Federal Employee Retirement Eligibility Calculator

Enter your birth year, hire date, and employment category to see every retirement option available to you — with exact eligibility dates, whether the FERS supplement applies, and any annuity penalty.

How FERS retirement eligibility works

FERS employees face a more complex eligibility structure than CSRS — there are four separate paths to immediate retirement, and a fifth option (MRA+10) that comes with either a penalty or a postponement. Each has different rules about the FERS supplement and the annuity multiplier.

The Minimum Retirement Age (MRA)

Unlike CSRS, FERS does not allow retirement at age 55 with 30 years for most employees — instead, the law establishes a sliding MRA based on birth year.¹ For anyone born in 1970 or later, the MRA is 57. For those born in 1953–1964, it is exactly 56. For those born in 1948–1952, it phases up from 55 years 2 months to 55 years 10 months.

Immediate, unreduced retirement (MRA + 30)

The earliest full FERS retirement for most employees: reaching your MRA with 30 or more years of creditable service. You receive the full FERS annuity (1.0% × high-3 × years) and the FERS supplement continues until age 62.

Immediate, unreduced retirement (age 60 + 20)

Retire at 60 with at least 20 years of creditable service. No penalty, FERS supplement applies until 62.

Immediate, unreduced retirement (age 62 + 5)

Retire at 62 with at least 5 years of creditable service. The FERS supplement does not apply because you are already 62 and Social Security eligibility begins. If you have 20 or more years of creditable service at age 62, the annuity multiplier becomes 1.1% per year instead of 1.0% — a 10% boost to your lifetime pension worth roughly $7,000–$12,000 per year at typical GS-13/14 salaries.²

MRA + 10 (the "early out" with a cost)

If you have reached your MRA with at least 10 years of creditable service, you have two sub-options:³

• Immediate, reduced: Start the annuity at MRA. The reduction is 5% for each year (5/12% per month) you are under age 62 at the time you start collecting. A GS-14 retiring 4 years before 62 would see a 20% permanent reduction. The FERS supplement is not available with this option.
• Postponed, unreduced: Separate from service at MRA but delay collecting until 62 (or 60 with 20 years). The reduction goes away entirely — but FEHB coverage is suspended during the postponement period. TCC (temporarily continued coverage) or ACA marketplace coverage bridges the gap.

LEO, Firefighter, and ATC special category retirement

Law enforcement officers, federal firefighters, and air traffic controllers retire under an enhanced formula and earlier eligibility: age 50 with 20 years in the special category, or at any age with 25 years in the special category.⁴ The annuity formula is 1.7% for each of the first 20 special-category years plus 1.0% for each year thereafter. The FERS supplement starts at retirement — not at MRA — because the supplement is meant to bridge to age 62 regardless of when the special-category employee retires. These employees also face mandatory separation at 57 (LEO/firefighter) or 56 (ATC), with rare exceptions for "senior qualified" retention.

VERA: Voluntary Early Retirement Authority

VERA allows retirement at age 50 with 20 years of service, or at any age with 25 years — the same thresholds as LEO/FF/ATC, applied to regular FERS employees. However, VERA requires an OPM authorization for your specific agency and position. Personal eligibility (the age/service math) is necessary but not sufficient — the agency must have an active VERA authorization at the time you apply.⁵ The calculator shows whether you currently meet the personal criteria.

CSRS retirement eligibility

For CSRS employees (hired before 1984) and CSRS Offset employees (hired January 1984–December 1986 or rehired under CSRS after 1983), the three standard thresholds are age 55 with 30 years, age 60 with 20 years, and age 62 with 5 years. There is no MRA concept in CSRS. CSRS uses a tiered annuity formula (1.5% × first 5 years + 1.75% × next 5 years + 2.0% × all years over 10) rather than the flat 1.0%/1.1% FERS formula. CSRS employees do not have a FERS supplement — their retirement income is the CSRS annuity plus whatever Social Security they earned outside federal service.⁶

For CSRS Offset: at age 62, OPM offsets your CSRS annuity by the Social Security benefit you earned during your CSRS Offset service. The WEP and GPO provisions that previously reduced SS for many CSRS and CSRS Offset employees were repealed in January 2025 (Social Security Fairness Act) — full SS benefits now apply.⁷

1. OPM FERS Eligibility — Minimum Retirement Age table by birth year (5 U.S.C. § 8412(h)). Verified June 2026.
2. OPM FERS Computation — 1.1% multiplier at age 62 with 20+ years (5 U.S.C. § 8415(g)). Verified June 2026.
3. OPM — MRA+10 Early Retirement (deferred and postponed options) (5 U.S.C. § 8414). Verified June 2026.
4. OPM — Special Category Retirement (LEO, FF, ATC) (5 U.S.C. § 8412(d)). Verified June 2026.
5. OPM — Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) (5 U.S.C. § 8414(b)). Verified June 2026.
6. OPM CSRS Eligibility — age 55+30, 60+20, 62+5 (5 U.S.C. § 8336). Verified June 2026.
7. SSA — Social Security Fairness Act (WEP/GPO repeal, effective January 2025). Verified June 2026.

Tax values and OPM rules verified as of June 2026. Retirement eligibility thresholds are set by statute and do not change year-to-year; however, OPM guidance and position designation rules can be updated. Verify current rules at OPM.gov before making decisions.