Federal Employees

FERS Federal Pension Estimator

Estimate your Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) immediate annuity using the OPM high-3 formula. Inputs are processed entirely in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.

High-3 average salary (annual, USD)

Years of creditable FERS service

Retirement age (at separation)

Employee category

Estimated Social Security at age 62 (USD/yr)

Used to approximate the FERS supplement.

Will you postpone annuity to 62?

The FERS formula

FERS pays a defined-benefit annuity computed from your highest 3 consecutive years of basic pay, your years of creditable service, and a multiplier set by your age and category.

annuity = high3 × multiplier × years

1.0% per year — standard, any age, <20 years
1.1% per year — age 62+ with 20+ years at separation
1.7%/1.0% — special category, first 20 / years 21+

Eligibility (immediate annuity)

Scenario	MRA	Years
Regular, immediate	57	30
Regular, reduced	57	10
Regular, unreduced	60	20
Regular, unreduced	62	5
Special category	50	20
Special category	any	25

MRA = Minimum Retirement Age. Born 1970+? MRA is 57.

The MRA+10 penalty

If you retire at MRA with 10+ but fewer than 30 years of service and you're under 62, your annuity is permanently reduced by 5% for every year you are under 62.

Postponing the annuity to 62 eliminates the penalty but means no annuity payments in the gap.

FERS Special Retirement Supplement

Roughly approximates the Social Security benefit you'd receive at 62, paid monthly from retirement until age 62 — scaled by your FERS service:

supplement = SSA_at_62 × (FERS_years ÷ 40)

Subject to an earnings test if you have wages or self-employment income before 62.

Deep dive

Read the FERS formula breakdown

Our 11-minute guide walks through the high-3, COLA rules, and the exact moment you should consider postponing.

Read guide