FERS contribution rates in 2026: what you pay toward your pension
Your FERS deduction depends on when you first entered federal service, not on your grade or your agency. Pick your category and your basic pay to see the cost per paycheck.
Your FERS deduction
$127 per paycheck
4.4 % of basic pay, $3,300 a year.
| FERS (before 2013) | 0.8 % |
| FERS-RAE (2013) | 3.1 % |
| FERS-FRAE (2014 on) | 4.4 % |
| Your yearly contribution | $3,300 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · read on opm.gov, ecfr.gov and ssa.gov · not an official determination
Every FERS employee pays a fixed share of basic pay toward the basic annuity, and the share depends on the year you first became covered. Employees covered before 2013, or with at least five years of creditable civilian service by the end of 2012, pay 0.8 %. Those first hired in 2013 with less than five years of prior service are FERS-RAE (revised annuity employees) and pay 3.1 %. Those first hired from 2014 on under the same condition are FERS-FRAE (further revised annuity employees) and pay 4.4 %. All three groups earn the same annuity formula. On a basic pay of $75,000, the deduction is $23.08, $89.42 or $126.92 per biweekly paycheck, which is $600, $2,325 or $3,300 a year. The 2025 budget law, P.L. 119-21, left these rates unchanged. If you leave before retirement you can take a refund of these deductions, with interest in most cases, but the refund cancels the annuity rights for that service.
Three rates, one formula
5 U.S.C. 8422 sets the deduction as a total percentage minus the Social Security employee tax rate, which is why the figures look odd: 0.8 % for regular FERS, 3.1 % for revised annuity employees, 4.4 % for further revised annuity employees. The categories come from the definitions in 5 U.S.C. 8401. A revised annuity employee is someone who, on December 31, 2012, was not covered by FERS, was not performing FERS-creditable civilian service and had less than five years of such service, and who then became covered during 2013. A further revised annuity employee meets the same three conditions on December 31, 2013 and becomes covered after that date. Everyone else is regular FERS.
The rates buy the same thing. An RAE or FRAE employee earns the same 1 % multiplier per year of service, or 1.1 % when leaving at 62 or later with 20 years, the same high-3 and the same eligibility ages as an employee hired in 2005. Law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and the other special-provision groups pay half a percentage point more in each category under the same section.
| Category | First covered | Rate | Per paycheck on $75,000 | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FERS | before 2013, or 5+ years of prior service | 0.8 % | $23.08 | $600 |
| FERS-RAE | in 2013 | 3.1 % | $89.42 | $2,325 |
| FERS-FRAE | in 2014 or later | 4.4 % | $126.92 | $3,300 |
What it costs on a GS salary
The deduction applies to basic pay, which for retirement includes locality pay but not overtime, awards or allowances. A GS-7 step 1 in Rest of U.S. earns $50,460 in 2026: as an FRAE employee that is $85.39 per paycheck, against $15.53 for a colleague under regular FERS. A GS-9 step 1 in the same area, $61,722, pays $104.45 as FRAE. A GS-13 step 5 in Washington-Baltimore, $138,024, pays $233.58 per paycheck as FRAE, or $6,073 a year. Each step increase and promotion raises the dollar amount, because the percentage stays fixed.
Your FERS deduction per paycheck
Your FERS deduction
$104 per paycheck
| FERS (before 2013) | 0.8 % |
| FERS-RAE (2013) | 3.1 % |
| FERS-FRAE (2014 on) | 4.4 % |
| Your yearly contribution | $2,716 |
Over a career the gap between the categories is real money. At $75,000 of pay, an FRAE employee pays $2,700 a year more than a regular FERS employee for the same benefit, so about $81,000 over 30 years at that salary. It does not reduce the annuity, which for a 30-year career on a $100,000 high-3 is about $30,000 a year in every category. It is one reason the TSP match matters even more for recent hires: the agency's 1 % plus up to 4 % of matching is the part of FERS that costs you nothing extra.
Unchanged in 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21 of July 4, 2025, did not change FERS. The deduction rates, the annuity formula and the FERS supplement all stand as before. Until a law amends section 8422, the rate withheld on your leave and earnings statement is the one in the table, and your SF-50 shows the retirement plan you are under.
Leaving: refund or deferred annuity
If you separate before retiring, you have two paths for the money you paid in. The first is the lump-sum credit of 5 U.S.C. 8424. You can apply once you have been separated for at least 31 consecutive days, or transferred for 31 days to a job not covered by FERS, provided you are not back in a covered job when you apply and will not become eligible for an annuity within 31 days. Your spouse and any former spouse must be notified, and a court order protecting a survivor annuity can block payment. The credit is your deductions plus interest compounded annually, except that no interest is paid when total service is one year or less. Taking it voids all annuity rights based on that service until you are reemployed under FERS.
The second path is to leave the money in. With five years of creditable civilian service you are entitled to a deferred annuity at 62, or at your MRA with ten years or more, reduced 5 % a year under 62 unless you have 20 years and wait until 60. A deferred annuity carries no FERS supplement. For someone with ten or more years, the annuity paid for life is usually worth many times the refund; for someone with a year or two who will never return, the refund may be the only benefit. The deferred retirement page and the FERS retirement calculator show the annuity side of that choice.