FERS pension after 5 years, by high-3 and starting age
5 years at 1% replaces 5% of your high-3. Monthly amounts before tax for someone born in 1970 or later (MRA 57); a cut marks the MRA+10 reduction for starting before 62.
| High-3 salary | At 57 (MRA) | At 60 | At 62 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | Not yet | Not yet | $250 |
| $75,000 | Not yet | Not yet | $313 |
| $90,000 | Not yet | Not yet | $375 |
| $110,000 | Not yet | Not yet | $458 |
| $130,000 | Not yet | Not yet | $542 |
When you can retire with 5 years
With 5 years the annuity starts at 62, at 1% of your high-3 for each year. Below 10 years there is no earlier option, and below 5 years there is no annuity, only a refund of your contributions.
Your Minimum Retirement Age depends on the year you were born, from 55 for people born before 1948 to 57 for 1970 and later:
| Born | MRA |
|---|---|
| 1952 | 55 and 10 months |
| 1953 to 1964 | 56 |
| 1965 | 56 and 2 months |
| 1966 | 56 and 4 months |
| 1967 | 56 and 6 months |
| 1968 | 56 and 8 months |
| 1969 | 56 and 10 months |
| 1970 or later | 57 |
The FERS supplement with 5 years
With 5 years there is no supplement: it is only paid on an unreduced annuity that starts before 62, which takes 20 years at 60 or 30 years at your MRA. Social Security can start at 62, the same age the unreduced annuity does.
If you leave federal service with 5 years
Leaving before you are eligible to retire gives a deferred annuity: $375 a month from 62 on a $90,000 high-3. It always uses 1%, even at 62 with 20 years, does not count unused sick leave and pays no supplement. Taking a refund of your contributions instead gives up the annuity.
After the survivor annuity
A married retiree takes a 50% survivor annuity unless the spouse consents to less. It costs 10% of the annuity and a 25% survivor annuity costs 5%. At 62 on a $90,000 high-3:
- No survivor annuity: $375 a month.
- 25% survivor annuity: $356 a month.
- 50% survivor annuity: $338 a month.
Regular FERS annuities get cost-of-living increases from 62. The annuity is taxed as ordinary income except the part that returns your contributions, and many states exempt some or all of it: see retirement taxes by state.
The calculator, set to 5 years
Change the salary, starting age, sick leave or survivor choice. The full FERS retirement calculator page explains every rule.
$90,000 × 5 years × 1% is $4,500 a year: $4,500 a year. Immediate annuity, not reduced for age. Cost-of-living increases start at 62.
Your MRA is 57. Add this annuity to the monthly retirement income calculator.
TSP and Social Security beside the pension
- Monthly retirement income calculator: add the annuity to Social Security and what your savings pay. Its pension calculator works for any plan’s formula.
- How long will my money last: how far your TSP and other savings stretch on top of the pension.
- Rule of 55 calculator: TSP withdrawals skip the 10% penalty if you leave in or after the year you turn 55 (50 for public safety employees).
- 72(t) calculator: penalty-free IRA payments before 59½ if you leave earlier.
- Social Security breakeven calculator: when to claim once the supplement stops at 62.
- Pension vs lump sum calculator: what a monthly pension is worth as a single payment.
Other years of service
- FERS retirement after 10 years
- FERS retirement after 20 years
- FERS retirement after 25 years
- FERS retirement after 30 years
- Military retirement after 20 years
- Military retirement after 24 years
- Military retirement after 30 years
Estimates on OPM’s published FERS rules for the regular formula, not an OPM computation. Updated 2026-11-04.
Figures checked on against OPM, FERS basic annuity computation, OPM, FERS retirement eligibility and Minimum Retirement Age, OPM, FERS types of retirement and the annuity supplement and OPM BAL 18-103, FERS unused sick leave and the 1.1% computation (PDF).