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FERS calculator

FERS retirement calculator

This FERS retirement calculator estimates your basic annuity with OPM's formula, 1 percent of your high-3 for each year of service or 1.1 percent at 62 with 20 years, and lets you pick the pathway you are on: immediate, MRA+10 taken now or postponed, deferred, an early out, special provisions or CSRS. Each step is shown so you can check the math, and the three MRA+10 choices sit side by side.

The calculator

What the calculator shows

  • Your estimated yearly and monthly basic annuity, gross, before deductions.
  • Whether you qualify on these inputs, for the pathway you picked.
  • The multiplier that applies to you, 1 percent, 1.1 percent, the special provision rate or the CSRS steps.
  • Any age reduction, MRA+10 or CSRS early out, as a separate line.
  • The cost of a survivor election, if you choose one.
  • When payments start, the supplement and the FEHB line for that pathway.
  • Take it now, postpone or defer, side by side on the MRA+10 pathways.

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

$28,500

a year, about $2,375 a month, before taxes and premiums

Want this run on your own records? A Federal Retirement Consultant (FRC®) checks the inputs with you, free.

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Eligibility on these inputs
Met: your MRA (56 and 4 months) with 30 years
Service in the formula
30 years, 0 months
Multiplier
1%
Gross basic annuity
$28,500
Age reduction
None
Survivor election
None
Payments start
At 60, when you retire
FERS supplement
Yes, from retirement until 62, if you retire unreduced
FEHB and FEGLI
Continue into retirement if you were enrolled for the 5 years before

Assumptions behind this estimate

  • Your high-3 is what you type, with no future raises added.
  • No COLA is applied. Regular FERS retirees generally get no COLA before 62.
  • Deductions are not modeled beyond the survivor election: FEHB, FEGLI and taxes still come out.
  • The FERS supplement is separate. Run the FERS supplement estimator.
  • The 1.1 percent rate needs 62 with 20 years on the day you separate; postponed and deferred starts at 62 stay at 1 percent.
  • Deferred annuities get no sick leave credit and cannot carry FEHB or FEGLI; the calculator applies both rules.
  • Early outs assume the offer is in hand. VERA needs an agency offer; a discontinued service retirement needs an involuntary separation.
  • Part-time service is not prorated here. Build the factor in the High-3 builder and apply it to the result.

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.
  • Years and months of serviceFrom your service computation date. Add bought-back military time if the deposit is paid.
  • Unused sick leaveOptional. Hours convert to service for the computation.
  • Year you were bornSets your minimum retirement age, 55 to 57 by birth year.
  • Age when you leaveYears and months on the day you separate.
  • Retirement pathwayImmediate, MRA+10 now, MRA+10 postponed, deferred, early out (VERA or DSR), special provisions, or CSRS.
  • Age when payments startPostponed and deferred only. The calculator moves it up if you type a start the rules do not allow.
  • Survivor electionNone, partial or full. FERS costs 5 or 10 percent; CSRS uses its own formula.

How we compute it

We multiply your high-3 by your total service and by your multiplier. Service counts in full years and months; leftover days do not count (OPM). If you are 62 or older with at least 20 years, the multiplier is 1.1 percent. Otherwise it is 1 percent. For special provisions, the first 20 years use 1.7 percent and any years after use 1 percent.

If you retire under MRA+10 and take payments before 62, OPM reduces the annuity by 5/12 of 1 percent for each full month you are under 62, which is 5 percent a year (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11). Postpone the start to 62 and the reduction disappears; defer after leaving early and the same is true, but unused sick leave is not credited and FEHB and FEGLI do not return. An early out under VERA or a discontinued service retirement pays the unreduced formula at 50 with 20 years or at any age with 25. The 1.1 percent rate is tested on the day you separate, never on the day payments start.

Under CSRS the formula is 1.5 percent of high-3 for the first 5 years, 1.75 percent for the next 5 and 2 percent for every year after, capped at 80 percent of high-3 before sick leave is added; an early out is reduced 1/6 of 1 percent for each month under 55. A full FERS survivor election costs 10 percent of your annuity and a partial election costs 5 percent (OPM, retrieved 2026-07-05); a full CSRS election costs 2.5 percent of the first $3,600 plus 10 percent of the rest.

1.0%Standard FERS multiplierOPM, retrieved 2026-10-11
1.1%Age 62+ with 20+ yearsOPM, retrieved 2026-10-11
5% a yearMRA+10 reduction under age 62OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11
1.7%Special provisions, first 20 yearsOPM, retrieved 2026-10-11
2% a yearCSRS early-out reduction under 55OPM, retrieved 2026-10-13

A worked example

An employee with a $90,000 high-3 and 30 years of service retires at 60. The multiplier is 1 percent, so the estimate is $90,000 x 30 x 1% = $27,000 a year, or $2,250 a month, before deductions. The same employee waiting until 62 with 32 years would compute to $90,000 x 32 x 1.1% = $31,680 a year on these assumptions. Both are educational estimates on the assumptions shown.

What to do with your estimate

Build the first input in the High-3 builder if you are not sure of it, then compare the result with the estimate in your agency's retirement system and the formula guide on how the FERS annuity is calculated. Check your earliest dates in FERS eligibility, and add your sick leave credit.

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 is a FERS pension calculated?

OPM multiplies your high-3 average salary by your years of creditable service and by 1 percent. If you retire at 62 or older with at least 20 years, the multiplier is 1.1 percent. Special provision employees use 1.7 percent for their first 20 years and 1 percent after (OPM, retrieved 2026-10-11).

What is a high-3?

Your high-3 is the highest average basic pay you earned during any 3 consecutive years of service, usually your last 3. Basic pay includes locality pay but not overtime, bonuses or awards.

How much is a FERS pension with 20 years of service?

It depends on your high-3 and your age. With 20 years at the 1 percent rate, the basic annuity is 20 percent of your high-3. At 62 or older, the 1.1 percent rate makes it 22 percent. A $90,000 high-3 gives an educational estimate of $18,000 or $19,800 a year before reductions.

Does unused sick leave count in the FERS formula?

Yes, unused sick leave is added to your service for the annuity computation, though not for eligibility. Use the sick leave conversion tool to turn your hours into years, months and days, then add the result here.

What is the difference between a postponed and a deferred retirement?

Both start payments later, usually at 62, without the age reduction. Postponed means you left at your MRA with at least 10 years and chose a later start; your FEHB and FEGLI stop while you wait and resume when payments begin. Deferred means you left before you were eligible to retire; FEHB and FEGLI cannot come back, unused sick leave is not credited, and there is no supplement. Pick each pathway above and the calculator shows both side by side.

Does the 1.1 percent rate apply if I postpone until 62?

No. OPM tests the 1.1 percent rate on your age and service on the day you separate, not on the day payments start. Leaving at 61 with 20 years and starting at 62 keeps the 1 percent rate; working until 62 with 20 years earns 1.1 percent on every year.

What does an early out (VERA) do to the formula?

Under FERS, nothing. A voluntary early retirement at 50 with 20 years or at any age with 25 pays the unreduced formula, and the FERS supplement starts at your MRA. It needs an agency offer, or an involuntary separation for a discontinued service retirement. CSRS early outs are reduced 2 percent for each year under 55.

Is this the amount I will receive?

No. This is an educational estimate of the gross basic annuity on the inputs you enter. OPM computes the official figure from your records. Survivor elections, health and life insurance premiums and taxes reduce what lands in your account.

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

Sources

  1. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS computation, retrieved 2026-10-11
  2. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS eligibility, retrieved 2026-07-05
  3. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, FERS survivors, 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.

Keep reading

Read the rule behind the math.