The federal pension, decoded.
Three legs to your retirement: the FERS pension, the TSP, and Social Security. This pillar covers the first leg — every formula, every decision, every trap.
The latest additions.
Unused Sick Leave to Service Credit: The 2,087-Hour Rule (2026)
Unused sick leave converts to service credit and permanently raises your FERS or CSRS annuity. The 2,087-hour rule, the full-month trap, and a calculator.
CSRS Offset Explained: The Hybrid System and the Age-62 Reduction
CSRS Offset pays a full CSRS annuity that's reduced at 62 by your Social Security. How it works, the offset formula, the delay trap, and a calculator.
Federal Phased Retirement: Half Salary, Half Annuity, Full Glide Path (2026)
Phased retirement lets eligible feds work half-time while drawing half their annuity. Eligibility, the mentoring rule, the composite annuity, and a calculator.
Maximizing Your High-3: The Lever That Sets Your FERS Pension (2026)
Your high-3 multiplies across every year of service, so small gains compound. What counts, the maximizing playbook, the 1.1% multiplier, and a calculator.
The big numbers to know
- 1.0% — your FERS multiplier under age 62 with less than 20 years of service
- 1.1% — your multiplier at age 62+ with 20+ years (the upgrade that doubles for some retirees)
- 3 years — the high-3 period that defines your pension
- 5 years — minimum continuous FEHB enrollment to keep coverage in retirement
- 57 — the Minimum Retirement Age for anyone born 1970 or later
Start here.
FERS & CSRS articles.
Surviving the OPM Wait: Interim Payments & the Income Gap (2026)
OPM pays just 60–80% interim while it finalizes your annuity. The cash cushion you need, what’s withheld, the back-pay true-up — and a gap calculator.
How the FERS Pension Is Calculated: The 2026 Federal Employee Guide
The full FERS pension formula — high-3, multipliers, special-category rules, sick leave conversion, and the 1.1% multiplier upgrade at 62/20. With a working pension estimator.
The FERS Annuity Supplement: The Complete 2026 Guide
The supplement bridges the gap from MRA to age 62 — and the OPM-vs-SSA estimate gap costs many retirees money they don’t know is missing. Includes a working supplement calculator.
The Federal Retirement Application: How to Actually File
The SF-3107 family, the new ORA digital system, the realistic six-month timeline, and the mistakes that delay everyone else’s case. With a timeline estimator.
FERS Survivor Benefit Elections: The 5% vs 10% Decision
A permanent 5% or 10% reduction in your annuity that protects your spouse for life — and decides whether your spouse keeps FEHB. The math, the trade-offs, and the FEHB connection most retirees don’t know about.
FERS Disability Retirement: When and How to Apply in 2026
The five eligibility tests, the SF-3112 forms, the 60/40 benefit math, the SSDI offset, and the age 62 conversion. With a two-phase disability calculator.
Military Service Buyback for FERS: The 2026 Complete Guide
The deposit pays for itself in months. The math, the deadlines, the military retired pay waiver decision, and the process — for veterans who joined federal civilian service.
Buying Back Refunded FERS Service: The Complete 2026 Guide
Eligibility under the 2009 rule, the cost math at the 2026 OPM interest rate of 4.25%, the SF-3108 process, and when the buyback actually pays off. With a break-even calculator.
December vs January: The Federal Retirement Date Decision
The date worth $3,000+. Pension start, annual leave lump-sum, COLA proration, and the tax-year split — with a five-step decision tree for finding your optimal separation date.
VERA and VSIP: The Federal Early-Out Decision
Who qualifies for early retirement, how the $25K buyout is taxed, the FERS supplement timing, and the re-employment trap — with an early-out decision calculator.
Postponed vs Deferred FERS Retirement: The FEHB Split
The MRA+10 choice that decides whether you keep FEHB for life — the age reductions, the 5% penalty, and the reinstatement rules — with a side-by-side comparison.
FERS & CSRS COLAs Explained: The Diet COLA and Age-62 Wall (2026)
Why two identical retirees drift apart: the FERS age-62 wall, the diet-COLA cap, full CSRS adjustments, and why the supplement gets none — with a gap projector.
FERS Special Provisions: The 1.7% Formula for LEOs, Firefighters & ATCs (2026)
The enhanced 1.7% multiplier, age-50/20 and any-age/25 eligibility, mandatory retirement, and the supplement perk — with an enhanced-annuity calculator.
Working After Federal Retirement: The Reemployed Annuitant Salary Offset (2026)
Your salary is offset by your full annuity, the NDAA waiver expired in 2024, and the supplement earnings test can erase your bridge — with an income estimator.
FERS & CSRS Annuity in Divorce: Court-Ordered Apportionment (COAP) (2026)
Not a QDRO but a COAP: the prorata marital fraction, gross vs net base, the former-spouse survivor annuity, and the supplement split — with an apportionment calculator.
More articles in production
Coverage of MRA versus 62 retirement paths, CSRS Offset mechanics, and the FERS-vs-CSRS comparison is in build.
The full federal retirement picture
FERS & CSRS covers leg one of the three-legged stool. The TSP pillar covers leg two. The Social Security pillar covers leg three. The Tax Strategy pillar covers how each stream is taxed. The FEHB & Medicare pillar covers your healthcare in retirement.
Explore the TSP pillar →