This models the standard FERS provisions. Law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers retire under different age and service rules with a different multiplier and, usually, a mandatory retirement age. If that is you, your dates come from those provisions.
I The calculator
When Am I Eligible to Retire?
Uses actual creditable service. Unused sick leave is deliberately excluded, because it cannot establish eligibility.
II Your Minimum Retirement Age
| Year of birth | MRA |
|---|---|
| Before 1948 | 55 |
| 1948 | 55 and 2 months |
| 1949 | 55 and 4 months |
| 1950 | 55 and 6 months |
| 1951 | 55 and 8 months |
| 1952 | 55 and 10 months |
| 1953–1964 | 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 and after | 57 |
The months are not decoration. Where your service thresholds fall close to your MRA, a two-month difference decides whether MRA plus 30 is available in a given year.
III The three unreduced paths
| Path | Age | Service | Typically first for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRA + 30 | Your MRA | 30 years | Career employees who entered young |
| 60 + 20 | 60 | 20 years | Mid-career entrants |
| 62 + 5 | 62 | 5 years | Late entrants and second careers |
Whichever you reach first is your date. Someone who entered federal service at 40 will never reach MRA plus 30, and planning around it wastes years — age 60 with 20 arrives instead.
Reaching age 62 with at least 20 years raises the FERS multiplier from 1.0 to 1.1 percent — ten percent more annuity, permanently. Someone eligible at 60 with 20 years is eligible, but retiring two years later on the same service produces a materially larger pension for life. Model both in the FERS pension estimator.
IV Why sick leave cannot help
Unused sick leave converts to creditable service at 2,087 hours per year for the annuity computation. It cannot be used to meet the 30-year, 20-year or 5-year service requirements.
The planning error this causes
An employee turning 56 with 29 years of actual service and 1,500 hours of unused sick leave believes they have 29.7 years and can retire at MRA plus 30 within months.
V Postponed, deferred, and MRA+10
MRA+10 gives an immediate annuity at your MRA with at least 10 but fewer than 30 years, reduced 5 percent for each year under 62 — permanently. OPM's exception: the reduction does not apply if you have 20 years and the benefit starts at age 60 or later.
| Postponed | Deferred | |
|---|---|---|
| You were | Eligible under MRA+10 | Not yet eligible when you left |
| You do | Delay the start to cut the reduction | Claim later, at the required age |
| FEHB and FEGLI | Can be reinstated | Forfeited |
| FERS supplement | No | No |
That insurance row is the whole difference and it is permanent. Anyone leaving federal service before an unreduced date should establish which of the two they are in before separating, not afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your year of birth and ranges from 55 to 57. If you were born before 1948 it is 55. It rises by two months per year of birth from 1948 through 1952, is a flat 56 for anyone born between 1953 and 1964, rises again by two months per year from 1965 through 1969, and is 57 for anyone born in 1970 or later. Most employees currently approaching retirement have an MRA of 56 or 57, and the months matter when your service thresholds are close.
An immediate annuity with no age reduction is available at your MRA with 30 years of creditable service, at age 60 with 20 years, or at age 62 with 5 years. Whichever you reach first is your date. Most long-serving employees reach MRA plus 30 first; people who entered federal service later frequently find age 60 with 20 years or age 62 with 5 years arrives sooner than MRA plus 30 ever would.
No, and this is the single most common planning error. Unused sick leave converts to creditable service at 2,087 hours per year for the annuity computation, but it cannot be used to meet the 30-year, 20-year or 5-year service requirements. It makes the pension larger; it never makes you eligible earlier. Anyone building a retirement date around a service milestone must count actual service, with the sick leave added to the annuity afterwards.
Retiring at your Minimum Retirement Age with at least 10 but fewer than 30 years of service. The annuity begins immediately but is reduced by 5 percent for each year you are under age 62, and the reduction is permanent rather than lasting until 62. OPM's rule contains an important exception: the reduction does not apply if you have 20 years of service and your benefit starts when you reach age 60 or later. MRA+10 retirees also receive no FERS supplement.
Postponing means you are eligible under MRA+10 and choose to delay the start of the annuity to reduce or remove the age reduction. Deferring means you leave federal service before qualifying for an immediate annuity and claim it later once you meet the age requirement. The distinction matters for insurance: postponing preserves eligibility to reinstate health and life coverage when the annuity begins, whereas a deferred retirement forfeits it. Neither route receives the FERS supplement.
No. Law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers retire under special provisions with different age and service requirements, a different multiplier of 1.7 percent for the first 20 years, and in most cases a mandatory retirement age. This calculator models the standard FERS provisions only. If you are in a special category position, your eligibility dates come from those provisions and your agency's retirement counsellor rather than from the standard table.
Civilian federal service subject to FERS deductions is the core of it. Military service counts toward retirement only if you make the service deposit, which is 3 percent of your military basic pay for post-1956 service with interest accruing after a grace period. Certain civilian service performed without deductions may require a deposit as well. Because these deposits can change both your eligibility date and your annuity, resolve them well before you plan a retirement date.
Not quite. Under voluntary retirement the FERS basic annuity commences on the first day of the first month after you retire, so separating mid-month generally means the annuity starts the following month. That timing interacts with your final pay, your annual leave lump sum and your insurance transitions, which is why the specific separation date is worth planning with your agency rather than choosing on the basis of the eligibility date alone.