FERS Retirement Calculator
Estimate your federal FERS pension: enter your birth year, retirement age, service, sick leave and high-3 salary to get your basic annuity (1% or 1.1% formula), any MRA+10 reduction, the survivor benefit cost, the FERS supplement until 62 and a COLA projection.
FERS retirement calculator
How the FERS basic annuity is calculated
- 1% of your high-3 × years of service, or 1.1% if you retire at 62 or older with at least 20 years. Your high-3 is your highest average basic pay over any 3 consecutive years; overtime and bonuses don't count.
- Unused sick leave is added to your service for the computation (about 2,087 hours = 1 year), but it doesn't help you qualify to retire. OPM drops any leftover fraction of a month.
- MRA+10: retiring at your minimum retirement age with 10–29 years cuts the annuity by 5% for each year you're under 62 (5/12 of 1% a month), unless you have 20+ years and postpone the start to 60.
- Survivor benefit: a full survivor annuity (50%) reduces your annuity by 10%; a partial one (25%) by 5%.
- FERS supplement (special retirement supplement): paid from an unreduced immediate retirement until 62, roughly your Social Security estimate at 62 × your years of FERS civilian service ÷ 40. It's subject to the Social Security earnings test and isn't paid with an MRA+10 retirement.
- COLA: most FERS retirees get no cost-of-living increase until 62. Then it's the CPI change if that's 2% or less, 2% if CPI is 2–3%, and CPI minus 1% above 3% (the "diet COLA").
Example: high-3 of $95,000, 30 years plus 1,000 hours of sick leave, retiring at 57 (MRA for 1968): 1% × $95,000 × 30.48 years ≈ $28,955 a year, plus the supplement until 62.
| Born | Minimum retirement age |
|---|---|
| Before 1948 | 55 |
| 1948–1952 | 55 and 2 to 10 months |
| 1953–1964 | 56 |
| 1965–1969 | 56 and 2 to 10 months |
| 1970 or later | 57 |
Common questions
How is my FERS pension calculated?
1% of your high-3 average salary × your years of service, or 1.1% if you retire at 62+ with 20+ years. $90,000 × 1% × 25 years = $22,500 a year.
What is the FERS MRA+10 penalty?
5% for each year you're under 62 when the annuity starts. Postponing the start date reduces or removes it.
Does sick leave count toward FERS retirement?
It's added to your service for computing the annuity, but not for meeting the minimum service to retire.
When do FERS retirees get a COLA?
Usually from age 62. It's the full CPI increase up to 2%, 2% when CPI is 2–3%, and CPI minus 1% above 3%.
Who gets the FERS supplement?
Employees who retire on an immediate unreduced annuity before 62 (MRA with 30 years, or 60 with 20). It stops at 62 and is reduced if you earn above the Social Security earnings limit.
Sources
- OPM: FERS computation
- OPM: FERS eligibility and minimum retirement age
- OPM: FERS annuity supplement
- OPM: Cost-of-living adjustments
Related
General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Check important numbers with the official source before acting on them.