FERS Pension Calculator

Enter your high-3 salary, service years, retirement age, and current salary. The high-3 and service years determine the base annuity; retirement age and service determine whether this calculator uses the 1.0% or 1.1% multiplier. Current salary is used as the denominator for the replacement rate, not to calculate the pension itself when a high-3 is entered.

Add the assumed COLA, survivor-benefit percentage, and life expectancy. The COLA and life expectancy affect cumulative projected payments. The survivor selection lowers the modeled annual pension before the calculator builds the projection.

Default inputs are a $105,000 high-3, 25 years of service, age 62 retirement, a 2% COLA, no survivor-benefit reduction, and an age-88 life expectancy. Change the defaults to match an official high-3 estimate and your own retirement assumptions.

The calculator uses a 1.1% multiplier when the retiree is at least 62 and has at least 20 years of service. With the default age of 62 and 25 years of service, the annual pension calculation is:

Annual pension = $105,000 × 1.1% × 25
               = $105,000 × 0.011 × 25
               = $28,875

Divide the annual result by 12 to estimate the monthly payment:

Monthly pension = $28,875 ÷ 12 = $2,406.25

The calculator rounds the monthly result to $2,406. With no survivor-benefit reduction selected, the adjusted annual pension remains $28,875. The calculator reports a 26% replacement rate because it divides $28,875 by the entered current salary of $110,000 and rounds: $28,875 ÷ $110,000 × 100 = 26.25%, or 26%.

The general FERS formula uses 1% of high-3 for each service year. A 1.1% multiplier generally applies to an annuity commencing at age 62 or later with at least 20 years of service. The calculator implements this as retirement age of 62 or older and at least 20 service years. Confirm the rule with OPM for your specific retirement type and circumstances.

A year of service adds 1% or 1.1% of high-3 to the annual pension under the simplified formula. For example, more service can raise the annuity even if high-3 is unchanged. A higher high-3 also raises the annuity, but only qualifying pay within the applicable three-year period counts.

The calculator does not determine whether your service is fully creditable, account for deposits or redeposits, or verify a retirement eligibility date. OPM and your agency determine those details. Review OPM’s FERS information and compare the result with an official estimate.

The survivor-benefit field models a reduction to the retiree’s pension. In the calculator’s logic, the reduction is calculated as a share of the base annual pension: a 25% selection reduces the pension by 5%, while a 50% selection reduces it by 10%. The default selection of 0% means no reduction is applied.

A survivor election may provide continuing income to an eligible spouse after the retiree’s death. The modeled reduction is not enough to evaluate the election on its own. Review OPM rules, eligibility, and payment options, and compare the survivor’s other resources and expected expenses.

The calculator applies the entered COLA rate to each projected annual payment. FERS COLA eligibility and amounts depend on statutory rules; for example, COLA treatment differs for many retirees under 62, and the adjustment may be lower than inflation in some years. The 2% default is a projection assumption, not a guaranteed annual increase. Learn about inflation adjustments from the Social Security Administration’s COLA information.

The calculator first calculates the annual pension, then applies any survivor reduction. It grows the adjusted payment by the entered COLA for each projected year and sums the annual amounts through the age before the life-expectancy input.

Base annual pension =
high-3 salary × multiplier × years of service

Adjusted annual pension =
base annual pension × (1 - survivor reduction percentage)

The default lifetime estimate uses 26 years, from age 62 through age 87, because the model calculates life expectancy minus retirement age. It reports a cumulative total of $972,246. The first modeled annual payment is $28,875 at age 62; the final modeled payment at age 87 is $47,372 after the assumed COLA increases.

Lifetime total =
sum of each projected annual pension payment
from retirement age through the final modeled year

This is a nominal total: it adds projected future dollars without discounting them to today’s purchasing power. It does not represent a lump-sum present value, predict an exact lifespan, or guarantee a COLA of the amount entered.

Change one input at a time to see whether the pension estimate is most sensitive to salary, service, retirement age, survivor choice, or COLA.

These rows show the direction of change, not computed alternative outputs. Recalculate with realistic assumptions and compare the monthly pension with expected expenses and other income. A pension income calculator can help organize income sources, while a pension withdrawal calculator addresses withdrawal planning for other assets.

Verify high-3, creditable service, retirement eligibility, survivor options, and COLA treatment with your agency or OPM. Run the calculator with alternate service, high-3, survivor, and COLA assumptions so you can see which factors matter most. The result is a planning estimate, not a benefit award.

Then include the other parts of retirement income. Use the FERS High-3 Calculator for salary projections and the FERS annuity supplement calculator for the potential pre-62 bridge. To assess whether savings can support spending beyond the pension, use a retirement withdrawal calculator or estimate how long your portfolio may last with the how long will my money last calculator.