FERS retirement calculator 2026: your basic annuity, step by step
Enter your year of birth, the age you plan to leave, your years of service and your high-3. The calculator finds the type of retirement you qualify for and applies every reduction in order.
Immediate unreduced annuity, from age 57
$2,516/mo
$30,195 a year, plus $1,425/mo of supplement until 62.
| Basic annuity (30 years, 6 months counted) | $33,550 |
| Survivor benefit cost | -$3,355 |
| FERS supplement until 62 | $1,425/mo |
| Your MRA | 57 |
| Survivor would receive | $1,397/mo |
MRA with 30 years · 1 %.
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · read on opm.gov, ecfr.gov and ssa.gov · not an official determination
A FERS basic annuity equals your high-3 average salary times your years of creditable service times 1 %, or 1.1 % if you separate at 62 or older with 20 years or more. Someone born in 1970 who leaves at the MRA of 57 with 30 years, a $110,000 high-3 and 1,200 hours of unused sick leave earns $33,550 a year; the full survivor benefit costs 10 %, leaving $30,195, or $2,516/mo. With a $1,900 Social Security estimate, a FERS supplement of $1,425/mo is added until 62. You can retire at 62 with 5 years, at 60 with 20, at the MRA with 30, or at the MRA with 10 years under MRA+10, which cuts the annuity 5 % for each year under 62 unless you postpone it. Law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers use 1.7 % for their first 20 years. Unused sick leave adds to the computation, never to eligibility. The supplement loses $1 for every $2 of wages above $24,480 in 2026.
What this calculator does
The tool above reads five inputs that decide almost everything: the year you were born, the age at which you separate, your years of creditable service, your high-3 average salary and your survivor choice. From the first two it finds your minimum retirement age. From age and service it decides which retirement you qualify for under 5 U.S.C. 8412 and 8414: an immediate unreduced annuity, MRA+10, an early-out annuity, or a deferred annuity that starts later. It then computes the basic annuity, applies the age reduction if one applies, takes off the survivor cost and adds the supplement when you are entitled to it. The folded fields handle the less common cases: extra months of age and service, unused sick leave, your Social Security estimate, wages after you retire, the age at which a postponed or deferred annuity begins, and a voluntary early retirement or discontinued service offer.
Who can retire, and on what terms
| You leave at | With | Annuity | Supplement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 or older | 5 years | Unreduced; 1.1 % with 20 years | No |
| 60 or 61 | 20 years | Unreduced, 1 % | Yes, until 62 |
| Your MRA | 30 years | Unreduced, 1 % | Yes, until 62 |
| Your MRA | 10 to 29 years | Reduced 5 % a year under 62, or postponed | No |
| Any age, separated early | 5 years or more | Deferred: at 62, or at the MRA with 10 years | No |
| 50, or any age (early out) | 20 years, or 25 | Unreduced | From your MRA |
| 50, or any age (special provisions) | 20 years, or 25 | 1.7 % for 20 years, 1 % after | Yes, until 62 |
The minimum retirement age depends only on your year of birth: 56 for anyone born from 1953 to 1964, then two more months for each year until it reaches 57 for those born in 1970 or later. Reaching it with 30 years is the classic path. If you have fewer years, the MRA+10 option lets you go anyway at a price.
The formula and its three parts
The basic annuity is a product of three numbers. The first is your high-3: the highest average basic pay you earned in any three consecutive years, locality pay included, overtime and bonuses excluded. The second is your service, in years and whole months, with sick leave added for the computation. The third is the multiplier: 1 % as a rule, 1.1 % if you are 62 or older at separation with 20 years or more. A move from 61 to 62 is therefore worth a lot: with a $100,000 high-3 and 20 years, the annuity goes from $20,000 to $22,000 a year, before any COLA.
Test the 1.1 % multiplier: try 61, then 62
Immediate unreduced annuity, from age 62
$1,879/mo
| Basic annuity (20 years, 6 months counted) | $22,550 |
| Your MRA | 56 |
Worked example: MRA with 30 years
Take an employee born in 1970 who leaves at 57 with exactly 30 years, a high-3 of $110,000 and 1,200 hours of unused sick leave. The sick leave converts to 6 months, so the computation uses 30 years and 6 months. At 1 %, the basic annuity is $33,550 a year. Electing the full survivor benefit costs 10 %, $3,355, which leaves $30,195 a year, about $2,516/mo. A spouse who outlives the retiree would receive $1,397/mo plus later COLAs. Because this is an immediate unreduced retirement before 62, the FERS supplement is paid too: with a $1,900 Social Security estimate it adds $1,425/mo until the month before the 62nd birthday.
Survivor election
A married retiree gets the full survivor benefit unless the spouse consents to less. The full benefit pays the survivor 50 % of your annuity before the survivor cost and costs 10 %; the partial benefit pays 25 % and costs 5 %. The calculator applies the cost after the age reduction. The survivor benefit page compares the options over the years.
MRA+10 and postponing
Someone born in 1972 who leaves at the MRA of 57 with 18 years and a $95,000 high-3 has an unreduced annuity of $17,100. Starting it at once means 25 % less, for life: $1,068/mo. Postponing to 60 reduces the cut to 10 % and gives $1,282/mo; postponing to 62 removes it and gives $1,425/mo. With 20 years or more, postponing only to 60 would already erase the reduction. MRA+10 never carries the supplement. In the calculator, set the starting age in the folded field.
Deferred annuities
If you leave before you qualify for an immediate annuity, you keep a right to a deferred one as long as you have 5 years of service and leave your contributions in the fund. With fewer than 10 years it starts at 62. With 10 years or more you may start it at your MRA, reduced like MRA+10. A worker born in 1981 who leaves at 45 with 15 years and an $80,000 high-3 would receive $750/mo from 57, or $1,000/mo from 62. Sick leave does not count for a deferred annuity, and there is no supplement. Set the age of separation and the start age in the tool to see your case.
Early outs and special provisions
When an agency offers voluntary early retirement, or separates you involuntarily under discontinued service rules, you can retire at 50 with 20 years or at any age with 25, with no age reduction. The supplement waits for your MRA: an employee born in 1974 who takes an offer at 52 with 25 years and a $100,000 high-3 receives $2,083/mo at once and $1,125/mo of supplement from 57. Law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers retire at 50 with 20 years or at any age with 25, and their first 20 years count at 1.7 %. At 50 with 25 years and a $120,000 high-3, that gives $46,800 a year before any survivor election. Choose "LEO, firefighter, ATC" in the plan field.
The supplement and its earnings test
The supplement follows the immediate unreduced retirements before 62, early outs from the MRA and the special provisions. It is reduced by half of your wages and self-employment income above $24,480 in 2026, based on the previous year's earnings. If you plan to work after retiring, type the expected wages: the calculator shows what is left. The earnings test page explains the timing.
What the result does not include
The figure is gross. Federal income tax, health and life insurance premiums are deducted later from the monthly payment. Military service counts only if you paid the deposit. Part-time service, a CSRS component and court orders change the computation in ways no general tool can see. Your agency benefits office and OPM Retirement Services hold the official numbers; the page on how OPM computes the annuity explains what they check. Our method page lists every rule the calculator follows.