# What is my military retirement pay?

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.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/military-retirement-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/military-retirement-calculator.json
- Version: c7d8302d6f1b

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Retirement system High-3 (joined Sep 8, 1980 to Dec 31, 2017), Years of service 20, Extra months 0, Retired pay base a month $6,000.00): 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.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| plan | Retirement system | The system you are under, set by when you joined and any choice you made. |
| years | Years of service | Full years of creditable active service at retirement. |
| months | Extra months | Full months of service beyond the full years (0 to 11). |
| base | Retired pay base a month | High-3, BRS and REDUX: the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay. Final Pay: your last monthly basic pay. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| monthly | Monthly retired pay | Retired pay base times the multiplier, rounded down to the dollar, before taxes and deductions. |
| yearly | A year | The monthly retired pay times 12. |
| multiplier | Multiplier | The percent of the retired pay base paid each month. |
| at62 | REDUX pay from age 62 | At 62 REDUX pay is recomputed with the full 2.5% a year multiplier (cost-of-living catch-up not included). |

## 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.

## Worked examples

1. plan = high3, years = 20, months = 0, base = $6,000.00 gives multiplier = 50%, monthly = $3,000.00, yearly = $36,000.00. Source: 10 U.S.C. 1409(b)(1): 2.5 × 20 years = 50%.
2. plan = brs, years = 20, months = 0, base = $6,000.00 gives multiplier = 40%, monthly = $2,400.00. Source: 10 U.S.C. 1409(b)(4)(A): the Blended Retirement System uses 2 in place of 2.5: 2 × 20 = 40%.
3. plan = redux, years = 22, months = 4, base = $7,000.00 gives multiplier = 48.166667%, monthly = $3,371.00, at62 = $3,908.00. Source: 10 U.S.C. 1409(b)(2): 2.5 × 22 4/12 = 55.8333 less 7 points and 8/12 point = 48.1667%; at 62, 55.8333% gives $3,908.33, rounded down to $3,908 (10 U.S.C. 1412).
4. plan = high3, years = 32, months = 6, base = $9,876.54 gives multiplier = 81.25%, monthly = $8,024.00. 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)).

## FAQ

### How is military retirement pay calculated?

Retired pay = retired pay base × multiplier. Under High-3 the base is the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay and the multiplier is 2.5% for each year of service. 20 years gives 50% of the base.

### How is the Blended Retirement System different?

BRS uses 2% a year instead of 2.5%, so 20 years gives 40% of the High-3 base. In return the service matches Thrift Savings Plan contributions and pays continuation pay. BRS covers members who joined on or after January 1, 2018, and those who opted in.

### What is REDUX?

Members who took the Career Status Bonus at 15 years retire under REDUX: 2.5% a year less 1 percentage point for each year under 30. At 20 years that is 40%. At age 62 the multiplier goes back to 2.5% a year.

### Do months of service count?

Yes. Each full month beyond the full years counts as 1/12 of a year. 22 years and 6 months under High-3 is 2.5 × 22.5 = 56.25%.

### Can I retire with less than 20 years?

A regular active duty retirement needs 20 years. Disability retirement, reserve retirement and the Temporary Early Retirement Authority have their own rules and are not covered here.

## 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