Retirement · calculator
FERS retirement calculator with military service credit
For veterans working for the federal government: the FERS basic annuity from your high-3 salary and years, and what buying back your military years adds.
FERS basic annuity per month
$1,558.33
$18,700 a year: 1.1% × 20 years × $85,000.
| Without the military years | $1,133.33 a month |
| Added by the military buy-back | $5,100 a year |
| Deposit (3% of basic pay) | $3,600 |
| Years to recover the deposit | 0.7 |
OPM FERS formula: 1% a year, 1.1% when you start at 62 or later with 20 years; MRA+10 reduction of 5% a year under 62. Deposit before interest; the FERS supplement and survivor reduction are not included. How this is calculated.
The Federal Employees Retirement System pays a basic annuity of 1% of the high-3 average salary for each year of creditable service, or 1.1% when the employee retires at 62 or later with at least 20 years, under the formula published by OPM. Many federal employees are veterans, and their military service can count toward FERS too, but only after they pay a deposit: 3% of the military basic pay earned during the service, plus interest if paid late. A veteran with a high-3 of $90,000 who retires at 62 with sixteen civilian years and four military years bought back receives $19,800 a year instead of $14,400. The deposit for those four years, if basic pay totaled $110,000, would be $3,300. Retirees drawing military retired pay generally must waive it to count the same years, unless it is based on a combat disability or Chapter 1223 reserve retirement.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Examples with and without military years
| Situation | High-3 | Annual annuity | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 years, starts at 62 | $90,000 | $19,800 | $1,650 |
| 16 years + 4 military, starts at 62 | $90,000 | $19,800 | $1,650 |
| 26 years + 4 military, starts at 57 | $90,000 | $27,000 | $2,250 |
| 12 years + 6 military, starts at 60 | $75,000 | $12,150 | $1,013 |
| 30 years, starts at 60 | $110,000 | $33,000 | $2,750 |
The military deposit, step by step
To credit post-1956 military service toward FERS, a federal employee pays a deposit of 3% of the military basic pay earned during that service (the rate was slightly higher for 1999 and 2000). The steps are: ask your branch for a statement of military earnings, give it to your agency's human resources office, which computes the deposit and any interest, and pay it in a lump sum or by payroll deduction before separating. The service must have ended under honorable conditions. Once paid, the years count for the annuity amount and for retirement eligibility.
Why the 62 rule matters for veterans
The 1.1% multiplier needs two things at separation: age 62 and 20 years of service. Military years bought back count toward the 20. A veteran who joined federal service at 45 after four years in uniform would reach 20 years at 61 with the buy-back, and qualify for 1.1% by working one more year, instead of needing 20 civilian years alone. The calculator shows the multiplier applied in each case.
Veterans with a military retirement should compare the two options with care: waiving retired pay to count the years in FERS gives up a pension that started years earlier and carries full cost-of-living adjustments. The military retirement calculator gives the other side. TSP balances from military and civilian service can be combined in one account; see the TSP calculator.
Special categories and the CSRS component
Law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and some other employees have higher FERS multipliers for their covered service and earlier retirement ages; the calculator uses the regular formula and does not apply them. Employees with service before 1984 who moved from CSRS to FERS have a CSRS component computed separately, and military service performed before the transfer follows CSRS deposit rules at 7% of basic pay. If any of these applies to you, use the calculator as a first approximation and ask your agency for an official estimate.
Military time and the FERS supplement
The FERS annuity supplement, paid from retirement to age 62 to employees who retire on an immediate unreduced annuity before that age, is based on civilian service only: bought-back military years raise the basic annuity but not the supplement. That is one more reason to look at the basic annuity and the supplement separately when planning a retirement before 62.