There seems to be a misperception by some retirement-eligible employees that theycan “capture” the COLA upcoming in January by retiring before the end of this year. COLAs are prorated for those who were on the annuity rolls for less than a year, according to how many months a person is on the roll—the COLA is reduced by a twelfth for each month since that a person was not on the roll. Under FERS, a person is on the retirement roll in the month after the month of retirement, regardless of what date in a month he or she retired. Under CSRS, a person is on the retirement roll during the month of retirement if he or she retires within the first three days of the month; otherwise, the next month.