Q. What are the best dates to retire for CSRS and FERS in 2012?
A. There are no such things as the best dates to retire. There are too many factors involved. However, if, as I suspect, you just want to maximize the amount of money you can get in a lump-sum annual leave payment, then you should retire on Dec. 29, 2012. You’d be on the annuity roll Jan. 1. That’s essential if you are FERS employee; otherwise your annuity wouldn’t begin until the following month. If you are a CSRS employee, you could delay your departure up to the third of the month; however, your annuity for that first month would be reduced by 1/30th for every day you were still an employee.
