Q: I don’t know what the established policy will be, but if I know ahead of time that they will implement the retirement annuity calculation with the high-5 vice high-3, could I retire before that expected implementation date and still have my annuity calculated with the high-three? Do you have any insight that there is a probability that this change will happen?
A: During these unstable times, only a fool would attempt to predict the future of a proposal that would increase the high-3 to a high-5. However, since a bill to make that change could not be effective until signed by the president, if you were already eligible to retire, you would probably have enough time to put in your retirement papers with a date on them that preceded its implementation. And, looking on the bright side, a bill that calls for a major change usually has a less immediate date for implementation.