to receive to receive the accrued 8 hrs A/L? Will my annuity check start Feb 1 and will I lose $100/day? Is this a good day to retire?

  Dee Posted August 15, 2008 9:26 AM
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  Tammy, I was initially planning to retire Friday, January 2, 2009. But as others have questioned would January 3, 2009 be better since the actual pay period ends on January 3, 2009, which is a Saturday. I would like to get the last 8 hours of annual leave. What's your recommendation?

  Ann White Posted August 14, 2008 10:35 AM
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  I am under FERS and I plan on retiring 31 Dec 2009. If I carry 240 leave hours into 2009, will I be able to take any leave during 2009 in order to get a lump sum over the 240, or do I have to have all my leave earned in 2009 available on Dec 31. Thanks for helping us all with these questions.

  Dale Landon Posted August 13, 2008 9:34 AM
• 56281
  

  Tammy, In your article you mention the advantages of an April 3 retirement for CSRS employees. My question concerns annual performance awards: if my annual appraisal comes due March 31 or April 1 of 2009, and if I should be eligible for an award for the prior year, am I eligible to receive it if I retire on April 3? Debbie

  Debra Bernkopf Posted August 12, 2008 4:44 PM
• 56277
  

  Being under the NSPS Pay System, isn't it impossible to get paid for both accrued leave and for your performance? On leave, I carry over 240 every year and I would like to save what I accrue next year so I can get paid the lump sum leave. Am I correct in believe that I can either save all my leave and get paid for it, or being that I am under NSPS Pay System not getting paid for my performance. Because to get paid under NSPS for performance, I have to be on the roll the first day of the pay period; however, I will lose my leave that I have accrued for the year because I didn't use it by the last day of the previous year. Am I correct in believing that?

  Reece Posted August 12, 2008 4:09 PM
• 56195
  

  I plan to retire under the CSRS on Jan 3, 2009 because it is the beginning of the month and the end of a leave period, but it's a Saturday-not a good day because there is no salary payment for me on that day. Would it be better to retire Friday Jan 2, 2009 and loose the 8 hours AL for the pay period? What will I loose by retiring on Saturday Jan 3, 2009. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

  Alice Towne Posted August 11, 2008 2:39 PM
• 56186
  

  Please clarify the issue on annual leave. If you retire on the Friday and Saturday is the end of the pay period do we receive the 8 hrs annual leave for that pay period or do we have to retire on the Saturday to get the 8 hrs annual leave?

  Another issue: If Saturday is the holiday (7/4) and end of the pay period, by electing Friday (7/3)as the retirement date will an individual receive the 8 hrs annual leave and be paid for the Friday holiday?

  Georgia Wukstich Posted August 11, 2008 12:02 PM
• 56093
  

  I am confused as to what date is put in Block 2, Section B. of SF-2801(Date of Final Separation). If I wanted to retire on July 31, 2009, is that the date that is is put in this block? In other words, is the Date of Final Separation the same as the Date of Retirement?

  Lawrence Posted August 8, 2008 11:47 AM
• 56080
  

  Regarding best dates to retire in 2009, I am eligible after Jan 31 2009. I have a TSP loan due for payoff by Dec 2009. Is it best I pay off loan prior to retirement? Also, should I cash out rest of TSP money and put into IRA? Thanks!

  Linda Snorton Posted August 8, 2008 9:03 AM
• 56077
  

  Here's my question with reference to your "Best Dates To Retire" in 2009 write-ups on August 1 and August 8, 2008:

  I will be 66 years of age on January 02, 2009. I am under FERS, and am considering retirement with effect from January 31, 2009. On that date, I will have completed 8 years, 8 months, and 9 days of federal employment. Would it make a substantial difference for me, if I retire on March 31, 2009, instead of January 31, 2009?

  Zahur Posted August 8, 2008 8:43 AM
• 56069
  

  I'm still confused. I was planning on retiring effective COB January 2, 2009 but it appears that January 3, 2009 would be better. Is there any advantage to one or the other? Will I lose out on the annual leave accrued during that last pay period if I retire effective COB January 2nd?

  MC Posted August 8, 2008 7:50 AM
• 55897
  

  We are in NSPS and I'm under CSRS. I had planned to retire on January 1st or 2nd 2010. Based on your explanation about NSPS, is it true that if I retired on Jan 3, 2010 (a Sunday) I would receive the performance based pay bonus because I was "on the rolls" of the 2010 leave year?

  Tom @ Navy Posted August 6, 2008 11:44 AM
• 55886
  

  Hi Tammy - Thanks for the interesting articles. I notice that you show July 3, 2009 as a desirable retirement date. Being that it is a holiday in 2009 (in lieu of Sat. July 4), would I still get full service and leave credit for the pay period if I chose this as my retirement date?

  Greg Posted August 6, 2008 11:00 AM
• 55814
  

  i plan to retire under csrs on jan.2,2010. beginning of the month,end of a leave period, but it's a saturday-not a good day because there is no salary payment for me on that day. would it be better to retire thursday dec.31,2009 or friday jan.1,2010 rather than jan.2. any help would be appreciated.thank you

  george j. cook Posted August 5, 2008 1:54 PM
• 55678
  

  Hi Tammy. I always enjoy your articles. Thanks for all you do. However, I'm a little confused about which scenario is best for CSRS(offset) employees. I always thought the first, second or third day of the month was the best for CSRS, but you mention two other alternatives. I understand earning the extra leave, but I don't understand retiring at the end of the month. I am eligible to retire 9/30/2009. Which scenario is best - Beg of the month, end of the month or end of a leave period? Thanks so much for your help.

  DBAKER Posted August 4, 2008 8:20 AM
• 55614
  

  Is there any reason why December 2, 2009 (Wednesday) and December 3, 2009 (Thursday) are not highlighted in yellow under the "Beginning of the month" category (CSRS three day rule)? Since December 5, 2009 is the end of a leave period, it would appear that folks under a flexible schedule could finish their hours by at least Thursday, December 3, 2009.

  Mike K Posted August 1, 2008 1:03 PM
• 55611
  

  This Brovo Sugar about NSPS folks loosing AN ENTIRE YEAR of contribution(s) and effort in their position speaks volumes about your employer, and about how desperate they really are about saving money to fund the Iraq war!

  I believe it is still referred to as a PAY for PROFORMANCE system. So what gives them the idea that if I perform well in my last year of service that they DO NOT owe us something for doing so.

  What a bunch of Snakes in suits they are!

  rooster Posted August 1, 2008 12:28 PM
• 55600
  

  Tammy, This looks like the day you retire will have to be a work day, is this correct? An example would be that you can't retire on the 1st of August 2009 (CSRS), is this correct?

  A Smith Posted August 1, 2008 11:16 AM
• 55558
  

  For most of those under CSRS, wouldn't July 3 be better than July 1 or 2? Since July 3 is the observed holiday, July 2 would be the last workday. This would take a person to the end of the leave period, too.

  Betty Posted August 1, 2008 8:28 AM
• 55521
  

  I've always wondered if retiring on the 1, 2 or 3rd of the month during the middle of the year would affect the calculation of the COLA (?is that the right term) at the beginning of the following year. It's based on number of months you are retired the previous year and you might not get credit for that first month since you weren't retired the full month.

  Joe Velasquez Posted August 1, 2008 6:37 AM