“What’s the best day to retire in 2021?” is one weird question. But is there a “best” day to retire in 2021? With the year drawing to a close, we’ve started seeing several predictions and projections about the New Year.
However, the surprising ones are the articles outlining the best day to retire in the New Year. These articles focus on the days that are more advantageous to retire as a FERS or CSRS employee. While you can retire any day of the year, these articles suggest that some days are better than others.
What Are the Bests Days to Retire?
The last day of the month is often the best day for FERS employees to retire, while any day between the last day of the month and the 3rd of the next month is best for CSRS employees. Individuals working to maximize the value of their lump sum annual leave payout are best served when they retire at the end of the year.
If you plan on retiring at the end of the calendar year, ensure to max out your TSP contributions for the year if it’s something you can do.
If you plan to retire in 2021, it implies that you should divide the elective deferral amount, which is $19,500 for 2021 (same as 2020), by the number of paydays you have for the year (usually twenty-six or twenty-seven). That means you’ll have to contribute $750 per pay period for all twenty-six paydays to reach the elective deferral amount for the year.
If the year has twenty-seven pay periods instead of twenty-six, you’ll have to set aside $723 per pay period to arrive at the elective deferral amount. This will also allow you to receive the full employer match since you would have contributed over 5% of your salary for every pay period.
If you decide to retire mid-year and want to max out your contributions before the end of the year, you have to divide the remaining part of the elective deferral amount by the number of pay periods before you retire. Have in mind that employees aged 50 and above have the advantage of contributing an extra $6,500 to their TSP in 2021 (same as 2020). So you need to figure out how to fit in the extra savings amount to max your contributions.
One thing about this strategy is the assumption that the individual can afford to contribute the full elective deferral amount to their TSP. But not every federal employee is highly compensated and has the funds to max out these contributions. So, if you’re amongst those who may not be able to max out their TSP contributions, try to contribute all you can afford before retirement.
