Q. I am a FERS employee and was hired in January 1984. I will reach MRA (56) with 31½ years of service in early July 2015.
What is the best day for me to retire in 2015 to get credit for the most annual and sick leave?
A. The 2014 leave year ends Jan. 10, 2015. The 2015 leave year ends Jan. 9, 2016. Since you are a FERS employee, you need to take another fact into consideration. If you retire no later than the last day of a month, you’ll be on the annuity roll in the following month. If you retire after that, you’ll lose a month’s annuity. For example, if you retired Jan. 10, you’d maximize your annual and sick leave, but you wouldn’t be on the annuity roll until February.