Timing & filing.
When to retire, the best and worst dates, how to actually file, your annual-leave payout, and surviving the OPM interim-pay gap.
Every guide in this cluster
Want to Retire at the End of 2026? Start Planning Now
About ten weeks left. The dates that work, the deadlines before December 31, and how long OPM takes now.
The Best Days to Retire in 2026 and 2027
The best FERS dates left in 2026, the 2027 dates, the extra CSRS dates, and what the calendars leave out.
Your HR Estimate Is Not OPM’s Computation
An estimate is a projection from agency data; OPM computes the binding figure after auditing your record. Where the two diverge — service credit, deposits, part-time proration, sick leave — and how to check yours before filing.
The Best Dates to Retire in 2027
October 30, November 27 and May 29 for FERS; three more for CSRS. Every pay period end date, the leave-year end, and the December 31 catch specific to 2027.
The December 31 Retirement Countdown, Week by Week
Twelve weeks from October 1 to the most common federal retirement date. What has to be filed and confirmed each week, the leave-year math with 2027 pay frozen, and the two deadlines inside the window this year.
The 2027 Federal Retirement Calendar: Every Date That Matters
CPI and COLA dates, premiums and Open Season, the leave-year end, the pay order, IRMAA, TSP limits, RMD and tax deadlines, and what three different retirement dates each trigger — September 2026 through December 2027.
The Federal Retirement Application: How to Actually File
The SF-3107 family, the new ORA digital system, the realistic six-month timeline, and the mistakes that delay everyone else’s case. With a timeline estimator.
December vs January: The Federal Retirement Date Decision
The date worth $3,000+. Pension start, annual leave lump-sum, COLA proration, and the tax-year split — with a five-step decision tree for finding your optimal separation date.
The Worst Days to Retire from Federal Service
The FERS 1st-of-month rule, the CSRS 3-day rule, the leave-year trap, and best 2026 dates — with a best-date payoff estimator showing what your date is worth.
Your Annual Leave Lump-Sum Payout at Federal Retirement (2026)
How your unused annual leave converts to cash: up to ~448 hours, projected forward to capture a January raise, taxed at 22% — plus the timing move, with a calculator.
Surviving the OPM Wait: Interim Payments & the Income Gap (2026)
OPM pays just 60–80% interim while it finalizes your annuity. The cash cushion you need, what’s withheld, the back-pay true-up — and a gap calculator.
The Last Day of Paper: OPM’s All-Digital Retirement
OPM ended paper processing July 1, 2026 — 95%+ of claims now run through ORA. Faster, but the real wait to your first full check is still 6–9 months. The hidden delay, interim pay, and a cash-cushion calculator.
Back to the full pillar
This is one cluster of the FERS & CSRS pillar. Explore your pension, retirement timing, retiring early, survivor decisions, service credit, and special situations in the full pillar.
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