Federal Employees · FERS & CSRS
Some federal retirement decisions can't be undone. See how ready yours is — first.
Your retirement date, your TSP, your survivor election, your FEGLI each run on their own rules — and some choices are permanent. Get your free Federal Retirement Readiness Score in about 3 minutes.
Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Thrift Savings Plan, the Social Security Administration, or any U.S. government agency. Educational only — not investment, tax, or legal advice. No outcome or benefit amount is promised.
The structure
How your FERS or CSRS benefits fit together
Federal retirement isn't one benefit. It's several, each governed by its own rulebook, and they interact in ways that aren't obvious until you're inside the paperwork.
A federal pension is calculated from your high-3 — your highest three consecutive years of average basic pay — not your final salary. Under public OPM guidance, your creditable service and your age at separation are applied to that high-3 figure to produce the annuity.
The FERS Supplement (formally the Special Retirement Supplement) is paid to eligible FERS employees who retire before age 62, and it stops at age 62. It is not reduced gradually and it is not replaced automatically when it ends.
FEHB health coverage can continue into retirement if the enrollment rules are met, and it coordinates with Medicare at age 65. Whether a surviving spouse keeps FEHB generally depends on the survivor election made at retirement.
The pension
Your FERS or CSRS annuity is driven by your high-3 average salary, your creditable service, and your age at separation. Move any one and the number moves.
The TSP
How you saved into the TSP and how you take money out are two entirely different decisions. Withdrawal order and timing carry their own tax consequences.
Social Security & the Supplement
FERS retirees who go before 62 may receive the FERS Supplement, which bridges to Social Security and then stops the month you turn 62.
Survivor election
The election you make at retirement generally cannot be changed later, and it can determine whether a spouse keeps FEHB coverage.
FEHB & Medicare
FEHB can continue into retirement if the eligibility rules are met. How it coordinates with Medicare at 65 is a separate decision with real cost implications.
FEGLI
Life insurance premiums under Option B step up in five-year age brackets. What's affordable at 57 can look very different at 70.
Two columns
Where the value sits vs. where the misses hide
Where the value sits
- A pension with a cost-of-living adjustment, which most private plans no longer offer.
- Decades of TSP contributions inside one of the lowest-cost fund lineups available.
- FEHB coverage that can follow you into retirement under the right conditions.
- A FERS Supplement that can bridge the years before Social Security.
Where the misses hide
- A retirement date chosen for convenience rather than for how the benefit calculates.
- No written plan for the order and timing of TSP withdrawals.
- A survivor election made under deadline pressure without the trade-off understood.
- FEGLI premiums that climb quietly in the background year after year.
Read this part twice
The decisions that are permanent
Several federal retirement elections are permanent once you file, including your survivor election, certain FEGLI options, and your retirement date. Reviewing those three before the paperwork is submitted is the single highest-value step in a federal retirement.
Survivor election
Generally locked in once your retirement is finalized. It reduces your monthly annuity, and in many cases it is what allows a spouse to remain on FEHB.
FEGLI coverage
Reductions and cancellations are easy to make and very difficult to undo. Premiums for Option B rise in five-year age brackets after retirement.
Your retirement date
Once you separate, you cannot re-pick the date. Leave payout, the end of a pay period, and your high-3 window all interact with it.
The method
How your Federal Retirement Readiness Score works
A Federal Retirement Readiness Score is a 0–100 educational measure of how settled a federal employee's retirement decisions are across five areas: pension timing and service, TSP strategy, the FERS Supplement, survivor and FEHB, and insurance and COLA. It is not a benefit estimate and nothing is filed.
- 01
Answer eleven questions
You answer eleven multiple-choice questions about your federal retirement system, your service, your planned date, your TSP, the FERS Supplement, your survivor election, FEHB, and FEGLI. No personal contact information is requested to see the score.
- 02
Each answer is mapped to five decision areas
Every answer is scored against one of five areas: pension timing and service, TSP strategy, the FERS Supplement, survivor and FEHB, and insurance and COLA. CSRS and CSRS Offset answers skip the FERS Supplement area, which does not apply to them.
- 03
The areas are combined into a 0–100 score
The five area scores are summed into a single 0–100 Federal Retirement Readiness Score and placed in a readiness band. A higher score means fewer open or permanent decisions remain unaddressed.
- 04
Review your five-area breakdown
You see the score and the full breakdown immediately, including which single decision has the shortest window to change. You may optionally ask questions of the educational guide or request a free review with a licensed federal retirement specialist.
Plain-English terms
The words you'll meet in your paperwork
High-3 is the average of a federal employee's highest 36 consecutive months of basic pay, and it is the figure a FERS or CSRS pension is calculated from rather than final salary. Overtime and most bonuses are excluded from basic pay.
Creditable service is the total federal service that counts toward a federal retirement benefit, including eligibility and the years used in the pension formula. Some periods, such as certain temporary service or unpaid deposits, count only if a deposit is made.
The FERS Minimum Retirement Age is the earliest age at which a FERS employee can retire with an immediate annuity if the service requirement is met, and it falls between 55 and 57 depending on year of birth. It reaches 57 for employees born in 1970 or later.
The FERS Supplement, formally the Special Retirement Supplement, is a payment to eligible FERS employees who retire before age 62 and approximates the Social Security benefit earned during federal service. It stops at age 62.
A survivor election is the choice a retiring federal employee makes to provide a continuing annuity to a spouse or other eligible survivor, funded by a permanent reduction to the retiree's own annuity. It is generally locked in once retirement is finalized and often determines whether a surviving spouse keeps FEHB.
A COLA is the annual inflation adjustment applied to federal annuities. CSRS and FERS COLAs are calculated under different rules, and FERS COLAs generally begin later and can be smaller than the measured inflation rate.
Questions
Federal retirement questions, answered
What is the difference between FERS and CSRS?
CSRS is the older Civil Service Retirement System, which generally covers employees hired before 1984 and pays a larger pension without Social Security coverage from federal service. FERS, the Federal Employees Retirement System, covers employees hired from 1984 onward and combines a smaller pension with Social Security and the Thrift Savings Plan. CSRS Offset is a hybrid arrangement for certain employees with breaks in service.
What is the FERS Supplement and when does it stop?
The FERS Supplement, formally the Special Retirement Supplement, is a payment to eligible FERS employees who retire before age 62 and is intended to approximate the Social Security benefit earned during federal service. It stops at age 62. It ends outright rather than tapering, and it is not automatically replaced by anything else.
Which federal retirement decisions are permanent?
Your survivor election is generally locked in once your retirement is finalized, certain FEGLI reductions and cancellations cannot be reversed, and your retirement date cannot be re-picked after you separate. Those three decisions are the ones worth confirming before the paperwork is submitted. Most other choices, including TSP withdrawal strategy, can be adjusted later.
What is the high-3 and how is my pension calculated?
Your high-3 is the average of your highest 36 consecutive months of basic pay, and it is the figure your federal annuity is built on rather than your final salary. Public OPM guidance applies a percentage multiplier to that high-3 based on your years of creditable service and your age at retirement. Overtime and most bonuses are not included in basic pay.
What is the FERS minimum retirement age (MRA)?
The FERS minimum retirement age is between 55 and 57 depending on your year of birth, reaching 57 for employees born in 1970 or later. Reaching your MRA is one condition for an immediate retirement, and the service requirement that goes with it differs by scenario. Retiring at MRA with between 10 and 30 years of service can carry a permanent age reduction.
How does FEHB coordinate with Medicare?
FEHB coverage can continue into retirement if the enrollment rules are met, and at age 65 it coordinates with Medicare rather than being replaced by it. Retirees choose whether to also enroll in Medicare Part B, which adds a premium but can reduce out-of-pocket costs depending on the FEHB plan. Whether a surviving spouse keeps FEHB generally depends on the survivor election made at retirement.
Does FEGLI get more expensive as I age?
Yes. FEGLI Option B premiums step up in five-year age brackets, so coverage that is inexpensive in your fifties can cost substantially more in your seventies. Retirees choose at retirement whether coverage reduces or continues at full cost, and reductions and cancellations are difficult or impossible to reverse.
What is a Federal Retirement Readiness Score?
It is a free 0–100 educational score built from eleven questions about your federal benefits. It measures how settled your decisions are across five areas: pension timing and service, TSP strategy, the FERS Supplement, survivor and FEHB, and insurance and COLA. It is not a benefit estimate, not advice, and nothing is filed on your behalf.
Is this affiliated with OPM, the TSP, or Social Security?
No. AnnuityScore is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Thrift Savings Plan, the Social Security Administration, or any U.S. government agency. Everything on these pages is educational and reflects publicly available guidance.
How long does the assessment take and what happens afterward?
The assessment takes about three minutes: eleven questions, one per screen, and you see your score before any contact information is requested. Afterward you get your full five-area breakdown, can ask questions of an educational guide, and may optionally request a free review with a licensed federal retirement specialist. There is no cost and no obligation.
Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Thrift Savings Plan, the Social Security Administration, or any U.S. government agency. Educational only — not investment, tax, or legal advice. No outcome or benefit amount is promised.
Know where you stand before anything becomes permanent.
Eleven questions. About three minutes. You see your score before you're asked for anything.
Educational · No obligation · Nothing filed
Important disclosure
Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Thrift Savings Plan, the Social Security Administration, or any U.S. government agency. Educational only — not investment, tax, or legal advice. No outcome or benefit amount is promised.
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