Ask Reg: Did I miss the cut-off date to get the 2024 retiree COLA?

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:

“I retired under FERS in August 2018. I turned 62 in December 2023. I did not receive the cost-of-living adjustment in my January 2024 check. Should I be receiving the COLA as of January? Or do I have to wait until January 2025?”

Reg’s response:

Because you didn’t reach age 62 before Dec. 1, you’ll receive your first COLA in your January 2025 annuity payment.

If you had reached age 62 before Dec. 1, you would have received 1/12th of the COLA for each month you were on the annuity roll.

OPM cuts federal retirement backlog as it works through spring surge

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By Molly Weisner

Federal Times columnist Reg Jones, photographed at his home in Hamilton, Va., on Wednesday, January 29, 2014. (Mike Morones/Staff)

Got a question for the Federal Times expert? Send inquiries to: fedexperts@federaltimes.com

About Reg Jones

Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service, is our resident expert on retirement and the federal government. From 1979 to '95, he served as an assistant director of the Office of Personnel Management handling recruiting and examining, white and blue collar pay, retirement, insurance and other issues. Opinions expressed are his own.

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