Q. I am part of CSRS set to retire Feb. 1. However, with the fiscal cliff looming and consideration of a change to the retirement calculation based on a high five years of performance, should I consider retirement in 2012. How quickly could retirement criteria change, and could this change affect those of us who are considering retirement in the next few months?
A. There is no way to know what the future will hold. Nevertheless, things will become clearer as we get closer to the so-called fiscal cliff. The best you can do is keep your eyes and ears open. While changes are usually prospective and contain some lead time, these are not usual times.
