DLA BENEFITS UNIT

Information for Employees who are retiring from Federal Service

Note: Many employees elect to retire December 31 – January 3rd, because the retirement annuity will begin the 

day after retirement and any lump sum payment for accrued annual leave will be paid in the next tax year.

If you want to retire December 31 through January 3rd, you should submit your retirement application to your 

DLA Benefits Center within 60 to 90 days of retirement. This allows the Benefits Center to ensure timely 

processing of your application. In addition, submitting your application within 60 to 90 days allows adequate 

time to resolve any issues, which may affect your annuity.

1. What is the best day of the month to retire? The best day to retire is one that allows for yoursalary 

as an employee to stop on one day and your annuity as a retiree to begin the next day.

a. Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Employees. If your retirement plan is CSRS (Block 30 on 

your SF 50 Notification of Action, retirement codes 1, 6, C or E) the best day to retire is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 

or last day of the month since your retirement annuity will begin the following day. If you retire on any 

other day of the month your retirement annuity will begin on the 1st day of the following month and you 

will have a period of time where you are not receiving civil service salary or retirement annuity. 

Example:

Date of Retirement Date Annuity Begins

December 29, 30, 31 January 1

January 1 January 2

January 2 January 3

January 3 January 4

January 4 - 31 February 1

b. Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Employees. If your retirement plan is FERS (Block 

30 on your SF 50, retirement code K, L or M), the best day to retire is the last day of the month. If you 

retire on any other day of the month, your retirement annuity will begin on the 1st day of the following 

month and you will have a period of time where you are not receiving civil service salary or retirement 

annuity. Example:

Date of Retirement Date Annuity Begins

December 29, 30, 31 January 1

January 1 – 31 February 1

2. When can I retire and still receive payment for all of my use or lose annual leave? If you want to 

receive payment for any annual leave that you have accrued, you should retire before the end of the 

leave year. You will receive the lump sum payment in the following tax year which may be
advantageous if your taxable income for the following year is less than your taxable income for the 

current year. Consult your tax advisor for specific advice on the effect to your taxes.

3. Will I earn annual and sick leave for the pay period I retire? If you want to accrue leave during the 

pay period in which you retire, you must be in a pay status for the entire biweekly pay period.

4. How much sick leave does a FERS employee get credit for upon retirement? A FERS employee

will receive 100% credit for any unused sick leave in your annuity computation. Sick leave cannot be 

used to satisfy the minimum length of service for retirement eligibility.

5. Will OPM deduct state taxes from my annuity? OPM does not automatically withhold state income 

tax. OPM has agreements with some states to allow the withholding from annuity payments. You can 

contact OPM directly if you wish to have state taxes withheld from your annuity or complete a memo to 

OPM directing them to take a specific dollar amount from your monthly annuity. The state tax form

should not be used. You may obtain a copy of the memo from your HR retirement counselor.

6. Is there a retirement seminar I can attend before I retire? Contact your training coordinator to see if 

there are any seminars being offered in your area. You can view a free retirement eSeminar in the 

Government Retirement & Benefits Platform (GRB). Log into your GRB account at

https://grbplatform.hr.dla.mil/grb/ and select the Retirement tile. Located under Resources a video for 

your retirement plan is available (Retirement for FERS Employees or Retirement for CSRS Employees).

7. I have decided to retire, what do I need to do first? Request a retirement estimate at

https://resourcesapps.hr.dla.mil/Programs/RERS/ to see what your retirement annuity would be and to 

make sure you are getting credit for all your military and/or civilian service.

8. How do I apply for retirement? You must complete the retirement application and supporting 

documents. The retirement application is available in the Government Retirement and Benefits Platform 

(GRB) or under Forms on the OPM webpage (www.opm.gov/forms). You may also contact your DLA 

Benefits Center team at https://resources.hr.dla.mil/contactus/default.asp. 

9. What can I do to avoid delays in the processing of my retirement and receipt of my retirement 

annuity? You can expedite the processing of your retirement by ensuring that the following 

information is complete and included with your application:

a. Complete either the CSRS Application for Immediate Retirement (SF 2801) or FERS 

Application for Immediate Retirement (SF 3107) in its entirely paying particular attention to the

following:

(1) Sign and date the application in Section I.

(2) If you are married, attach a copy of your marriage certificate.

(3) If you are married and do not elect a full survivor annuity, your spouse MUST consent to the 

election by signing and dating the SF 2801-2/SF 3107-2 , Spouse’s Consent to Survivor Election, 

in the
presence of a notary. Please ensure the date of your spouse’s signature and the date of the notary’s 

signature are the same.

(4) If you have a living former spouse to whom a court order gives a survivor annuity, attach a

certified copy of the court order and any amendments.

b. If you are enrolled in Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), complete and sign the SF 

2818, Continuation of Life Insurance. If you are not enrolled in Options A, B and/or C, you must 

check the “I do not have” blocks.

c. If you have active military service:

(1) Attach a copy of your DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.

(2) If you have previously made a deposit for your active military service, attach a copy of the receipt.

(3) If you have not previously made a deposit for your active military service but wish to do so, you 

must make it to your agencies payroll office before you retire. It cannot be paid to the Office of 

Personnel Management (OPM) after you retire. Since it may take months to complete the deposit, 

you should factor this time into your planning for retirement.

(4) If you are receiving a retirement annuity from a military reserve component, attach a copy of

your retirement letter.

(5) Additional information about making a deposit for active military service is available on the

Human Resources web site at: https://resources/benefits/military.asp.

d. If you have civilian service where retirement deductions were not withheld (deposit service) or 

were withheld and refunded (redeposit service):

(1) If you have paid the deposit/redeposit to OPM, include a copy of the receipt in your 

retirement application package.

(2) If you have not made the deposit/redeposit, you can pay it to OPM after you retire. If you are 

within six months of retirement, your completed SF 2803, (CSRS Application to Make 

deposit/redeposit), or SF 3108, (FERS Application to Make Service Credit Payment) should be 

sent in with your application for retirement.

(3) For Additional information about crediting deposit/redeposit service see RI83-3, (Retirement 

Facts 3- Deposits/Redeposits) which can be found at www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/RI83-3.pdf

or contact your DLA Benefits Center at https://resources.hr.dla.mil/contactus/default.asp .

10. What does the DLA Benefits Center do with my Retirement application? After the DLA Benefits 

Center receives your original retirement application, the retirement counselor will: notify you of 

receipt of the application, review the application, and will let you know if your application requires any 

changes or is missing anything. If you do not hear from your Retirement Counselor within 7 business 

days, you should contact them at https://resources.hr.dla.mil/contactus/default.asp.

The counselor will review your Electronic Official Personnel Folder (EOPF) and prepare the agency 

portion of the application. The package will then be sent to DFAS who will attach your final pay 

records to the package. The pay records will be through the end of the pay period in which you retire. 

They will then forward the completed package to the OPM for their review and final adjudication.

11. How does my payroll office process my final pay? Your last paycheck will be sent to your financial 

institution on the next pay date after you retire. You will receive a lump sum payment for your annual 

leave within 2 pay dates of retirement. Social Security (if applicable), Medicare, Federal and State 

income taxes are withheld from lump sum annual leave payments.
12. How long does it take OPM to process my retirement application? If your retirement records are 

complete, the average OPM retirement processing time is 6 months. You should consider the time 

required by OPM to process your application in your financial planning for retirement.

As soon as OPM receives your retirement package, you will be placed in an interim pay status so you 

will have income until OPM finishes processing your application. The average amount of interim pay is 

60% - 80% of your expected annuity. The only withholding from interim pay is for Federal income tax. 

Your health and life insurance coverage will continue while you receive interim pay. Once OPM 

finishes processing your retirement application, they will withhold health and life insurance premiums 

retroactive to the date your annuity began.

13. How do I know my claim was processed?

When OPM receives your retirement application, they will notify you and will provide a Civil Service 

Annuitant (CSA) number. You must use that identification number whenever you contact OPM about 

your annuity.

14. How do I take my Vision and/or Dental into retirement with me? You should not need to take any 

action with your FEDVIP plan when you retire. Most payroll offices inform BENEFEDS when an 

employee retires. You will receive a letter informing you BENEFEDS has been notified of your 

retirement and that your FEDVIP plan premiums will be deducted from your annuity once adjudication 

has been finalized. If you do not receive this letter, soon after your last pay period before 

retirement, please contact BENEFEDS Customer Service.

While in interim pay, you may receive direct bills from BENEFEDS for your premiums. You need to 

pay those premiums directly to them during this time in order to keep your coverage active. If this is the

case, you will be sent a letter informing you about the direct bill process. If you do not pay by the due 

date on the letter, your coverage will be cancelled.

15. Contacting OPM after retirement. Once you receive your CSA (Civilian Service Annuitant) number,

you can contact OPM by calling their Retirement Information Office at either the nationwide toll-free 

number, 188 US OPM RET (1-888-767-6738), or for hearing impaired customers, 1-800-877-8339 (TDY). 

When you call, you can use the automated phone system that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or 

talk to a Customer Service Specialist from 7:40 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. You can 

also contact OPM through the on-line web service at http://www.servicesonline.opm.gov/ . OPM’s main 

retirement web site is www.opm.gov/retire.