01Eligibility and timing
Can I retire at 60 with 20 years of federal service?
Yes. Under FERS, age 60 with 20 years of service qualifies you for an immediate, unreduced annuity, figured at 1 percent of your high-3 per year of service. You also qualify for the FERS supplement until 62 (OPM, retrieved 2026-07-05). Wait until 62 and the multiplier rises to 1.1 percent. See FERS eligibility.
What is my minimum retirement age under FERS?
Your MRA depends on your birth year: 55 if born before 1948, rising two months a year to 56 for those born 1953 through 1964, then two months a year to 57 for those born in 1970 or later (OPM, retrieved 2026-07-05). Find yours with the retirement date finder.
When in the year should a federal employee retire?
Many FERS employees retire on the last day of a month, because the annuity generally starts the first day of the following month. Others time it near the end of the leave year to maximize their annual leave payout, or in early January to move that payout into a lower-income tax year. CSRS retirees can retire in the first three days of a month. See the retirement countdown.
What is VERA?
VERA, voluntary early retirement, lets employees retire early when their agency has OPM authority to offer it. Under FERS you qualify at 50 with 20 years or at any age with 25 years. The annuity is not reduced for age, though the FERS supplement does not start until your MRA. See RIF, VERA and VSIP.
Can I take a VSIP and retire?
Often, yes. VSIP is a lump-sum separation incentive an agency may offer, and it can be paired with an optional or early (VERA) retirement if you are eligible. The payment is capped by law and taxed. If you return to federal service within five years, you generally must repay it. See RIF, VERA and VSIP.
02Your pension
How is the FERS annuity calculated?
OPM multiplies your high-3 average salary by your years of service and by 1 percent. At 62 or older with at least 20 years, it uses 1.1 percent. Special provision employees get 1.7 percent for their first 20 years and 1 percent after (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). Try the FERS pension estimator.
How much is a 20-year federal pension?
At the standard 1 percent rate, 20 years produces 20 percent of your high-3 each year; at 62 or older, the 1.1 percent rate makes it 22 percent. With a $90,000 high-3, that is $18,000 or $19,800 a year before deductions, an educational estimate on those assumptions. See how the FERS annuity is calculated.
What is the high-3?
Your high-3 is the highest average basic pay you earned during any 3 consecutive years of service, usually your final 3. Basic pay includes locality pay but not overtime, bonuses or the annual leave payout. It is the salary figure in the FERS and CSRS formulas.
What is the FERS supplement?
It is a monthly payment for FERS employees who retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity before 62. It approximates the Social Security benefit earned during federal service, stops at 62, and is reduced by an earnings test if you work after retiring (OPM, retrieved 2026-07-05). See the FERS supplement.
Do FERS retirees get a COLA?
Most regular FERS retirees receive no COLA until age 62. After that, FERS COLAs follow the diet-COLA rule, which pays less than the full inflation rate when inflation tops 2 percent. The January 2026 COLA was 2.0 percent for FERS and 2.8 percent for CSRS (OPM, retrieved 2026-07-05). See the COLA guide.
How much sick leave counts toward FERS retirement?
Unused sick leave is added to your service when OPM computes your annuity, at 2,087 hours per year, but it does not count toward eligibility. A year of sick leave at the 1 percent rate adds about 1 percent of your high-3 to your yearly annuity. Convert yours with the sick leave calculator.
What is FERS disability retirement?
FERS disability retirement is for employees with at least 18 months of service who can no longer do useful and efficient service in their position because of a medical condition. In the first year it pays 60 percent of high-3, minus any Social Security disability benefit; after that, 40 percent minus 60 percent of the Social Security benefit, recomputed at 62. See FERS disability.
How do law enforcement retirement rules differ from regular FERS?
Law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers can retire at 50 with 20 years of covered service or at any age with 25. The formula is 1.7 percent of high-3 for the first 20 years and 1 percent after (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). Most face a mandatory retirement age. See special provisions.
03Insurance
Can I keep FEHB in retirement?
Yes, if you retire on an immediate annuity and have been enrolled in FEHB, in any plan, for the 5 years of service right before retirement or since your first chance to enroll (OPM, retrieved 2026-07-05). You pay the same total premium as employees. See keeping FEHB in retirement.
Is Medicare Part B required for federal retirees?
Not for most FEHB retirees: you can keep FEHB without Part B. Skipping it at 65 can mean a lifetime late-enrollment penalty if you sign up later, because retiree FEHB does not give you a special enrollment period. Postal retirees in the Postal Service Health Benefits program have their own Part B rules. See FEHB and Medicare.
04The TSP
How much does my agency contribute to my TSP?
FERS employees get an automatic 1 percent of basic pay, plus a match of 100 percent on the first 3 percent they contribute and 50 percent on the next 2 percent. Contributing 5 percent captures the full 5 percent from the agency (TSP, retrieved 2026-07-05). See TSP basics.
When can I withdraw from the TSP without a penalty?
If you separate in or after the year you turn 55, you can withdraw without the IRS early withdrawal penalty. Special provision employees can do so at 50, or at any age with 25 years. Otherwise the age is 59 and a half (TSP, retrieved 2026-07-05). Taxes still apply. See TSP withdrawals.
What happens to my TSP when I die?
Your account goes to the beneficiaries on your TSP-3 form, or by the order of precedence set in law if you have none. A surviving spouse's share is usually placed in a beneficiary participant account in their name. Keep the form current. See beneficiaries.
05Records and life events
What is a service computation date?
A service computation date (SCD) is the date used to credit your federal service. You can have more than one: a leave SCD for your annual leave rate, a retirement SCD for eligibility and computation, and a RIF SCD for layoff order. They differ when some service counts for one purpose but not another. See your SF-50 and records.
What happens to a federal pension in a divorce?
A state court can award a former spouse part of your annuity, a survivor annuity, or both, through a court order OPM accepts for processing. The TSP divides accounts through a separate qualifying order. A former spouse may also qualify for FEHB in their own name under rules tied to those awards and to remarriage. See divorce and benefits.
Still have a question?
Your situation may not fit a short answer.
FFEBA is an education organization. If you want someone to look at your own numbers, we can match you with a Federal Retirement Consultant (FRC), a professional trained on federal benefits. The FRC designation is listed with FINRA. The first review is free, nothing is booked until you choose a time, and you are never obligated to work with anyone we introduce. Get matched with an FRC.
Reviewed by the FFEBA education team. Last reviewed October 2026.
Sources
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS eligibility, retrieved 2026-07-05
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS computation, retrieved 2026-10-11
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, cost-of-living adjustments, retrieved 2026-07-05
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, health benefits, retrieved 2026-07-05
- Thrift Savings Plan, making contributions, retrieved 2026-07-05
- Thrift Savings Plan, withdrawals in retirement, retrieved 2026-07-05
Every government figure on this page carries its source and retrieval date. Worked examples are educational estimates on the assumptions shown, not a projection of any person's benefit. FFEBA is an education organization, not a financial advisor.