FERS MRA+10 Penalty & Postponement Calculator (2026)

If you are thinking about leaving federal service at your Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) with 10 to 29 years of FERS service, you face two options: take an immediately reduced annuity now, or postpone the annuity start date to reduce or eliminate the penalty. The math is not obvious — the higher deferred annuity sounds better, but you lose FEHB health insurance during the gap, and FERS never pays you a supplement. This calculator shows your exact annuity under each scenario, the estimated health insurance gap cost, and the break-even age at which postponing actually pays off.

What this calculator covers: MRA lookup by birth year · Immediate annuity with exact 5%/yr penalty · Postponed annuity to age 60 (requires 20+ years) or age 62 · Estimated FEHB gap cost during postponement · Break-even age net of health insurance costs · Cumulative income comparison at ages 65, 70, 75, and 80.

FERS only. MRA+10 is a FERS provision. CSRS has no MRA — see the CSRS Retirement Guide. Survivor annuity election is not modeled — use the Survivor Annuity Calculator separately.

Birth year Used to compute your Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) from the statutory table. MRA ranges from 55 years (born before 1948) to 57 years (born 1970 or later). Most active employees born 1964–1975 have an MRA of 56 or 57.

Year you plan to separate from federal service The year you leave your federal job — even if you plan to postpone the annuity start date to a later year.

Creditable FERS service years at separation Include any paid military buyback time. Do not include sick leave — it adds pension credit but does not count toward retirement eligibility. Your total is on your SF-50 or HR Benefits Statement. If you have a half-year of service, enter 15.5, not 15.

Estimated high-3 average salary ($) Your average basic pay (base + locality, no overtime, no awards) over the 3 highest consecutive salary years. Your current salary is a reasonable estimate; it will slightly understate your high-3 if you expect a step increase or promotion before retiring. See the High-3 Salary Calculator for a precise projection.

Current biweekly FEHB premium — your share only ($) Your employee-share deduction, not the total premium. Found on your Leave and Earnings Statement under "FEHB." This is used to estimate TCC cost — the full premium you would pay during any postponement gap. Typical 2026 ranges: Self-only $50–$200 biweekly; Self+1 $150–$450; Family $200–$550.

How this calculator works

The MRA+10 reduction under 5 U.S.C. §8414(b) is 5% per year — or 5/12 of 1% per month — for each year your annuity begins before your 62nd birthday. This is permanent: it does not reverse when you turn 62, and all future FERS COLAs (beginning at age 62) apply to the already-reduced base amount.

The base annuity formula is: high-3 × 1% × years of service. Note that the 1.1% multiplier (available to employees who retire at age 62 or older with 20+ years) does not apply to MRA+10 retirees, because MRA+10 annuities begin before age 62 by definition.

For the FEHB gap: if you take the immediate annuity, FEHB continues into retirement (assuming you meet the 5-year rule). If you postpone the annuity, FEHB is suspended for the entire postponement period. The calculator estimates TCC (Temporary Continuation of Coverage) cost based on your biweekly employee share, applying the federal government's approximate 72% average employer contribution, then multiplying by 102% for the TCC surcharge. TCC is available for up to 18 months; after that, you would need ACA marketplace or private coverage at potentially different rates — this calculator uses TCC-rate costs for the full gap period as a conservative floor.

The break-even age is where cumulative income from the immediate reduced annuity equals cumulative income from the postponed full annuity, net of FEHB gap costs. Ages below the break-even favor taking the immediate annuity. Ages above the break-even favor postponing.

Key MRA+10 rules this calculator does not model

No FERS supplement — ever. Neither the immediate nor the postponed MRA+10 annuity includes the FERS Special Retirement Supplement. The supplement is only available to retirees under §8412 (MRA+30, age 60+20, or voluntary early out under VERA/VSIP). If you need income between retirement and Social Security at 62, this is a major gap — see the FERS Supplement Calculator to size it.
No FERS COLA before age 62. FERS COLAs (capped at 2% for 2026) do not begin until the calendar year you turn 62. Annuity amounts shown are in today's dollars; inflation erodes real purchasing power during any gap period when you are not yet receiving COLAs.
TSP Rule of 55 is preserved. If you separate from federal service in or after the calendar year you turn 55, you can withdraw from your traditional TSP without the 10% early withdrawal penalty — regardless of whether you take the immediate or postponed annuity. This is a meaningful benefit worth preserving. See the TSP Withdrawal Options Guide.
Sick leave credit still applies. Unused sick leave adds to your service credit (174 hours = 1 month) in the annuity calculation. This can meaningfully change your base annuity. Use the Sick Leave Calculator to see how much it adds before locking in a retirement date.
Survivor annuity election reduces the base. A full 50% survivor election reduces your computed annuity by 10%; a 25% election reduces it by 5%. The amounts in this calculator are before any survivor election. Run the Survivor Annuity Calculator for that trade-off.
FEHB 5-year rule. To carry FEHB into the immediate annuity, you must have been continuously enrolled in any FEHB plan for the 5 years immediately before your retirement date (or your entire federal career if shorter). If you dropped and re-enrolled, the 5-year clock restarts from the most recent re-enrollment.

Talk through the real numbers with a federal-benefits specialist

The MRA+10 vs. full retirement decision intersects tax planning, Social Security timing, TSP withdrawal strategy, FEHB/Medicare coordination, and survivor elections — often simultaneously. A fee-only advisor who specializes in federal employee benefits has modeled this decision many times and knows which levers move the outcome most for your specific situation.

5 U.S.C. §8414(b) — MRA+10 retirement authority, immediate and postponed annuity options: uscode.house.gov §8414
5 U.S.C. §8412(h) — Minimum Retirement Age table by birth year: uscode.house.gov §8412
5 U.S.C. §8421 — FERS Special Retirement Supplement eligibility: uscode.house.gov §8421
OPM FERS Information — types of retirement including MRA+10: opm.gov/retirement-services
OPM FEHB Temporary Continuation of Coverage: opm.gov FEHB TCC
Values verified June 2026. MRA table, annuity formula, and FEHB rules based on OPM guidance and 5 U.S.C. Chapter 84.