Q. I will be retiring next week from federal law enforcement. I live and work in the San Francisco area. I was initially provided with a calculation based on an average high-3 salary of $145,250 and was told I would receive a net of $6,050 per month. However, when I visited Employee Express this morning, I saw that the agency is now listing my high-3 average as $116,000 and my expected net monthly annuity payment would be around $5,000. I pulled my W-2s for the past three years and confirmed that my top average 3-year salary is $145,250. I’m awaiting a response from my employer to determine why they are now listing my high-3 average $29,250 lower than originally reported to me. I receive 25 percent availability pay as well as my base pay and locality pay. It’s my understanding that all three of these factor into my retirement annuity.
A. The amount of a high-3 is based on three consecutive years of average pay from which retirement contributions were deducted. Any pay you received from which retirement contributions weren’t taken won’t be included. You’ll need to check with your payroll office to find out if there’s a difference between your gross income and your retirement deductions.
