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Disability retirement

FERS disability retirement calculator

This FERS disability retirement calculator walks through OPM's published computation for an annuitant under 62: 60 percent of the high-3 for the first 12 months minus 100 percent of any Social Security disability benefit, then 40 percent minus 60 percent of it, with the earned annuity paid instead when it is higher and an estimate of the recomputation at 62.

The calculator

What the calculator shows

  • The monthly amount for the first 12 months, 60 percent of high-3, less 100 percent of any SSDI benefit.
  • The monthly amount after the first year, 40 percent of high-3, less 60 percent of any SSDI benefit.
  • The earned annuity on the same service, 1 percent of high-3 a year of service, with a line saying which one OPM's rule pays.
  • An estimate of the recomputation at 62, with the years to 62 counted as service at 1 or 1.1 percent.
  • The conditions OPM sets before any of these computations apply, listed beside the result.

Your inputs

Prefilled with an example so the result is never empty. Change any number; the result updates as you type.

Educational estimate on the assumptions you entered

$4,250 a month

for the first 12 months, then about $2,833 a month until 62, on OPM's published computation

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First 12 months
60% of high-3 = $4,250 a month
After the first year
40% of high-3 = $2,833 a month
Earned annuity on the same service
$850 a month: lower, so the disability computation applies
Recomputed at 62
$1,870 a month: 24 years counted at 1.1%, high-3 held flat here
Eligibility
OPM's decision on medical evidence, 18 months of civilian FERS service, and an SSDI application on file

Assumptions behind this estimate

  • The computation shown is OPM's under-62 formula. At 62 or older, or if you could retire voluntarily on an immediate annuity on the start date, OPM uses the earned annuity instead; read the earned annuity line for that case.
  • The SSDI amount is what you type and is applied to every month. OPM offsets only months of Social Security entitlement.
  • The high-3 is held flat at 62. OPM increases it by the FERS COLAs paid during the disability annuity.
  • Service to 62 is counted in whole years from the starting age you enter.
  • No COLAs, survivor reduction, FEHB or FEGLI premiums, or taxes are modeled. The figures are gross.
  • Approval is not modeled. Every line assumes OPM has approved the application; the calculator does not assess medical evidence or eligibility.

Educational estimate on the assumptions you entered, not a projection or a promise and not OPM's official computation. FFEBA is an education organization, not a financial advisor, and does not give personalized financial, tax or legal advice.

Inputs you will enter

  • High-3 average salaryYour highest 3 consecutive years of basic pay, averaged. Locality pay counts; overtime and bonuses do not. Build it in the High-3 builder if you are not sure.
  • Years of serviceWhole years of creditable service on the day the disability annuity starts.
  • Extra monthsMonths of service beyond the whole years, 0 to 11.
  • Age when the disability annuity startsYour age in whole years when payments would begin. The years from this age to 62 are what the recomputation adds.
  • Monthly Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit, if anyThe monthly amount on your Social Security award letter. Leave it at 0 if there is no award.

How we compute it

OPM's computation depends on age and retirement eligibility on the start date. An annuitant who is 62 or older, or who could retire voluntarily on an immediate annuity, is paid the earned annuity under the general FERS formula: 1 percent of high-3 for each year of service, or 1.1 percent with 20 or more years at 62 (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13). The calculator is built for the other case, an annuitant under 62 who could not retire voluntarily.

For that case, OPM pays 60 percent of the high-3 for the first 12 months, reduced by 100 percent of the Social Security benefit for each month of entitlement. After 12 months it pays 40 percent of the high-3, reduced by 60 percent of the Social Security disability benefit. In both periods, OPM pays the earned annuity instead if it is larger (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13). We compute all three on your inputs and show which is higher.

At 62, OPM recomputes the annuity as if you had worked until the day before your 62nd birthday and then retired under FERS. The time on disability retirement is credited as service, the rate is 1 percent, or 1.1 percent if total service reaches 20 years, and the high-3 is increased by the FERS cost-of-living adjustments paid while the disability annuity was in pay (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13). We add the whole years from your starting age to 62 to your service and hold the high-3 flat, so the official recomputed figure can be higher than this estimate.

None of these computations applies until OPM approves an application. OPM lists the conditions together: at least 18 months of federal civilian service creditable under FERS; a disease or injury that prevents useful and efficient service in the current position; a condition expected to last at least one year from the date of application; and an agency certification that it cannot accommodate the condition in the present position (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13). A FERS disability application also requires an application for Social Security disability benefits, and if that Social Security application is withdrawn, OPM dismisses the FERS application. The application is filed before separation or within one year after it (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13).

After approval, OPM may ask for current medical information from time to time to keep the annuity in place. The annuitant pays for any required examinations, and OPM suspends the annuity if a request goes unanswered until eligibility is reestablished (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13). Before 60, earning capacity is treated as restored when income from wages and self-employment in a calendar year reaches 80 percent of the current rate of basic pay for the position held before retirement, and the annuity then ends on June 30 of the following year (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13).

A married annuitant's disability annuity is generally reduced for a survivor annuity: 10 percent for a survivor benefit of 50 percent, or 5 percent for 25 percent, unless the spouse consents to less than a full survivor annuity (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13). FEHB continues into retirement for annuitants entitled to an immediate annuity who were enrolled for the 5 years of service before it starts, or since their first opportunity to enroll (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13).

18 monthsCreditable civilian FERS service OPM requires for a disability applicationOPM, retrieved 2026-10-13
60%Share of high-3 in the first 12 months, less 100% of Social SecurityOPM, retrieved 2026-10-13
40%Share of high-3 after 12 months, less 60% of Social Security disabilityOPM, retrieved 2026-10-13
80%Earnings share of current pay that restores earning capacity before 60OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13

A worked example

An employee with an $80,000 high-3 and 15 years of service starts a disability annuity at 50 and has a $2,000 monthly SSDI award. In the first 12 months, 60 percent of $80,000 is $48,000 a year, or $4,000 a month, and subtracting 100 percent of SSDI leaves $2,000 a month. After the first year, 40 percent of $80,000 is about $2,666.67 a month, and subtracting 60 percent of SSDI, $1,200, leaves about $1,466.67 a month.

The earned annuity on the same service is $80,000 x 15 x 1% = $12,000 a year, or $1,000 a month. It is lower in both periods, so OPM's rule pays the disability computation on these inputs. At 62, the 12 years from 50 to 62 are added for 27 years of service, which passes 20, so the rate is 1.1 percent: $80,000 x 27 x 1.1% = $23,760 a year, or $1,980 a month, with the high-3 held flat. Each figure is an educational estimate of OPM's published computation on the assumptions shown.

What to do with your estimate

Compare the earned annuity line with a regular retirement estimate in the FERS pension estimator, then read the FERS disability retirement guide for the application steps and the Social Security guide for how SSDI is awarded. Every other estimator is on the federal benefits calculators page.

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.

Questions about this calculator

How does OPM compute a FERS disability annuity before age 62?

For an annuitant under 62 who could not retire voluntarily on an immediate annuity, OPM pays 60 percent of the high-3 average salary for the first 12 months and 40 percent after that. If the earned annuity, 1 percent of high-3 for each year of service, is larger, OPM pays the earned annuity instead (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13).

How does Social Security disability change the FERS disability amount?

In the first 12 months, OPM subtracts 100 percent of the Social Security benefit for each month you are entitled to it. After that, it subtracts 60 percent of the Social Security disability benefit (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13). Months without Social Security entitlement carry no offset.

What happens to a FERS disability annuity at 62?

OPM recomputes it as if you had kept working until the day before your 62nd birthday. The time on disability retirement is credited as service, the rate is 1 percent, or 1.1 percent with 20 or more years in total, and the high-3 is increased by the FERS cost-of-living adjustments paid during the disability annuity (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13).

Do FERS disability annuities get cost-of-living adjustments?

Generally yes, except while the annuity is computed at the 60 percent rate, which is generally the first year of payments (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13).

Can a FERS disability annuitant work?

Yes, within a limit. Before age 60, if income from wages and self-employment in a calendar year reaches 80 percent of the current rate of basic pay for the position held before retirement, OPM treats earning capacity as restored, and the annuity stops on June 30 of the following year (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13).

Who decides on a FERS disability retirement?

OPM decides, on the medical evidence and agency certifications in the application. The calculator only shows OPM's published computation on the numbers you type; it does not assess eligibility or predict a decision.

Reviewed by the FFEBA education team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Sources

  1. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS computation (disability retirement computation), retrieved 2026-10-13
  2. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS types of retirement (disability retirement), retrieved 2026-10-13
  3. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS disability retirement tab (medical reevaluation, earning capacity, survivor benefits), retrieved 2026-10-13
  4. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FEHB eligibility (continuing coverage into retirement), retrieved 2026-10-13

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.

Keep reading

Read the rule behind the math.