Fedweek

Most federal employees work under a pay cycle whose ending date for the current biweekly period will be Saturday (January 10); actual distributions of salaries for a pay cycle typically are made from several days to about a week after a cycle ends. However, note that the upcoming pay distribution will not reflect the 1 percent raise for 2015, since a raise is payable as of the start of the first full pay period of a year. Thus, the raise will be reflected in the following pay distribution. In contrast, the 1.7 percent COLA increase to most retiree annuities was payable with annuity distributions for January, which already have been made. That’s because a COLA technically is effective on December 1 so that it is paid with the January payments; an annuity payment covers the prior month of retirement. Similarly, while new FEHB premiums for retirees take effect January 1, they take effect for active employees with the start of the first full pay period of a year.