FERS Pension Calculator
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FERS Pension Calculator
Your estimated FERS pension benefit will appear here.
Understanding Your FERS Pension Calculation
The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) is the retirement plan for most federal government employees. Calculating your estimated pension benefit involves understanding a few key components, primarily your years of service, your High-3 average salary, and your age at retirement.
How FERS Pensions are Calculated:
The basic formula for FERS is generally:
Annual Pension = (Years of Service) x (High-3 Average Salary) x (Multiplier)
The Multiplier used in this formula depends on when you entered FERS service and whether you are retiring under a "regular" retirement or an "early" retirement.
-
For those who first became federal employees on or after January 1, 2013: The multiplier is 1% (or 0.01). This applies regardless of retirement age.
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For those who were covered by FERS before January 1, 2013, and had not been previously covered by CSRS:
- If retiring at the full retirement age (FRA), the multiplier is 1.1% (or 0.011).
- If retiring before FRA (but after MRA) with at least 20 years of service, the multiplier is 1% (or 0.01).
- If retiring before FRA (but after MRA) with fewer than 20 years of service, the multiplier is 0.8% (or 0.008).
- If retiring before MRA (e.g., via the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority – VERA, or discontinued service retirement) with at least 20 years of service, the multiplier is 1.1% (or 0.011) but subject to a reduction for each month retirement is taken before FRA. This calculator simplifies this by using the age input and MRA to determine eligibility for the 1.1% or 1% multiplier, but does not precisely calculate the reduction for early retirement beyond MRA.
Key Terms Explained:
- Years of Service: This is the total creditable civilian service you have under FERS. It's often rounded down to the nearest full year for calculation purposes, but partial years can be included.
- High-3 Average Salary: This is the average of your highest consecutive basic pay earnings over any 36-month period of service.
- Minimum Retirement Age (MRA): For FERS, the MRA is generally age 57 for those born in 1970 or later. For earlier birth years, it ranges from 56 to 57. Retiring at or after MRA is considered "special" or "early" retirement, subject to different multiplier rules compared to retiring at Full Retirement Age (FRA).
- Full Retirement Age (FRA): For FERS, FRA is generally age 62 for those born in 1953 or later. If you have 20 years of service and retire at age 62, you can receive a FERS pension. If you have 30 years of service, you can retire at FRA (which is 66 and 2 months for those born in 1959).
How to Use This Calculator:
Enter the required information accurately. This calculator provides an estimate. For precise figures, consult official resources from your agency's HR department or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Note: This calculator focuses on the standard FERS pension calculation. It does not include calculations for survivor benefits, military service credit (unless converted to FERS service credit), CSRS offsets, or special retirement supplements, which can significantly impact your final benefit.
function calculateFERSPension() {
var yearsOfService = parseFloat(document.getElementById("yearsOfService").value);
var high3Average = parseFloat(document.getElementById("high3Average").value);
var retirementAge = parseFloat(document.getElementById("retirementAge").value);
var minimumRetirementAge = parseFloat(document.getElementById("minimumRetirementAge").value);
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("result");
// Clear previous result and error messages
resultDiv.innerHTML = "";
// Input validation
if (isNaN(yearsOfService) || yearsOfService < 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter a valid number for Years of Service.";
return;
}
if (isNaN(high3Average) || high3Average < 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter a valid number for High-3 Average Salary.";
return;
}
if (isNaN(retirementAge) || retirementAge < 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter a valid number for Retirement Age.";
return;
}
if (isNaN(minimumRetirementAge) || minimumRetirementAge = FRA && yearsOfService >= 5) { // General condition for FRA or later
multiplier = 0.011; // 1.1% for retiring at FRA or later with sufficient service
multiplierExplanation = "1.1% (Retiring at or after Full Retirement Age)";
} else if (retirementAge >= minimumRetirementAge && yearsOfService >= 20) { // Early retirement with 20+ years
multiplier = 0.01; // 1% for retiring after MRA with 20 years of service
multiplierExplanation = "1.0% (Retiring after MRA with 20+ years of service)";
} else if (retirementAge >= minimumRetirementAge && yearsOfService = 5) { // Early retirement with less than 20 years
multiplier = 0.008; // 0.8% for retiring after MRA with less than 20 years of service
multiplierExplanation = "0.8% (Retiring after MRA with less than 20 years of service)";
} else if (yearsOfService = 20 && retirementAge < minimumRetirementAge) {
multiplier = 0.011; // Use 1.1% but note it's subject to reduction for retiring before MRA
multiplierExplanation = "1.1% (Subject to reduction for retiring before MRA)";
resultDiv.innerHTML = "
Estimated Annual Pension: $0.00
Note: Retiring before your Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) with less than 20 years of service may result in a reduced benefit. This calculator provides a simplified estimate.";
return; // Exit early for this complex case if we don't want to calculate the reduction
} else {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "You do not appear to meet the minimum age and service requirements for a standard FERS pension estimate with this calculator's simplified rules. Consult OPM or your HR department.";
return;
}
}
var estimatedPension = yearsOfService * high3Average * multiplier;
// Display the result
var formatter = new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
style: 'currency',
currency: 'USD',
minimumFractionDigits: 2,
maximumFractionDigits: 2,
});
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Estimated Annual Pension: " + formatter.format(estimatedPension) +
"
Calculation based on: " + yearsOfService + " years service, High-3 of " + formatter.format(high3Average) +
", Retirement Age: " + retirementAge + ", MRA: " + minimumRetirementAge + ". Multiplier: " + multiplierExplanation + "";
}