How does this calculator decide the earliest age I can retire?

It works backward from your target monthly income. For each candidate retirement age, it projects your income year by year — FERS pension, FERS Supplement (until 62), Social Security (from your claiming age), and a 4% TSP drawdown — and checks whether even the lowest-income year clears your target. The earliest age where every year clears is your answer.

Why are the years before 62 usually the hardest to cover?

If you retire before 62, there's a gap before Social Security starts. During those years your income is only your FERS pension, the FERS Supplement (if you qualify), and any TSP withdrawals. That's typically the lowest-income stretch of retirement, so it's usually what determines whether an early retirement date actually works.

Is this exactly what OPM will pay me?

No — it's a planning estimate. It uses today's dollars (no COLA or inflation), a flat effective federal tax rate, a 4% TSP drawdown of your current balance grown to retirement, and standard FERS immediate-retirement rules. Special-category (LEO/FF/ATC) rules, TSP contributions, and exact taxes are modeled in the full report, not this quick tool.

Does my data leave my browser?

No. The entire calculation runs in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to FedHorizon's servers or stored.

Free FERS Tool

When Can I Retire?

Instead of picking a date and seeing the number, work backward: enter the monthly income you want, and find the earliest age you can retire from federal service and cover it in every year — including the gap years before Social Security starts. Runs entirely in your browser.

Formulas current as of 2026 · Sources: OPM · SSA

5 U.S.C. § 8412 · § 8415 · § 8421

What this doesn't model: A planning estimate in nominal dollars — no COLA/inflation, a flat ~12% effective federal tax (no state tax), a 4% TSP draw of your current balance grown to retirement (no future contributions), and Standard FERS immediate-retirement paths only. Special-category (LEO/FF/ATC), deferred/postponed, and exact taxes are modeled in the full report.

Birth year

Years of service so far

High-3 average salary

Current TSP balance

TSP growth assumption

Social Security claiming age

SS monthly benefit at that age

From your SSA statement (ssa.gov/myaccount), or leave rough.

Target monthly income (after tax)

What you want to live on each month, in today's dollars.

Earliest age your income clears $5,000/mo every year

Age 67

Retire at	Tightest-year income	Clears target?
Age 57 (MRA+10, reduced)	$2,313/mo	✗ No
Age 58 (MRA+10, reduced)	$2,519/mo	✗ No
Age 59 (MRA+10, reduced)	$2,736/mo	✗ No
Age 60	$3,155/mo	✗ No
Age 61	$3,303/mo	✗ No
Age 62	$3,661/mo	✗ No
Age 63	$3,826/mo	✗ No
Age 64	$3,996/mo	✗ No
Age 65	$4,171/mo	✗ No
Age 66	$4,352/mo	✗ No
★ Age 67	$6,299/mo	✓ Yes
Age 68	$6,492/mo	✓ Yes
Age 69	$6,692/mo	✓ Yes
Age 70	$6,900/mo	✓ Yes

“Tightest-year income” is the lowest annual income across your retirement — usually a pre-62 gap year (before Social Security starts) covered only by your pension, FERS Supplement, and TSP. An age qualifies only when even that lowest year clears your target.

FERS annuity formula (5 U.S.C. § 8415), FERS Supplement (5 U.S.C. § 8421), and SS claiming factors. Simplified estimate — today's dollars, flat ~12% effective federal tax, 4% TSP drawdown, Standard FERS immediate-retirement paths only. See “what this doesn't model” above.

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This finds your earliest date at a tool-level estimate. The full report models it exactly — special-category rules, TSP contributions, COLA, survivor election, and your real tax picture, year by year.

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Working backward from the number that actually matters

Most retirement calculators ask you to pick a date and then show you the pension. But the question federal employees actually ask is the reverse: “When can I afford to leave?” This tool answers that directly. You tell it what you need to live on each month, and it searches every retirement age up to 70 to find the earliest one where your projected income clears that target — not just on average, but in every single year.

Why “every year” is the whole game

A retirement plan that works on average can still fail in specific years. The classic trap is the gap between retiring and age 62, when Social Security hasn't started yet. If you retire at your MRA, your income during those gap years is only your FERS pension, the FERS Supplement (if you qualify for it), and whatever you draw from your TSP. That's usually the leanest stretch of your whole retirement. This tool finds the tightest year for each candidate age and only calls an age “good” if even that year clears your target — so it won't tell you that you can retire and then leave you short five years before Social Security kicks in.

What this tool simplifies

To stay fast and browser-only, this is a planning estimate, not an OPM computation. It works in today's dollars (no COLA or inflation on either your income or your target), applies a flat effective federal tax rate rather than a full bracket calculation, models your TSP as your current balance grown to retirement and drawn at 4% a year, and covers only standard FERS immediate-retirement eligibility (MRA+30, age 60 with 20 years, age 62 with 5 years, and the reduced MRA+10 path). Special-category (LEO, firefighter, air traffic controller) rules, ongoing TSP contributions, survivor-election cost, and your exact state and federal taxes are all modeled precisely in the full Retirement Decision Report.

This earliest-retirement estimate is one input. Your full report combines pension, supplement, survivor election, and FEHB into one decision.

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All math runs in your browser — nothing is sent or stored.