What Drives Your Retirement Number?

Every dollar your High-3 rises adds directly to your pension for life. It's the highest 36 consecutive months of basic pay — not necessarily your last three years.

Each year of creditable service is worth 1.0% (or 1.7% for special-category employees under 20 years) of your High-3, permanently. Sick leave adds credit too.

Retiring at 62+ with 20+ years permanently bumps your multiplier from 1.0% to 1.1% — a 10% increase to your entire pension, for the rest of your life.

LEO, firefighter, ATC, and CBPO employees earn pension credit nearly twice as fast for their first 20 years — but face mandatory retirement ages as early as 56.

Electing a 50% survivor benefit costs about 10% of your monthly pension, for life — one of the largest and most irreversible choices in your retirement paperwork.

If you qualify, the Supplement can meaningfully boost your income before 62 — then disappears entirely and permanently the month you turn 62.

Claiming at 62 instead of 70 can mean hundreds fewer dollars per month, permanently. The right age depends on your health, other income, and how long you expect to live.

Contributing below 5% leaves free agency match money on the table. Your allocation (conservative to aggressive) drives most of the variance in your projected balance.

Health insurance is often the largest fixed cost in retirement. Missing the 5-year continuous enrollment rule means losing access to FEHB in retirement entirely.

Buying back active-duty military time for a deposit (roughly 3% of military basic pay plus interest) can permanently add years of pension credit for a one-time cost.

The same retirement income can net thousands of dollars more per year in a no-tax state than a high-tax one — one of the most controllable levers in retirement.

If you work after retiring early, earning above the annual limit reduces your Supplement by $1 for every $2 over — a detail that surprises many early retirees who plan to work part-time.