The following is a question submitted by a reader to Federal Times columnist Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service and the resident expert on federal employee retirement issues.
A Fed Times reader asks:
“In August of 2023 IHS Pharmacists received a roughly 21% increase in their pay. I am retiring at the end of 2024.
How does this increase impact my high three calculation (last 3 years for me)?
For 2023, does it use what my new base pay was after the increase or 17/26 x the ‘old’ base pay + 9/26 x ‘new’ base pay?”
Reg’s response:
When you retire, the high-3 that’s used in your annuity computation will be the average of your highest three consecutive years (78 bi-weekly pay periods) of basic pay.
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