You can retire under FERS with an unreduced pension at your Minimum Retirement Age (55 to 57, set by birth year) with 30 years of service, at 60 with 20 years, or at 62 with 5 years. With 10 to 29 years you can go at your MRA, but the pension is reduced 5 percent for each year under 62, unless you have 20 or more years and postpone the annuity to start at 60.
"When can I retire?" sounds like it should have one answer. Under FERS it has four, plus a few side doors. That is because eligibility is not a single age. It is a pairing: an age and a number of years of service. Hit any of the approved pairs and the door opens.
Think of it as a combination lock with two dials. One dial is your age. The other is your service. This guide shows you every combination that works, what each one pays, and the two lesser-known options, deferred and postponed retirement, that decide what happens if you leave before the lock fully opens. Figures come from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and are dated to the day we checked them.
01What is the FERS Minimum Retirement Age?
Your Minimum Retirement Age, or MRA, is the earliest age most FERS employees can retire on an immediate annuity, and it ranges from 55 to 57 depending on the year you were born (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). Congress tied it to the same gradual rise built into Social Security, so younger employees have a later MRA.
| Year you were born | Your MRA |
|---|---|
| Before 1948 | 55 |
| 1948 | 55 and 2 months |
| 1949 | 55 and 4 months |
| 1950 | 55 and 6 months |
| 1951 | 55 and 8 months |
| 1952 | 55 and 10 months |
| 1953 through 1964 | 56 |
| 1965 | 56 and 2 months |
| 1966 | 56 and 4 months |
| 1967 | 56 and 6 months |
| 1968 | 56 and 8 months |
| 1969 | 56 and 10 months |
| 1970 and after | 57 |
Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS eligibility, retrieved 2026-10-11.
For most people still working today, the MRA is 56-something or 57. If you were born in 1966, for example, you reach your MRA four months after your 56th birthday. The MRA finder turns your birth date into the exact month.
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02What are the ways to retire with an immediate FERS annuity?
There are four age and service combinations that qualify you for an immediate FERS annuity, meaning a pension that starts within 30 days of your separation (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). Three are unreduced. The fourth, MRA+10, is reduced if you start it before 62.
| Age | Years of service | Pension | Supplement before 62? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your MRA | 30 | Unreduced | Yes, if otherwise eligible |
| 60 | 20 | Unreduced | Yes, if otherwise eligible |
| 62 | 5 | Unreduced (1.1% multiplier with 20+ years) | Not applicable |
| Your MRA | 10 to 29 | Reduced 5% per year under 62 | No |
Source: OPM FERS eligibility and computation pages, retrieved 2026-10-11.
The right-hand column matters more than it looks. The FERS supplement, a bridge payment that approximates your federal-service Social Security until 62, is paid with the unreduced immediate annuities before 62. It is not paid with MRA+10. The supplement guide covers who gets it and how the earnings test works.
- Immediate annuityA pension that begins within 30 days after you separate from federal service.
- UnreducedPaid at the full formula amount, with no age penalty.
- MRA+10Retirement at your MRA with 10 to 29 years of service, reduced for each year under 62.
- Creditable serviceTime that counts toward eligibility and the computation, including paid military deposits.
- SeparationYour last day in a federal position. Eligibility is measured on this date.
One detail trips people up: unused sick leave counts in the computation of your pension, but not toward eligibility. If you are one month short of 30 years, a big sick leave balance will not close the gap. A paid military deposit, by contrast, does count toward eligibility. The military buyback guide explains how.
03How much is the MRA+10 reduction?
The MRA+10 reduction is 5 percent for each year you are under age 62 when the pension starts, figured as 5/12 of 1 percent for each full month (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). Start at 57 and the pension is cut 25 percent. Start at 60 and it is cut 10 percent.
The reduction is permanent. It does not go away when you turn 62, and it applies to the basic annuity for life. There are two ways around it, and both are about service, not age.
- Reach 30 years. At your MRA with 30 years of service, there is no reduction at all.
- Reach 20 years and start at 60. With at least 20 years of service, the reduction disappears if the pension begins at 60 or later.
- Delay the start date. If you have 10 to 29 years, you can separate at your MRA and postpone the pension's start, shrinking the reduction month by month.
That third option is postponed retirement, and it deserves its own section.
04What is a worked example of MRA+10?
Here is the same career figured three ways, so you can see what the start date does.
Starting at 57 brings in $9,000 a year for the five years before 62, about $45,000 in total. Waiting until 62 means giving up that $45,000 to collect $3,000 more each year for life. Which is better depends on your health, your other income, and whether you need FEHB in the meantime. That is a planning question, not a math question, and it is one reason people review it with a professional.
05What happens if you leave before you are eligible to retire?
If you leave federal service before you qualify for an immediate annuity, you can still claim a deferred annuity later, as long as you have at least 5 years of creditable civilian service and you leave your retirement contributions in the system (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). A deferred annuity can start at 62 with 5 years, or at your MRA with 10 or more years.
- 01
At 62 with 5 years
Unreduced, at the 1 percent multiplier.
- 02
At your MRA with 30 years
Unreduced.
- 03
At your MRA with 10 to 29 years
Reduced 5 percent per year under 62, with the same option to delay the start date to shrink the reduction.
- 04
Apply ahead of time
OPM asks for the application at least 60 days before you want the annuity to begin (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11).
The biggest risk here is the refund. When you leave, you can ask for your retirement contributions back. Taking that refund generally ends your right to a pension for that service. For many people, the refund is a small check compared with decades of monthly payments, so it is worth pausing before you sign.
Deferred retirement has a second cost that is easy to miss: insurance. A deferred annuitant cannot re-enroll in FEHB, FEGLI, or federal dental and vision coverage (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). If keeping federal health insurance matters to you, a deferred annuity does not get you there.
06What is the difference between deferred and postponed retirement?
Deferred retirement is for people who leave before meeting any immediate-retirement combination, and it does not carry FEHB or FEGLI. Postponed retirement is for people who already qualify for MRA+10 on their last day, separate at their MRA, and choose a later start date to reduce or avoid the age penalty; it can carry both, if you meet the five-year enrollment rules (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11).
| Deferred | Postponed (MRA+10) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Left before qualifying for an immediate annuity | Separated at MRA with 10 to 29 years |
| Earliest start | 62 with 5 years, or MRA with 10 or 30 | Any date from your MRA up to 2 days before 62 |
| Age reduction | 5% per year under 62 on the MRA+10 path | Shrinks as you delay; gone at 60 with 20 years or at 62 |
| FEHB when the pension starts | Cannot re-enroll | Can re-enroll if covered the 5 years before separation |
| FEGLI | Cannot reinstate | Can continue if covered the 5 years before separation |
| Supplement | Not paid | Not paid |
Source: OPM FERS types of retirement, retrieved 2026-10-11.
While you wait for a postponed annuity to start, OPM describes a bridge for health coverage: temporary continuation of FEHB for up to 18 months if you contact your former agency within 60 days, paying the full premium plus 2 percent (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). When the pension starts, you can re-enroll with the government paying its usual share, as long as you were enrolled for the five years before you separated.
Deferred and postponed sound like the same word. They are not. One leaves your health coverage behind; the other can bring it back.
07Who can retire early under FERS?
Early retirement under FERS is available only when an agency offers it or separates you involuntarily, and it allows retirement at age 50 with 20 years of service or at any age with 25 years (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). There are two forms.
- Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA). Offered when an agency head requests it after a major reorganization, reduction in force or transfer of function, and OPM approves.
- Discontinued service retirement. For involuntary separations. Employees who decline a reasonable offer of another position are not eligible.
- No age reduction on the FERS pension. The FERS portion is not reduced for age under these rules; any CSRS portion is reduced 2 percent per year under 55 (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11).
- Supplement timing. An early retiree under the MRA generally waits until the MRA for the supplement to begin.
If your agency is offering buyouts or early outs, the RIF, VERA and VSIP guide explains how the offers fit together. Separately, law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and a few other groups have their own earlier eligibility; the special provisions guide covers them.
08How do you pick the right retirement month?
The right month is the earliest one that meets your goals on income, health coverage and the multiplier, and it usually sits near a threshold: your MRA, the 30-year mark, age 60 with 20 years, or age 62 with 20 years. Thresholds are where the rules change, so they are where a few months make the biggest difference.
- 01
Write down four dates
Your MRA, the day you reach 30 years, your 60th birthday, and your 62nd birthday.
- 02
Mark your service on each date
Include paid military time; leave sick leave out for eligibility.
- 03
Find the first unreduced date
That is usually the floor for your plan.
- 04
Check the 62-and-20 line
If you will have 20 years at 62, the multiplier rises to 1.1 percent on every year.
- 05
Check FEHB continuity
Five years of continuous enrollment before your last day keeps health coverage in retirement.
- 06
Price the gap to Social Security
If you leave before 62, decide how the supplement, the TSP and any work will cover the years in between.
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- 01More than 5 years from retirement
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The FERS annuity guide shows how each date changes the pension amount, and the FERS hub shows how eligibility connects to the TSP and Social Security.
09Moving forward with your retirement date
Eligibility is the first lock to open, but it is not the whole plan. Two people with the same MRA can make very different choices because of their service, their health coverage and what they need from the years before 62.
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.
10Questions federal employees ask
What is my FERS Minimum Retirement Age?
Your MRA is set by your birth year. It is 55 if you were born before 1948, 56 if you were born from 1953 through 1964, and 57 if you were born in 1970 or later, with two-month steps for the years in between (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11).
What is MRA+10 retirement?
MRA+10 lets you retire at your Minimum Retirement Age with at least 10 but fewer than 30 years of service. The pension is reduced 5 percent for each year you are under 62 when it starts, unless you have 20 years and start it at 60 or later (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11).
What is the difference between deferred and postponed FERS retirement?
Deferred retirement is for people who leave before they qualify for an immediate annuity; the pension starts later and FEHB and FEGLI cannot be reinstated. Postponed retirement is for MRA+10 retirees who delay the start date to shrink or avoid the age reduction; FEHB and FEGLI can return when the pension starts if you meet the five-year rule.
Can I retire at 55 as a federal employee?
Only if your MRA is 55 or you qualify for early or special-provision retirement. Anyone born in 1953 or later has an MRA of at least 56. Early retirement during an approved VERA or a discontinued service retirement allows age 50 with 20 years or any age with 25 years.
Do I lose my FERS pension if I quit early?
No, as long as you have at least 5 years of creditable civilian service and do not take a refund of your retirement contributions. You can claim a deferred annuity later, at 62 with 5 years, or at your MRA with 10 or 30 years.
Does unused sick leave help me reach retirement eligibility?
No. Unused sick leave is added to your service when the pension is computed, which makes it larger, but it does not count toward the years you need to qualify to retire.
Reviewed by the FFEBA education team. Last reviewed October 2026.
Sources
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS eligibility (MRA table, immediate and deferred retirement), retrieved 2026-10-11
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS types of retirement (early, deferred, postponed, insurance rules), retrieved 2026-10-11
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS computation (MRA+10 reduction of 5/12 of 1 percent per month), retrieved 2026-10-11
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FEHB 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.
