FERS Retirement Date Optimizer
The only tool that takes your salary and annual leave balance and returns your personalized optimal retirement date — with the estimated lump-sum leave payout for each option. Triple-stacked dates (pay period end + month end + leave year end) are rare; find yours.
Why the date you pick costs — or earns — thousands
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The three factors: why they stack
A FERS retiree who picks their date carefully can optimize three separate financial outcomes simultaneously. Here is what each factor controls:
Only a handful of dates in any year satisfy two or three factors simultaneously. October 31, 2026 hits two (PP22 end + month end). January 9, 2027 hits two in a different combination (PP01/2027 end + 2026 leave year end). No date in a typical year hits all three — making "Double-stacked" the practical gold standard.
The annuity commencement rule
One rule drives most of the date optimization logic for FERS retirees.
Under 5 U.S.C. § 8412 and 5 CFR Part 842, a FERS immediate retirement annuity begins on the first day of the month following the date of separation. This is why retiring on the last day of a month matters: both May 1 and May 31 produce a June 1 annuity start — but the May 31 retiree collected a full month of salary in May while the May 1 retiree did not.
| Separation Date | Annuity Begins | Income Gap |
|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2026 | June 1, 2026 | 30 days |
| May 15, 2026 | June 1, 2026 | 16 days |
| May 30, 2026 | June 1, 2026 | 1 day |
| May 31, 2026 | June 1, 2026 | 0 days (next day) |
| June 1, 2026 | July 1, 2026 | 29 days |
Lump-sum annual leave payout formula
Upon FERS retirement, employees receive a cash payout for all unused annual leave — including any balance above the 240-hour carryover cap that would otherwise be forfeited at year-end for active employees. The formula is established in 5 U.S.C. § 5551:
The January retirement advantage: if your lump-sum leave period extends past a federal pay raise effective date (typically the first Sunday of January), the hours falling after the raise are calculated at the new, higher hourly rate. For a January 9, 2027 retiree with 248 hours and a 2.0% raise, all 248 hours are paid at the 2027 rate ( $56.73/hr on a $116,071 salary) — producing a $14,069 lump-sum payout, compared to $13,349 for an October 31, 2026 retirement.
Best FERS retirement dates in 2026
Verified against the NFC 2026 Pay Period Calendar and GSA 2026 Payroll Calendar.
| Rank | Date | PP End | Month End | LY End | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 9, 2027 | ✓ | — | ✓ | PP01/2027 end + 2026 leave year end. All leave paid at 2027 raise rate. |
| 2 | October 31, 2026 | ✓ | ✓ | — | PP22/2026 end + month end. Annuity begins November 1, 2026. |
| 3 | May 30, 2026 | ✓ | — | — | PP11/2026 end. May 31 is a Sunday (PP12 start) — retire May 30 to capture PP11 accrual. |
| 4 | December 26, 2026 | ✓ | — | — | PP26/2026 end. Near year-end; annuity begins January 1, 2027. |
Best FERS retirement dates in 2027
Verified against the GSA 2027 Payroll Calendar. 2027 leave year: January 10, 2027 – January 8, 2028.
| Rank | Date | PP End | Month End | LY End | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 8, 2028 | ✓ | — | ✓ | 2027 leave year end. All leave paid at 2028 raise rate. |
| 2 | October 30, 2027 | ✓ | — | — | PP22/2027 end. Oct 31 is a Sunday (PP23 start) — retire Oct 30. |
| 3 | May 29, 2027 | ✓ | — | — | PP11/2027 end. Full leave accrual; annuity begins June 1, 2027. |
| 4 | December 25, 2027 | ✓ | — | — | PP26/2027 end. Near year-end; annuity begins January 1, 2028. |
The May 2026 quirk: retire May 30, not May 31
In 2026, May 31 falls on a Sunday — which is the first day of pay period 12, not the last day of pay period 11. An employee who retires on May 31 is technically in PP12 and forfeits PP12's full leave accrual unless they remain through June 13.
The correct date for "end of May" is Saturday, May 30, 2026 — the last day of PP11. Their final day of federal service is May 30, and their annuity still begins June 1, 2026. This is a common mistake in generic retirement date lists that show "May 31" without verifying the day of the week.