A series of correlation consistent basis sets have been developed for the post-d group 16-18 elements in conjunction with small-core relativistic pseudopotentials of the energy-consistent variety. The latter were adjusted to multiconfiguration Dirac-Hartree-Fock data based on the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian. The outer-core (n-1)spd shells are explicitly treated together with the nsp valence shell with these PPs. The accompanying cc-pVnZ-PP and aug-cc-pVnZ-PP basis sets range in size from DZ to 5Z quality and yield systematic convergence of both Hartree-Fock and correlated total energies. In addition to the calculation of atomic electron affinities and dipole polarizabilities of the rare gas atoms, numerous molecular benchmark calculations (HBr, HI, HAt, Br-2, I-2, At-2, SiSe, SiTe, SiPo, KrH+, XeH+, and RnH+) are also reported at the coupled cluster level of theory. For the purposes of comparison, all-electron calculations using the Douglas-Kroll-Hess Hamiltonian have also been carried out for the halogen-containing molecules using basis sets of 5Z quality. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.