FERS Retirement Calculator
Many people search for a federal retirement calculator in hopes of being able to easily estimate their retirement annuity. After all, the easier it is to obtain information about your retirement, the better off you’ll be. And while understanding your gross pension estimate is not going to tell you everything, it is a good start to developing a sound financial plan heading into retirement.
Please reach out if you have any questions about using the pension calculator below!
THREE STEP PROCESS
to Calculate Your FERS Pension Estimate
Enter Your Date Of Birth
Why do we need this?
The retirement eligibility requirements for FERS employees are based solely on age and years of service. Therefore, your date of birth is one of two dates needed to calculate your eligibility.
Enter Your Service Computation Date
Why do we need this?
Your SCD tells us how long the government considers you to have worked as a federal employee. Using this date, we can calculate your full eligibility as well as how much your FERS annuity will be when you finally decide to retire.
What is a service computation date?
Your SCD simply an estimate of when you started your federal service IF you worked full-time in a career position for your entire career. Things that might affect this are the buying back of military time as well as breaks in federal service.
What if I don’t know my SCD?
Postal employees can look for “Service Comp. Date (Leave)” in box 17 on their PS Form 50. For most other people, this is the day they started federal service, but not always. If you have questions about which date to use, please reach out to one of our experts. We are happy to help you free of charge!
What if I worked part time?
If it was considered a career appointment, it will count toward your total creditable service, but it may result in a pro-ration factor being used in your calculation. If this applies to you, please reach out to one of our retirement consultants for a more accurate breakdown.
Enter Your Expected Retirement Date
Why do we need this?
Without entering in an expected retirement date, we cannot calculate your FERS annuity. If you are unsure about what day you want to retire, run multiple calculations!
How do I choose a retirement date?
Any date after you become fully eligible is a great starting point. Beyond that, this may be a difficult question to answer – and one that is perfectly suited for our retirement consultants to help you solve!
What is the best day to retire?
Financially, the best day for a FERS employee to retire is on the last day of the month, not the end of a pay period. This is a common misconception that is often passed around in many federal retirement groups. With that said, the day in which someone retires is based on more than just financial reasons!
Enter Your High-3
Why do we need this?
Your FERS pension is based on three things: your creditable service time, your age at retirement (if you qualify for the 10% boost), and your high-3 average salary.
How do I calculate my high-3?
A high-3 is an average of your three highest consecutive years of pay. If you don’t know what this number is, then you can enter your salary and we will estimate it for you based on your expected retirement date.
STEP 1 of 3
Fill Out Your Information
STEP 2 of 3
Get Your Gross Pension Estimate
Annual
~$0
With Full Survivor Benefit
| Annual | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Retiree | $0 | $0 |
| Survivor | $0 | $0 |
Monthly
~$0
With Partial Survivor Benefit
| Annual | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Retiree | $0 | $0 |
| Survivor | $0 | $0 |
STEP 3 of 3
Why You Should Consider
More Than Just These Numbers
Gross vs.
Net Income
Aside from trading a salary for a pension, many other factors affect income in retirement. Cost of healthcare, federal & state income taxes, and spousal income are just a few of these things. Properly accounting for all changes is the best way to secure your future.
Social Security
& Supplement
For most people, Social Security benefits do not begin until age 62, at the earliest. But if one retires in their late 50s, they may be eligible to begin receiving the supplement. Although these are functionally similar, they have a few significant differences with which people should be well acquainted.
Military Time
& Sick Leave
Both military time and sick leave can improve your pension by increasing your creditable years of service. The strategy surrounding both can be overwhelming but talking with an expert can streamline the process and maximize your benefits.
TSP
Distributions
The frequency and size of TSP distributions can directly impact a multitude of things in retirement, up to and including whether your retirement plan will last for the rest of your life. Talking with someone who understands your situation can help avoid many costly mistakes.
Additional
Considerations
There is no one component of a retirement plan that can guarantee success. Rather, one should assume a holistic approach that considers all components of their federal retirement on top of a sound financial plan and speaking with a professional can make sure a key component does not go overlooked.
Take the first step in learning about your federal benefits today!