FERS Guides
Pay and service credit
What counts as basic pay, how it compounds into your High-3, and what your unused leave is worth on the way out — plus what happens if the separation isn't your choice.
4 articles
A GS salary and a GS paycheck are very different numbers. The FERS deduction, TSP, FEHB premium conversion, FICA, and 2026 tax brackets — traced through a real GS-12 example, line by line.
How GS step increases actually work: the 52/104/156-week waiting periods, what a step is worth in dollars, the 18-year climb to Step 10, and why a late-career WGI quietly raises your pension for life.
The 2026 GS pay scale: the 1.0% federal raise, how locality pay is calculated (17.06% to 46.34%), step increases, the $197,200 pay cap, and what it all means for your pension.
A GS-12 Step 5 in Washington, DC earning $116,070 in salary carries roughly $165,000–$170,000 in estimated total compensation. Here's every component, priced out with 2026 figures.