Q: I am a 62-year-old FERS employee. I am in a 27 percent locality pay area and have been for many years. There is discussion at my base about transferring our work to another base that has a much lower locality pay. I heard that if I transfer to the other base and then retire, my FERS annuity high-3 would be based on the lower locality pay. Since my pay is topped out, locality pay is the only thing that will change much. Is this “lower” high-3 calculation correct?
A: Your annuity will be based on your highest three consecutive years of average pay, regardless of when they occur in your career.
