What will my FERS retirement pay?
Enter your high-3 salary, years of service and age at retirement to estimate your FERS basic annuity. Add unused sick leave and a survivor benefit to see how they change it.
- Your FERS annuity per month
- $2,750.00
Retiring at 62 with 30 years of service on a $100,000.00 high-3 pays about $2,750.00 a month ($33,000.00 a year).
- Per year
- $33,000.00
- Basic annuity before reductions
- $33,000.00
- Multiplier
- 1.1%
- Service counted
- 30 years
- Age reduction
- 0%
- Survivor reduction
- 0%
- Your MRA
- 56 years, 4 months
- Retirement type
- Immediate, no age reduction
Your FERS annuity per month: $2,750.00. Retiring at 62 with 30 years of service on a $100,000.00 high-3 pays about $2,750.00 a month ($33,000.00 a year).
Your FERS annuity per month by years of service
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Estimates the FERS basic annuity for a federal employee from the high-3 salary, years of service, unused sick leave, age at retirement and survivor election, with the MRA+10 reduction.
Example with the default inputs (High-3 average salary $100,000.00, Years of service 30, Plus months 0, Unused sick leave (hours) 0, Age at retirement 62, Plus months of age 0, Year you were born 1966, Survivor benefit None): Retiring at 62 with 30 years of service on a $100,000.00 high-3 pays about $2,750.00 a month ($33,000.00 a year).
Method: yearly annuity = high-3 × multiplier × (service months counted ÷ 12) × (1 − age reduction) × (1 − survivor reduction); multiplier 1.1% at 62 or older with 20 years counted, else 1%; age reduction 5/12% per month under 62 for MRA+10 only; survivor reduction 10% full, 5% partial.
- Regular FERS employees only: special provisions (law enforcement, firefighters, air traffic controllers), disability and deferred retirement are not included.
- Unused sick leave converts at 2,087 hours a year (hours × 12 ÷ 2,087 months) and is added to service before the fractional month is dropped. OPM’s chart works in days, so it can differ by a month.
- The FERS supplement, cost-of-living adjustments, taxes and health insurance premiums are not included.
- Arithmetic is exact on the typed decimals; money shows to the cent, halves up.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- High-3 average salary $100,000.00, Years of service 30, Age at retirement 62, Year you were born 1966, Survivor benefit None gives Multiplier 1.1%, Basic annuity before reductions $33,000.00, Per year $33,000.00, Your FERS annuity per month $2,750.00.Source: OPM, FERS computation (https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/computation/): 1.1% × 100,000 × 30 = 33,000
- High-3 average salary $80,000.00, Years of service 25, Plus months 6, Age at retirement 57, Year you were born 1970, Survivor benefit None gives Multiplier 1%, Basic annuity before reductions $20,400.00, Age reduction 25%, Per year $15,300.00.Source: OPM, FERS computation (https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/computation/) and OPM, FERS eligibility and MRA table (https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/eligibility/): MRA 57 for 1970
- High-3 average salary $90,000.00, Years of service 19, Unused sick leave (hours) 2,087, Age at retirement 63, Year you were born 1962, Survivor benefit Full (50%) gives Multiplier 1.1%, Basic annuity before reductions $19,800.00, Per year $17,820.00, Your FERS annuity per month $1,485.00.Source: OPM, FERS computation (https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/computation/); OPM BAL 18-103, unused sick leave counts toward 20 years for the 1.1% multiplier (https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/publications-forms/benefits-administration-letters/2018/18-103.pdf): 2,087 hours = 1 year, so 19 + 1 = 20 years
- High-3 average salary $70,000.00, Years of service 32, Age at retirement 57, Year you were born 1968, Survivor benefit Partial (25%) gives Basic annuity before reductions $22,400.00, Age reduction 0%, Per year $21,280.00.Source: OPM, FERS eligibility and MRA table (https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/eligibility/): MRA 56 and 8 months for 1968, so 32 years at 57 is MRA+30 with no age reduction
How it works
Ages and service are counted in whole months. Your age at retirement is A = age × 12 + months. Your service S = years × 12 + months.
Your minimum retirement age (MRA) by year of birth (OPM’s table):
| Born | MRA |
|---|---|
| before 1948 | 55 |
| 1948 to 1952 | 55 plus 2 months for each year after 1947 (1948: 55 and 2 months; 1952: 55 and 10 months) |
| 1953 to 1964 | 56 |
| 1965 to 1969 | 56 plus 2 months for each year after 1964 (1965: 56 and 2 months; 1969: 56 and 10 months) |
| 1970 and after | 57 |
Eligibility for an immediate annuity uses S only (not sick leave):
- no age reduction: A ≥ 62 years with S ≥ 5 years, or A ≥ 60 years with S ≥ 20 years, or A ≥ MRA with S ≥ 30 years;
- otherwise MRA+10, with an age reduction: A ≥ MRA with S ≥ 10 years;
- otherwise there is no answer (with less than 5 years, FERS pays no annuity; with 5 or more, a deferred annuity can start at 62, which this calculator does not work out).
Service counted T = S + unused sick leave hours × 12 ÷ 2,087, with any fractional month dropped (rounded down to whole months).
Multiplier m = 1.1% if A ≥ 62 years and T ≥ 20 years (240 months), else 1%.
Basic annuity = high-3 × m × T ÷ 12.
Age reduction (MRA+10 only) = 5/12% × (62 × 12 − A), the full months under 62. It is 0% for the other retirements.
Survivor reduction = 10% for a full survivor annuity, 5% for a partial one, 0% for none.
Yearly annuity = basic annuity × (1 − age reduction ÷ 100) × (1 − survivor reduction ÷ 100). Monthly annuity = yearly ÷ 12.
Rules:
- The high-3 is more than $0 and at most $10 million. Years of service are 0 to 60, extra months 0 to 11, sick leave 0 to 20,000 hours, age 40 to 90 plus 0 to 11 months, and year of birth 1930 to 2010. Empty extra months or sick leave count as 0.
- The arithmetic is exact on the decimals you type. Money shows to the cent with halves rounded up (away from 0). The age reduction shows up to 4 decimals.
- Service counted and the MRA show as years and months, for example "30 years, 2 months".
The chart shows the monthly annuity for 5 to 45 years of service at your other inputs; points with no answer are left out.
Assumptions
- Regular FERS employees only. Special provisions for law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers, disability retirement and deferred retirement are not included.
- OPM converts sick leave with a chart in days of about 5.8 hours; this calculator uses hours × 12 ÷ 2,087 months, which can differ by a month near a boundary.
- The FERS supplement, cost-of-living adjustments, taxes and health insurance premiums are not included.
Worked examples by hand
$100,000 high-3, 30 years, age 62, no survivor benefit. 62 with 30 years: no age reduction, and the multiplier is 1.1%. Basic = 100,000 × 1.1% × 30 = $33,000 a year, or 33,000 ÷ 12 = $2,750 a month.
$80,000 high-3, 25 years 6 months, age 57, born 1970. The MRA is 57, and 25.5 years is MRA+10. Basic = 80,000 × 1% × 306 ÷ 12 = $20,400. Under 62 by 60 months: 60 × 5/12% = 25%. Yearly = 20,400 × 0.75 = $15,300.
$90,000 high-3, 19 years, 2,087 hours of sick leave, age 63, full survivor. Sick leave adds 2,087 × 12 ÷ 2,087 = 12 months, so T = 20 years and the multiplier is 1.1%. Basic = 90,000 × 1.1% × 20 = $19,800. Less 10% = $17,820 a year, or $1,485 a month.
$70,000 high-3, 32 years, age 57, born 1968, partial survivor. The MRA is 56 and 8 months, and 32 years at the MRA has no age reduction. Basic = 70,000 × 1% × 32 = $22,400. Less 5% = $21,280 a year.
Other questions people ask
How is a FERS pension calculated?
Multiply your high-3 average salary by your years of service and by 1%. If you retire at 62 or older with at least 20 years, use 1.1% instead. 30 years at 62 on a $100,000 high-3 is 1.1% × 100,000 × 30 = $33,000 a year, or $2,750 a month.
What is the high-3?
Your highest average basic pay over any 3 consecutive years of service, usually your last 3 years. Overtime, bonuses and most allowances do not count; locality pay does.
When can I retire with an immediate FERS annuity?
At 62 with 5 years of service, at 60 with 20 years, at your minimum retirement age (MRA) with 30 years, or at your MRA with 10 to 29 years (MRA+10) with a reduction. Your MRA is 55 to 57, set by your year of birth.
How much does retiring at MRA+10 cost?
The annuity is cut by 5/12 of 1% for each full month you are under 62, which is 5% a year. Retiring at 57 cuts it by 25%. There is no cut with 30 years, or with 20 years at 60 or older.
Does unused sick leave count?
Yes, for the amount but not for eligibility. OPM adds it to your service at 2,087 hours a year. It can also help you reach the 20 years needed for the 1.1% multiplier if you retire at 62 or older.
What does the survivor benefit cost?
A full survivor annuity (50% of your annuity for your spouse) cuts your annuity by 10%. A partial one (25%) cuts it by 5%. With no survivor benefit there is no cut, but your spouse must agree to that in writing.
Does this include the FERS supplement or Social Security?
No. The FERS supplement (paid to some retirees under 62), Social Security, the Thrift Savings Plan, cost-of-living adjustments, taxes and health insurance premiums are not included. The result is the basic annuity only.