FERS pension + military buyback + TSP projection — your complete retirement picture.
Veterans who take federal civil service jobs can "buy back" their years of military service and have them counted toward their Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) pension — but most never do, and the deposit window quietly gets more expensive every year. The military service deposit costs 3% of the base pay you earned during your service (for service after 1982), and it is interest-free only for the first two to three years of federal employment; after that, interest accrues at the annual OPM rate, so a veteran who waits a decade can pay thousands more for the same credit. Each bought-back year adds roughly 1% of your high-3 average salary to your annual pension for life — so for many veterans the buyback pays for itself within the first one to two years of retirement. This calculator computes your FERS pension with and without the buyback, estimates the deposit cost and the interest penalty of waiting, charts the buyback's return on investment, projects your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) balance with the automatic 1% and up-to-4% agency match, factors in dependents-aware VA disability compensation, and stacks it all into one combined, after-tax retirement-income picture using 2026 OPM pay tables and FERS rules.
Tell us about your federal career to calculate your FERS pension.
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Auto-detects your FERS type and calculates years of service.
Enter your hire date above to auto-calculate, or enter manually below.
100% of unused sick leave adds to your pension computation. 2,087 hrs = 1 year. Check your LES.
Buy back your military time to increase your FERS pension.
Total base pay (not BAH/BAS) earned during your entire military career. Check your military pay records, LES history, or ask DFAS.
If completed, your military time already counts toward your FERS pension.
Interest accrues on your deposit after 2 years of federal service at ~4%/year.
Where to find your total base pay
Best source: Contact DFAS at 1-888-332-7411 and request your earnings statement, or check myPay (mypay.dfas.mil) for LES history.
Alternative: Your HR/payroll office can calculate the exact deposit amount when you file SF-3108.
Important: Deposit must be paid in full before retirement or the option is lost forever.
Project your TSP balance and optimize your contributions.
Contribute at least 5% to get the full agency match (5% total from your agency).
Roth TSP: 0%
Catch-up contributions are auto-calculated based on your age: $8,000 extra at 50+, $11,250 at ages 60-63 (SECURE 2.0).
Most federal retirees drop 1-2 brackets in retirement.
Optional — include these for your complete retirement picture.
VA disability compensation is tax-free and not affected by federal retirement.
Check ssa.gov/myaccount for your estimate. FERS employees DO pay into Social Security — WEP does not apply.
Enter your federal service details above to see your retirement projection
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Your FERS pension is calculated as years of creditable service × high-3 average salary × the FERS multiplier (1% per year, or 1.1% per year if you retire at age 62+ with 20+ years of service), per 5 USC § 8415. This tool derives your high-3 from your GS grade, step, and locality using the 2026 OPM pay tables, adds 100% of your unused sick leave to your service computation (2,087 hours = one year), and lets you override with your actual salary or service total.
The military service buyback adds your qualifying active-duty years to creditable service under 5 USC § 8334(j). The deposit equals 3% of the military base pay you earned during the period (for service after 1982), interest-free for the first two to three years of federal employment and accruing interest thereafter. The calculator shows the deposit cost, the cost of waiting, and the return on investment — how many years of the larger pension it takes to recover the deposit — and charts your pension with and without the buyback. Veterans receiving active-duty military retired pay generally must waive it to credit the same years toward FERS; the tool flags this trade-off.
The TSP projection compounds your current balance and contributions at your chosen growth rate, including the FERS automatic 1% and the agency match (up to 4% more at a 5% employee contribution). VA disability compensation uses 2026 rates (effective December 1, 2025) and is dependents-aware (spouse, children, and school-age children). The combined income picture is shown after federal tax: FERS, the SRS, and military retired pay are taxed as ordinary income, up to 85% of Social Security is taxable, and VA disability is tax-free.
This is an educational estimator, not an official OPM retirement computation. Social Security figures are estimates, not SSA-verified benefits. Verify your deposit amount and eligibility with your agency HR or benefits specialist before deciding.
For most veterans, yes. Buying back your military time adds roughly 1% of your high-3 average salary to your annual FERS pension for every year bought back, for life. Because the deposit is only 3% of your (much lower) military base pay, the buyback typically pays for itself within the first one to two years of retirement and then pays out for decades. The main exception is veterans receiving active-duty military retired pay, who generally must waive it to credit those years toward FERS. This calculator charts the buyback's ROI so you can see your personal break-even point.
The military service deposit is 3% of the base pay you earned during your service period (for service after 1982), not 3% of your current federal salary. For example, three years of service at $25,000/year in base pay would cost roughly $2,250 plus any accrued interest. The deposit is interest-free for the first two to three years of federal employment; after that grace period, interest accrues at the annual OPM rate, so the longer you wait, the more you pay for the same credit.
Only if you make a military service deposit (the buyback). Without the deposit, your active-duty years do not count toward your FERS pension computation or, in most cases, toward retirement eligibility. Once you complete the deposit under 5 USC § 8334(j), those years are added to your creditable service — increasing both your pension amount and potentially your eligibility date. Veterans already drawing active-duty military retired pay usually must waive that pay to credit the same years toward FERS.
FERS pension = years of creditable service × high-3 average salary × 1% (or 1.1% if you retire at age 62 or older with at least 20 years of service). Your high-3 is the average of your highest 36 consecutive months of base salary including locality pay. Unused sick leave is added to your service time at retirement (2,087 hours equals one year). Buying back military service increases your years of creditable service in this formula.
VA disability compensation stacks with a FERS pension with no offset — you keep both in full. Military retired pay can also stack with a FERS pension, but if you buy back the same military years toward FERS you generally must waive the military retired pay for those years, so it is an either/or for that service. This calculator models your combined FERS pension, TSP, Social Security, and dependents-aware VA disability income in one place so you can compare scenarios.