The ongoing debate over the 2003 raise for active employees does not affect cost-of-living adjustments for retirees, whose increases are set according to an inflation measure, not in the budget process. Those retired under both the FERS and CSRS retirement systems will get 1.4 percent increases in their annuities effective with their January payments, assuming they are otherwise eligible (generally, COLAs under FERS don’t start until age 62). For those who retired within the last year, the COLA will be prorated according to the month the annuity began; to get the full COLA, a retiree or survivor annuity must have begun no later than December 31, 2001. For example, for an annuity that began last February, the adjustment will be 1.2 percent, for one that began last May, 0.8 percent and for one that began last August, 0.5 percent.