{
  "id": "military-retirement",
  "version": "c7d8302d6f1b",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Military Retirement Calculator",
  "question": "What is my military retirement pay?",
  "summary": "Estimates monthly military retired pay for an active duty retirement under High-3, the Blended Retirement System (BRS), REDUX or Final Pay, from years of service and your retired pay base.",
  "category": "finance",
  "subcategory": "retirement",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/military-retirement-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/military-retirement-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "Monthly retired pay = retired pay base × multiplier, rounded down to the dollar; multiplier = 2.5% × years (High-3, Final Pay), 2% × years (BRS), or 2.5% × years − 1 point per year under 30 (REDUX); a month of service counts as 1/12 year.",
  "assumptions": [
    "Regular active duty retirement with 20 to 40 years; disability, reserve (non-regular) and early (TERA) retirements are not covered.",
    "Service over 30 years counts in full (retirement after 2006).",
    "Before taxes, the Survivor Benefit Plan, and any VA disability offset; future cost-of-living raises are not included.",
    "The BRS lump-sum option and Thrift Savings Plan matching are not included."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "plan": {
        "title": "Retirement system",
        "description": "The system you are under, set by when you joined and any choice you made.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "high3",
          "brs",
          "redux",
          "final"
        ]
      },
      "years": {
        "title": "Years of service",
        "description": "Full years of creditable active service at retirement.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 40
      },
      "months": {
        "title": "Extra months",
        "description": "Full months of service beyond the full years (0 to 11).",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 11
      },
      "base": {
        "title": "Retired pay base a month",
        "description": "High-3, BRS and REDUX: the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay. Final Pay: your last monthly basic pay.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 100000
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "monthly": {
      "label": "Monthly retired pay",
      "description": "Retired pay base times the multiplier, rounded down to the dollar, before taxes and deductions.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "yearly": {
      "label": "A year",
      "description": "The monthly retired pay times 12.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "multiplier": {
      "label": "Multiplier",
      "description": "The percent of the retired pay base paid each month.",
      "format": "percent"
    },
    "at62": {
      "label": "REDUX pay from age 62",
      "description": "At 62 REDUX pay is recomputed with the full 2.5% a year multiplier (cost-of-living catch-up not included).",
      "format": "money"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "plan": "high3",
      "years": 20,
      "months": 0,
      "base": 6000
    },
    "outputs": {
      "monthly": 3000,
      "yearly": 36000,
      "multiplier": 50
    },
    "text": "With 20 years under High-3 (joined Sep 8, 1980 to Dec 31, 2017) and a $6,000.00 retired pay base, your retired pay is about $3,000 a month."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "plan": "high3",
        "years": 20,
        "months": 0,
        "base": 6000
      },
      "expect": {
        "multiplier": 50,
        "monthly": 3000,
        "yearly": 36000
      },
      "source": "10 U.S.C. 1409(b)(1): 2.5 × 20 years = 50%; $6,000 × 50% = $3,000 (hand calculation in content.mdx)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "plan": "brs",
        "years": 20,
        "months": 0,
        "base": 6000
      },
      "expect": {
        "multiplier": 40,
        "monthly": 2400
      },
      "source": "10 U.S.C. 1409(b)(4)(A): the Blended Retirement System uses 2 in place of 2.5: 2 × 20 = 40%; $6,000 × 40% = $2,400"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "plan": "redux",
        "years": 22,
        "months": 4,
        "base": 7000
      },
      "expect": {
        "multiplier": 48.166666666666664,
        "monthly": 3371,
        "at62": 3908
      },
      "source": "10 U.S.C. 1409(b)(2): 2.5 × 22 4/12 = 55.8333 less 7 points and 8/12 point = 48.1667%; $7,000 × 48.1667% = $3,371.67, rounded down to $3,371; at 62, 55.8333% gives $3,908.33, rounded down to $3,908 (10 U.S.C. 1412)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "plan": "high3",
        "years": 32,
        "months": 6,
        "base": 9876.54
      },
      "expect": {
        "multiplier": 81.25,
        "monthly": 8024
      },
      "source": "10 U.S.C. 1409(b)(3)(B) (more than 30 years): 75% + 2.5 × 2.5 = 81.25%; $9,876.54 × 81.25% = $8,024.69, rounded down to $8,024 (10 U.S.C. 1412(a))"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "United States Code, 10 U.S.C. 1409 (Retired pay multiplier): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title10/html/USCODE-2023-title10-subtitleA-partII-chap71-sec1409.htm",
    "United States Code, 10 U.S.C. 1407 (Retired pay base: high-36 month average): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title10/html/USCODE-2023-title10-subtitleA-partII-chap71-sec1407.htm",
    "United States Code, 10 U.S.C. 1412 (Rounding to the next lower dollar): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title10/html/USCODE-2023-title10-subtitleA-partII-chap71-sec1412.htm"
  ],
  "related": [
    "rmc",
    "va-disability",
    "fers-retirement"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}