Payment schedule after retirement

Q. In preparation for my projected retirement as a Civil Service Retirement System employee from the Defense Department on Jan. 2, 2010, I would like to confirm when I will receive any payments due to me. Since Jan. 2, 2010, is not only the end of the pay period but the last day in which any accrued leave can be paid out, can I expect to see not only my regular pay but my accrued leave included on the next scheduled pay date, estimated to be Jan. 8, 2010. After this, my annuity would then arrive the first week of the next month, or in February?
A: If you retire at the end of the last pay period in 2009, you would receive the salary you earned during that pay period in your final check as an employee. It won’t include the lump-sum payment for your unused annual leave. You won’t receive that until your application for retirement has been processed by your agency and forwarded to OPM. Because you are covered by CSRS, you will be on the annuity roll in January, with your first annuity payment due Feb. 1. However, because it will take time for your agency to close out your account and forward the paperwork to OPM for processing, it’s unlikely that you’ll receive your first annuity payment until March. That payment would include any annuity due to you from Jan. 3 through the end of February.