{"id":26351,"date":"2023-04-03T15:11:09","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T15:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/04\/03\/should-i-wait-to-retire-until-my-within-grade-pay-increase-kicks-in\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:54:10","slug":"should-i-wait-to-retire-until-my-within-grade-pay-increase-kicks-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/your-career\/2023\/04\/03\/should-i-wait-to-retire-until-my-within-grade-pay-increase-kicks-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I wait to retire until my within-grade pay increase kicks-in?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cI plan on retiring this year and have a Within-Grade Increase<\/a> due on April 9. I have yet to decide on a date but it will definitely be before the end of the calendar year. HR stated they couldn\u2019t provide another estimate until the WGI was effective. Wouldn\u2019t I need to stay 3 more years for the step increase to increase my High 3?\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reg\u2019s Response<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A high-3 is the average of three consecutive years (78 months) of basic pay. So, the longer you stay on the job after you receive a pay raise, the greater your high-3 will be. However, staying on the job in pursuit of a slightly higher retirement benefit doesn\u2019t sound like a sensible idea. Instead, you should retire when you\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\t