OPM and Railroad Retirement payment dates.

All payment dates, 2026 and 2027

OPM says CSRS and FERS benefits are paid on the first business day of the month after the month in which they accrue; its page gives December 2026 benefits as payable on January 4, 2027. RRB publishes the dates banks must post direct deposits by for every month of 2026 and 2027. Treasury’s January 2026 to January 2027 schedule lists both agencies on the same settlement date each month.

The 2026 column is Treasury’s schedule, identical for OPM and RRB. The 2027 column is RRB’s published list. Treasury has not yet published a schedule past January 2027, so the OPM dates for February to December 2027 apply OPM’s first-business-day rule and happen to match RRB’s list.

Why the date sometimes moves to Monday

Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays are not business days. When the 1st is one of those, the payment moves to the next business day, so August 1, 2027, a Sunday, becomes Monday, August 2. Treasury’s notes mark OPM and RRB dates adjusted to the following business day. Other benefits move the other way: the same Treasury schedule lists VA compensation and pension and SSI for August 2026 on 7/31, the preceding Friday, where OPM and RRB show August 3.

Worked example: a hypothetical annuitant

A retiree with a $2,000 monthly federal annuity paid by direct deposit would see the August 2027 payment on Monday, August 2, not on Friday, July 30. The same retiree’s January 2027 payment arrives on Monday, January 4, 2027, three days after the first of the month, because of the New Year’s Day holiday and the weekend. The amount is unaffected; only the date moves.

Common mistakes and edge cases

• Assuming a weekend 1st pays early. For OPM and RRB it pays on the following Monday; VA and SSI are the ones that move earlier.
• Assuming the bank always waits. RRB says banks must post by the date shown, and some post earlier as a courtesy.
• Mixing agencies. Social Security pays on the 3rd or on Wednesdays by cycle and has its own page.
• Treating the 2027 OPM dates as Treasury-confirmed. They follow OPM’s rule and RRB’s list until Treasury publishes its 2027 schedule.

What this does not cover

This page covers monthly payment dates only. It does not cover annuity amounts, cost-of-living increases, Thrift Savings Plan withdrawals, Social Security, SSI or VA payments, state pensions, or interim payments beyond saying OPM usually makes them on the first business day. For Social Security dates see the Social Security payment calendar; for working federal employees see the 2027 federal pay period calendar.