Federal package vs. private offer
Federal total compensation calculator
Compare the same categories on both sides—cash, employer retirement funding, health insurance and paid time—without counting your own savings or leave twice.
Offer inputs
Build both packages
Illustrative example — replace every value with your SF-50, earnings statement and private offer. Results update locally as you type.
Core federal package
Salary, covered basic pay, retirement coverage and TSP matching.
This version supports the 2026 benefit year. OPM's regular non-Postal FERS rate changes for pay periods beginning on or after October 1, 2026.
Usually includes locality pay; exclude bonuses, allowances and overtime.
Scheduled choices use regular non-Postal rates. Postal and special-category employees should choose Custom and enter the applicable employer rate.
Your deposit is not added to employer compensation. This annual approximation assumes the election stays in force and does not model reaching the IRS deferral limit early.
FEHB and FEGLI
Use an exact OPM enrollment code, a labeled tier cap, your own employer amount, or none.
Optional FEGLI coverage is employee-paid and remains excluded.
Federal cash and other benefits
Federal paid-time assumptions
Time stays out of the additive package total.
Private offer
Enter employer contributions, not your own 401(k) or premium deductions.
Use only the annualized value expected to vest; no stock growth is assumed.
Private paid-time assumptions
Comparable package gap
−$47,469
federal minus private
−$3,956 per average month · -26.9% of the private package.
Includes the Self Only OPM maximum fallback of $8,443.76 per year—not an exact plan contribution.
| Comparison | Federal | Private | Federal − private |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed cash | $112,000 | $145,000 | −$33,000−$2,750/mo · -22.8% |
| Expected cash | $114,500 | $160,000 | −$45,500−$3,792/mo · -28.4% |
| Employer benefits | $14,281 | $16,250 | −$1,969 |
| Annualized vested equity | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Comparable package | $128,781 | $176,250 | −$47,469−$3,956/mo · -26.9% |
| Full employer cost | $147,261 | $176,250 | −$28,989−$2,416/mo · -16.4% |
Private salary break-even
$97,531
Matches the federal comparable package while all other private inputs stay fixed.
Including pension proxy
$116,011
Employer-cost comparison only; this is not a portable pension value.
Federal rule checks
FERS funding proxy
$18,480
16.50% of covered basic pay · 1.00 years to vest now; vested at the selected 5.00-year service horizon.
TSP agency value
$5,600
Automatic $1,120 + match $4,480. Uncaptured match: $0.
Matching is vested immediately. The Automatic 1% generally has a three-year service rule, or two years for certain positions; this page does not adjudicate that separate rule.
FEHB source
Self Only · OPM maximum fallback
Maximum government annual contribution: $8,444.
Paid time stays separate
The hourly figure is expected cash divided by scheduled hours less the paid time you expect to use. It is an approximation and never changes package totals.
Federal
$62.26/hr
1,839 estimated worked hours · 352 paid-time hours available.
Private
$85.11/hr
1,880 estimated worked hours · 240 paid-time hours available.
Federal ledger
| Component | Annual |
|---|---|
| Federal salary | $112,000 |
| Guaranteed federal awards or incentives | $0 |
| Expected federal awards | $2,500 |
| TSP Agency Automatic (1%) | $1,120 |
| TSP agency matching | $4,480 |
| FEHB government contribution | $8,444 |
| FEGLI Basic government contribution | $237 |
| Other federal employer benefits | $0 |
| Employer pension funding — proxy | $18,480 |
Private ledger
| Component | Annual |
|---|---|
| Private salary | $145,000 |
| Additional guaranteed private cash compensation | $0 |
| Expected private bonus | $15,000 |
| Annualized vested private equity | $0 |
| Private employer retirement contribution | $7,250 |
| Private employer health contribution | $9,000 |
| Other private employer benefits | $0 |
Read assumptions before using the gap
- The TSP agency amount assumes the entered election remains in force through all pay periods and does not model reaching the annual elective-deferral limit early.
- Agency Matching Contributions are vested immediately; the Agency Automatic 1% and earnings generally require three years of service, or two years for certain positions. This calculator does not adjudicate that separate TSP vesting rule.
- The OPM tier amount is a maximum government contribution, not an exact plan contribution.
- The FERS amount is an employer-funding proxy, not an individual account or a present value of the future annuity.
- Paid time changes only the separate worked-hour approximation and is never added to compensation totals.
- Expected awards and bonuses are scenario assumptions rather than guaranteed compensation.
Taxes, deductions, job security, commute, flexibility, retirement eligibility and future stock prices are outside this employer-funded comparison.
Your entries are calculated in this browser. This page does not transmit or store the offer and benefit values you enter.
Comparison method
Four rules keep the two offers comparable
The calculator uses an employer-funded view of compensation, then keeps uncertainty, vesting and time benefits inspectable instead of hiding them inside one inflated number.
- 01
Compare cash with cash
Salary and guaranteed incentives form the stable cash layer. Expected awards, private bonuses and vested equity remain visibly separate because they are less certain.
- 02
Count only the employer side
Agency TSP contributions, employer retirement contributions and employer insurance funding are additional value. Your own TSP or 401(k) deposits are already part of salary and are never added again.
- 03
Keep the pension proxy inspectable
The scheduled FERS choices use OPM's actual regular non-Postal agency contribution rates. Postal and special-category employees use a custom rate. Every FERS amount remains an employer-funding proxy—not an annuity or portable balance.
- 04
Treat paid time as time
Leave and holidays are already paid through salary. They stay out of the additive package total and instead appear in a separate paid-time and effective-hour illustration.
Read the pension line correctly
Agency funding is useful—but it is not your pension balance
OPM publishes the percentage an agency contributes for each regular non-Postal FERS coverage group used here. That is a defensible current employer-cost proxy. It does not tell you the present value of your personal annuity, because eligibility, service, high-3 pay, retirement age, survivor elections and longevity still matter.
For that reason, the result always shows both a comparable package without the proxy and a full employer-cost view with it.
Not monetized automatically
- Job security, mission, commute, schedule and remote-work value
- Future FERS annuity present value, COLAs and survivor elections
- Postal, LEO, firefighter, ATC, congressional and other special-category default rates
- Retiree FEHB eligibility or continued employer insurance value
- Stock-price growth, discretionary awards or benefits not in the offer
- Taxes, payroll deductions and take-home pay
Source posture
Canonical data, local calculation
The FEHB snapshot is derived from OPM's published workbook, validated before use and never fetched during your session. Private-offer values stay editable because no public dataset can know the plan actually offered to you.
FEHB source file dated 2025-10-23; snapshot checked 2026-07-22. Recheck your enrollment code, SF-50, earnings statement and plan documents.
Total compensation FAQ
Questions behind the headline number
What counts as total compensation for a federal employee?
This calculator separates salary and other cash from employer-funded retirement, health and life insurance, and other recurring agency contributions. Paid leave and holidays are shown as time rather than added to salary. Employee deductions, payroll taxes and take-home pay are outside this calculation.
Does total compensation include my own TSP contribution?
No. Your TSP contribution comes from salary already counted in the package. The additional federal value is the Agency Automatic 1% contribution and the available matching contribution. The same rule applies to an employee-funded private 401(k).
Is the FERS agency contribution the value of my pension?
No. It is an employer-funding proxy based on the actual OPM regular non-Postal agency contribution rate for the selected coverage and 2026 date. Postal and special-category employees should enter their applicable rate in Custom mode. The proxy is not an individual account, cash balance, annuity estimate or actuarial present value.
Where do I find my FEHB enrollment code?
The three-character enrollment code appears on benefit or payroll records and in your plan information. Exact mode uses OPM's 2026 contribution for that code. If you do not know it, the tier fallback uses OPM's maximum government contribution and labels that result as a cap rather than an exact plan value.
Why is paid leave not added to salary?
Your annual salary already continues while you take paid leave, so adding the same days as another dollar benefit would count them twice. The calculator instead shows available paid time separately and can illustrate expected cash per estimated hour worked.
Can this tell me whether I should leave federal service?
It can make the offer math more consistent, but it cannot value job security, mission, flexibility, commute, retirement eligibility, survivor benefits or personal preferences. Use the category ledger as one input, then verify your records and the private employer's plan documents before deciding.
Does the result estimate taxes or take-home pay?
No. Employer-funded total compensation is different from net pay. The calculator does not estimate federal, state or local taxes, payroll withholding, deductions or spendable cash.
After the offer math
Compare the work, not only the package
FedUp.work helps translate federal experience into private-sector roles so you can evaluate compensation in the context of work that actually fits your background.
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