{
  "id": "pension",
  "version": "1a794eabc29a",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Pension Calculator",
  "question": "How much will my pension be?",
  "summary": "Estimates a defined benefit pension from final average salary, years of service and the plan’s multiplier, with yearly cost-of-living raises and the total paid over retirement.",
  "category": "finance",
  "subcategory": "retirement",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/pension-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/pension-calculator.md",
  "kind": "schedule",
  "method": "Yearly pension = multiplier ÷ 100 × years of service × final average salary; monthly = yearly ÷ 12; each later year = the year before × (1 + COLA ÷ 100); total = the sum over the years in retirement.",
  "assumptions": [
    "The plan pays a single-life pension from the first year, with no early-retirement reduction, cap or survivor option. Your plan’s own rules decide these.",
    "The COLA is a fixed percent each year after the first, read to 10 decimal places; set it to 0 for a pension with no raises.",
    "Amounts are before tax and in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "salary": {
        "title": "Final average salary",
        "description": "Your average yearly pay over the years your plan counts, such as the last 3 or 5 years.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "exclusiveMinimum": 0,
        "maximum": 10000000
      },
      "yos": {
        "title": "Years of service",
        "description": "The years of service your plan credits, which may include part years.",
        "type": "number",
        "exclusiveMinimum": 0,
        "maximum": 60
      },
      "mult": {
        "title": "Multiplier",
        "description": "The percent of salary your plan pays for each year of service, from your plan documents.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "percent",
        "exclusiveMinimum": 0,
        "maximum": 10
      },
      "cola": {
        "title": "Yearly raise (COLA)",
        "description": "The cost-of-living raise your plan adds each year after the first, if any.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "percent",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 10
      },
      "yrs": {
        "title": "Years in retirement",
        "description": "How many years of payments to add up and chart.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 1,
        "maximum": 60
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "monthly": {
      "label": "Monthly pension",
      "description": "The first year’s pension ÷ 12.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "annual": {
      "label": "Yearly pension",
      "description": "Multiplier × years of service × final average salary.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "replacement": {
      "label": "Share of salary replaced",
      "description": "Multiplier × years of service: the yearly pension as a percent of the final average salary.",
      "format": "percent"
    },
    "last": {
      "label": "Pension in the last year",
      "description": "The yearly pension in the last year, after raises.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "total": {
      "label": "Total over retirement",
      "description": "All yearly pensions added up.",
      "format": "money"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "salary": 75000,
      "yos": 25,
      "mult": 1,
      "cola": 0,
      "yrs": 25
    },
    "outputs": {
      "monthly": 1562.5,
      "annual": 18750,
      "replacement": 25,
      "last": 18750,
      "total": 468750
    },
    "text": "Your pension would be $1,562.50 a month ($18,750.00 a year), 25% of your salary."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "salary": 60000,
        "yos": 30,
        "mult": 1,
        "cola": 0,
        "yrs": 20
      },
      "expect": {
        "annual": 18000,
        "monthly": 1500,
        "replacement": 30,
        "last": 18000,
        "total": 360000
      },
      "source": "U.S. Department of Labor, Types of Retirement Plans (defined benefit example: 1 percent of average salary for the last 5 years of employment for every year of service), https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/retirement/typesofplans; hand calculation in content.mdx: 1% × 30 × $60,000 = $18,000 a year"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "salary": 75000,
        "yos": 25,
        "mult": 2,
        "cola": 2,
        "yrs": 3
      },
      "expect": {
        "annual": 37500,
        "monthly": 3125,
        "replacement": 50,
        "last": 39015,
        "total": 114765
      },
      "source": "U.S. Department of Labor, Types of Retirement Plans (defined benefit example: 1 percent of average salary for the last 5 years of employment for every year of service), https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/retirement/typesofplans; hand calculation in content.mdx: 37,500; 38,250; 39,015; total 114,765"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "salary": 82345.67,
        "yos": 22.5,
        "mult": 1.75,
        "cola": 0,
        "yrs": 1
      },
      "expect": {
        "annual": 32423.6075625,
        "monthly": 2701.967296875,
        "replacement": 39.375,
        "total": 32423.6075625
      },
      "source": "U.S. Department of Labor, Types of Retirement Plans (defined benefit example: 1 percent of average salary for the last 5 years of employment for every year of service), https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/retirement/typesofplans; hand calculation in content.mdx: 0.0175 × 22.5 × 82,345.67 = 32,423.6075625"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "U.S. Department of Labor, Types of Retirement Plans (a defined benefit plan promises a specified monthly benefit at retirement; example formula: 1 percent of average salary for the last 5 years of employment for every year of service). https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/retirement/typesofplans (retrieved 2026-10-02)"
  ],
  "related": [
    "retirement",
    "fers-retirement",
    "military-retirement",
    "annuity-payout",
    "social-security"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}