Retirement · calculator
Military retirement calculator 2026
Choose your retirement system, grade and years: the calculator applies the multiplier of 10 U.S.C. 1409 to your high-36 average and shows the effect of a VA rating on the monthly total.
Gross retired pay per month (High-3)
$3,088.65
50.0% of $6,177.30; $37,064 a year before taxes and SBP.
| Retired pay base (high-36) | $6,177.30 (E-7 2026 rate) |
| Multiplier | 50.0% |
10 U.S.C. 1409 multipliers. COLA each December: 2.8% at December 1, 2025. How this is calculated.
Military retired pay is the retired pay base, the average of the highest 36 months of basic pay, multiplied by a percentage that depends on the retirement system and the years of service. Under High-3, for members who joined between September 8, 1980 and December 31, 2017, it is 2.5% a year, so 50% at twenty years and 75% at thirty. Under the Blended Retirement System, mandatory for those who joined from January 1, 2018 and chosen by many who served before, it is 2% a year, so 40% at twenty, with TSP matching to make up the difference. Under REDUX, for members who took the $30,000 career status bonus at fifteen years, the High-3 multiplier is reduced by one point for each year short of thirty, until age 62. An E-7 retiring at twenty years in 2026 would receive about $3,089 a month under High-3 and $2,471 under BRS. Retired pay rose 2.8% on December 1, 2025.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Estimated retired pay at common retirement points
| Grade and years | High-3 | BRS | REDUX (until 62) |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-7 at 20 years | $3,089 | $2,471 | $2,471 |
| E-8 at 24 years | $4,385 | $3,508 | $3,946 |
| E-9 at 26 years | $5,692 | $4,553 | $5,342 |
| W-4 at 22 years | $5,076 | $4,061 | $4,338 |
| O-4 at 20 years | $5,255 | $4,204 | $4,204 |
| O-5 at 24 years | $7,437 | $5,950 | $6,693 |
The estimate uses the 2026 pay table, so it describes the value of a retirement in today's dollars rather than the exact amount of a member retiring this year, whose high-36 average reaches back to 2023 and 2024 rates. Enter your own average in the calculator for a precise figure.
The three multipliers
High-3 applies to members who first entered service on or after September 8, 1980 and before January 1, 2018 and did not opt into BRS. Each year of service is worth 2.5% of the retired pay base, up to 40 years and 100%. BRS applies to everyone who entered from January 1, 2018 and to those who opted in during 2018; each year is worth 2%. REDUX applies to High-3 members who accepted the career status bonus at fifteen years: the multiplier loses one percentage point for each year short of thirty, so 40% at twenty years, and is restored to the High-3 figure at age 62. The BRS page, the High-3 page and the REDUX page detail each one.
What comes off retired pay
Gross retired pay is not what reaches the bank. The Survivor Benefit Plan premium, 6.5% of the base amount chosen, is deducted for members who elect it (see the SBP calculator); federal income tax is withheld, and state tax depending on the state; a VA waiver applies below 50% (see CRDP); and a court order can divide retired pay with a former spouse. The military retirement pay page shows typical figures by grade.
Twenty years and a day, or twenty-two?
Each extra year adds 2.5 points of multiplier under High-3 and 2 under BRS, and it usually raises the pay base too, because the last three years are paid at a higher column of the table. For an E-7, retiring at twenty-two instead of twenty raises the High-3 estimate from $3,089 to $3,435 a month; for an O-5, retiring at twenty-four instead of twenty raises it from $5,857 to $7,437. Over a retirement that can last forty years, a few more years of service weigh heavily, which the calculator lets you test with years and months.
Reserve and Guard retirements
Non-regular retirements use points rather than years: the number of points divided by 360 gives the years of service used in the multiplier, and retired pay usually starts at 60, earlier for those with qualifying active duty after January 2008. The pay base is the high-36 average of the basic pay a member would receive on active duty in the grade and years at the start of retired pay. The calculator works for them if you enter the equivalent years.