FERS High-3 Salary Calculator (2026)

Your FERS annuity is permanently tied to your high-3 average salary — the highest average basic pay earned during any 36 consecutive months of federal service. OPM weights each pay rate by the exact number of days you earned it within that window. A step increase or promotion that lands earlier in the 36-month period has a bigger impact on your pension than one that falls at the end.

This calculator models your projected high-3 using OPM's weighted method and compares four retirement timing scenarios, so you can see whether delaying to capture a raise is worth the trade-off.

What counts as "basic pay" for your high-3? Base GS salary plus locality pay — the amounts from which retirement deductions are withheld under 5 U.S.C. § 8401(4). It does not include overtime, performance awards, Sunday premium pay, night differential, recruitment or retention incentives, or overseas allowances. Use the salary on your most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action) — the figure already includes your locality adjustment.¹

Current annual salary ($/yr) Your current base pay + locality combined. Find it on your SF-50 or most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES). A GS-14 Step 5 in the Washington-Baltimore area earns approximately $171,000/yr (2026); Rest of U.S. is approximately $149,000/yr.

Months until planned retirement Count full months from today to your planned retirement date. The calculator shows four scenarios — as planned plus 6, 12, and 18 months later — so you can compare timing trade-offs.

Salary 3 years ago ($/yr) — optional If you received a step increase or promotion within the past 3 years, enter your salary from about 36 months ago for a more accurate high-3. Leave blank if your pay has been stable, and the calculator will use your current salary for the past portion of the window.

Upcoming step increase or promotion?

No upcoming raise within 3 years Yes — I have a raise coming

Creditable service years at planned retirement Include FERS civilian service, military buyback years, and civilian deposit years if paid. Do not include sick leave credit — that adds to the pension separately. Enter actual years (e.g., enter 28 for 28 years, not a fraction).

Age at planned retirement Determines whether you qualify for the 1.1% annuity multiplier, which requires retiring at age 62 or older with 20 or more actual service years (5 U.S.C. § 8415(a)(2)).

How OPM computes the high-3 weighted average

OPM tests every possible 36-month window in your service history and identifies the one with the highest average basic pay. Within that window, each pay rate is weighted by the number of days you earned it, using a 360-day year (30 days per month) convention.²

For most federal employees nearing retirement, the last 3 years are the peak-earning period, so the high-3 window almost always ends at retirement. If you had a salary reduction at some point (RIF downgrade, shift to part-time, extended leave without pay), OPM may look at an earlier window — but that is uncommon for employees on a standard GS career path.

Why a raise earlier in the window matters more. If you receive a step increase 12 months before retirement, it covers 12 of your 36 high-3 months — one-third of the window. If you receive the same raise only 3 months before retirement, it covers 3 months — one-twelfth. The timing of a raise relative to your retirement date is just as important as the dollar amount of the raise itself.

Example: GS-14 Washington DC, 28 years of service, retiring in 18 months

Salary 3 years ago: $140,000 · Current salary: $145,000 · After step increase (in 6 months): $151,000
High-3 window months: 18 past at $140,000 / 6 future at $145,000 / 12 future at $151,000
High-3 = (18 × $140,000 + 6 × $145,000 + 12 × $151,000) ÷ 36 = $144,500
FERS annuity (28 years × 1.0% × $144,500): $40,460/yr · $3,372/mo

If this employee delays retirement by 6 months (now 24 months out), the raise covers 18 of 36 months instead of 12. High-3 rises to about $146,333 and the annuity increases to roughly $41,705/yr — a $1,245/year gain for life.

The 1.1% multiplier threshold

Standard FERS annuity uses a 1.0% multiplier. If you retire at age 62 or older with at least 20 years of actual creditable service, the multiplier increases to 1.1%.³ On a $150,000 high-3 with 28 years of service, that's the difference between $42,000/yr (1.0%) and $46,200/yr (1.1%) — a $4,200/year improvement that compounds across your entire retirement.

Sick leave credit does not count toward the 20-year threshold (5 U.S.C. § 8415(f)) — only actual creditable service qualifies. If you're within a few years of age 62 and the 1.1% cliff, the calculator's delayed scenarios will show where the multiplier kicks in.

Related tools and guides

FERS High-3 Salary: How It's Calculated and How to Maximize It — The companion guide: OPM 360-day convention, 5 optimization strategies (step timing, part-time trap, locality advantage, promotion scheduling, 1.1% multiplier), and a GS-14 worked example.
FERS Retirement Calculator — Full income model: plug your projected high-3 into an integrated FERS annuity + supplement + TSP + Social Security projection with survivor election.
When to Retire from the Federal Government — The 6 interacting timing variables: high-3 optimization, sick leave credit, annual leave lump-sum, FEHB 5-year rule, FERS supplement MRA, and TSP Rule of 55.
FERS Sick Leave Credit Calculator — The other service-credit lever: unused sick leave converts to additional pension months multiplied by your high-3.
FERS Retirement Planning Guide — Complete overview of FERS benefits, the 3-legged stool, eligibility, and the full decision framework.

Get your exact high-3 computed from your actual SF-50 history

Your SF-50 history contains the precise pay rates and effective dates going back through your entire federal career. A federal benefits specialist can pull those exact figures and compute your high-3 for any retirement date — including the optimal date when step timing, sick leave credit, annual leave payout, and FERS supplement MRA eligibility all align in your favor. This calculator gives you the direction; a specialist gives you the number you'll report to OPM.

Fee-only · No commissions · Federal specialists · Free match

5 U.S.C. § 8401(4) (law.cornell.edu) — FERS definition of "basic pay" for high-3 purposes: base pay and locality pay for which retirement deductions are withheld. Also: OPM FERS Annuity Computation — lists what counts and does not count toward the high-3 average. Overtime, awards, differentials, and allowances are excluded.
OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook Chapter 50 — Creditable Service (opm.gov). OPM uses a 360-day year (30 days per month) for the high-3 weighted average calculation. Agency tests all consecutive 36-month windows and selects the highest. Also: 5 U.S.C. § 8415 — FERS annuity formula.
OPM — FERS Annuity Computation (opm.gov). The 1.1% multiplier applies at age 62 or older with 20+ years of creditable service per 5 U.S.C. § 8415(a)(2). Sick leave credit cannot be used to meet the 20-year threshold per 5 U.S.C. § 8415(f). Verified May 2026.
OPM 2026 Locality Pay Areas (opm.gov). Locality pay is basic pay for FERS high-3 purposes. 2026 Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality: 33.94%; Rest of U.S.: 16.82%. A GS-14 Step 5 base salary of $127,275 + 33.94% locality = $170,414 in Washington-Baltimore. Verified May 2026.

High-3 weighting uses OPM's 360-day year (30 days/month) convention per CSRS/FERS Handbook. Annuity multipliers (1.0%/1.1%) are statutory under 5 U.S.C. § 8415. Calculator produces estimates — OPM computes the definitive figure from your Official Personnel Folder during retirement processing. No year-specific tax rates affect the annuity formula itself. Values verified as of May 2026.