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Federal retirement bridge income

FERS retirement supplement calculator

Check a supported retirement path, estimate the gross monthly bridge to age 62, and keep any earned-income reduction visible as a separate planning scenario.

Rule snapshot
Current earnings limit
2026 · $24,480
Privacy
Browser-only · no storage

FERS retirement supplement calculator worksheet

Start with the retirement path shown in your agency record.

Official OPM examples

Load a Chapter 51 fixture, then change one fact at a time.

Retirement path
1

Start with the retirement path

This gate prevents an ordinary supplement estimate from appearing for deferred, disability, MRA+10, phased, survivor, or age-62-and-later cases.

Build the bridge in order

Choose the retirement path supported by your agency record.

01Retirement path
02Exact dates and service
03Estimate source
04Optional earnings scenario

Nothing is saved, sent, or looked up.

This browser-only worksheet uses versioned OPM, statute, eCFR, and SSA rules. It does not contact an agency, OPM, SSA, or the FedUp data platform. Agency and OPM records remain controlling.

OPM, statute, regulation, and SSA sources last reviewed . Rules and the 2026 exempt amount are versioned locally; no government API, SSA earnings-record request, third-party lookup, or FedUp data-platform dependency is used.

Entries stay in this browser and are neither transmitted nor stored. Dollar results are gross planning amounts, not an OPM entitlement or payment decision; agency and OPM records control.

Methodology

Estimate the bridge without imitating an OPM award

Eligibility comes first. A supported path can produce a timeline even when no dollar input is available; a consequential unknown produces a needs-verification state instead of a guessed benefit.

  1. 01

    Identify the retirement path

    Start with the retirement authority and dates. Regular immediate, qualifying early, and agency-confirmed special paths have different supplement start rules; unsupported paths stop before showing an official-looking amount.

  2. 02

    Confirm the FERS service facts

    Confirm at least one full calendar year under FERS computation rules and enter only covered FERS civilian service used in the supplement fraction. Ordinary military buyback time and unused sick leave stay outside that numerator.

  3. 03

    Choose the amount evidence

    Use an agency or OPM gross monthly estimate when you have one. Otherwise, the tool can create a clearly labeled planning proxy from your Social Security age-62 estimate and covered FERS civilian service.

  4. 04

    Model earned income separately

    Optionally test 2026 wages and positive net self-employment income against the $24,480 exempt amount. The reduction remains separate from the gross supplement and from OPM's later withholding schedule.

  5. 05

    Review the bridge runway

    Audit the modeled start date, any wait to MRA, covered-service fraction, gross amount, possible earnings reduction, and age-62 endpoint. Unresolved consequential facts remain marked for agency verification.

planning proxy = floor(age-62 SSA estimate × min(40, covered FERS years) ÷ 40)

2026 reduction candidate = max(0, countable earnings − $24,480) ÷ 2

The proxy rounds covered service to the nearest whole year, with an exact six-month tie rounded upward as a disclosed estimator convention, then applies OPM's final whole-dollar floor. OPM's actual benefit computation is more detailed and remains controlling.

Retirement path first

The annuity start and supplement start can differ

A qualifying early annuity can begin before its supplement. The page keeps that wait visible and does not extend supplement eligibility to retirement paths that the governing rules exclude.

Regular immediate retirement
MRA with 30 years; age 60 with 20 years
Potentially payable from the annuity start until the age-62 boundary
Qualifying VERA or DSR
Age 50 with 20 years; any age with 25 years
A qualifying retiree below MRA generally waits until MRA for the supplement
Agency-confirmed special path
Covered special provision or qualifying reserve technician
Uses the confirmed retirement category and its applicable earnings-test timing
Unsupported supplement path
MRA+10, deferred, disability, phased, survivor, or age 62+
Stops without a supplement dollar estimate

Official examples

Published vectors make the service fraction auditable

OPM's examples verify the whole-dollar floor and the covered-service fraction. They do not turn the planning proxy into OPM's exact lifetime earnings reconstruction.

OPM plain-language example
$1,000 age-62 estimate × 30 covered years ÷ 40
$750 per month
Chapter 51 · Example 1
$2,112 × 33 ÷ 40 = $1,742.40
$1,742 after the whole-dollar floor
Chapter 51 · Example 2
$1,878 × 32 ÷ 40 = $1,502.40
$1,502 after the whole-dollar floor
Chapter 51 · Example 3
$2,016 × 26 ÷ 40 = $1,310.40
$1,310, with a qualifying early-retirement wait to MRA

Earnings-test timing

A 2026 earnings scenario changes a later payment window

The modeled reduction is an annual planning amount. Keep the earnings year, OPM reporting cycle, statutory adjustment, and actual payment recovery separate when budgeting.

  1. 2026

    Track post-entitlement earned income

    Count wages and positive net self-employment income earned after entitlement. For supported special retirees, the earnings test generally begins at regular MRA rather than before it.

  2. Spring 2027

    Report through OPM's survey process

    OPM generally requests the preceding year's earnings in spring. Its current survey guidance gives June 30 as the response deadline.

  3. July 2027

    OPM applies the later adjustment

    The statutory reduction for 2026 earnings generally begins in July 2027 and is ordinarily reflected in the August 1 payment. The calculator does not predict an exact check-by-check recovery schedule.

Scope boundary

A gross planning bridge, with visible limits

The FERS retirement annuity supplement calculator preserves useful eligibility and timing output when dollars are missing, but it will not fill an unresolved retirement category with a confident-looking estimate.

Included in the model

  • Retirement-path screening, statutory MRA, and modeled supplement start and end dates
  • A wait-to-MRA segment for a qualifying VERA or discontinued-service retirement below MRA
  • Agency confirmation of the required full FERS-computation calendar year
  • An entered agency/OPM gross monthly estimate or a separately labeled planning proxy
  • The covered FERS civilian service numerator, 40-year cap, and visible service fraction
  • An optional 2026 countable-earnings scenario using the official $24,480 amount
  • Gross supplement, annual reduction candidate, average monthly scenario, and modeled payable amount shown as separate rows
  • A browser-only bridge runway, assumptions ledger, and formula-safe CSV export

Stops or stays outside

  • The basic FERS annuity, High-3 calculation, or a retirement-eligibility adjudication
  • OPM's exact reconstruction of actual and deemed earnings, indexing, AIME, PIA, and age-62 factor
  • A supplement estimate for MRA+10, postponed MRA+10, deferred, disability, phased, survivor, unknown, or age-62-or-later paths
  • Ordinary bought-back military service or unused sick leave in the FERS-service numerator
  • Federal or state tax estimates, COLAs, Social Security filing, or survivor supplementary annuity valuation
  • Future-year earnings limits or a prediction of OPM's exact withholding and recovery schedule
  • A recommendation about whether to retire, claim Social Security, or accept post-retirement work
  • An official OPM or agency entitlement decision

Canonical sources

Public rules, local calculation

The calculator independently implements reviewed OPM guidance, current regulations, governing statutes, and the official annual earnings amount. It never reconstructs or requests an SSA earnings record.

Sources last reviewed ; 5 C.F.R. Part 842 was checked through July 20, 2026. Reconcile every estimate with your agency, OPM, and personal SSA estimate because their records control.

FERS supplement FAQ

Understand the estimate before using it

How is the FERS retirement supplement calculated?

OPM's exact calculation reconstructs actual and deemed earnings, indexes them, removes five low elapsed years, computes an age-62 Social Security factor, and applies the covered FERS-service fraction. This calculator uses an entered agency/OPM monthly estimate when available. Its optional planning proxy instead floors your SSA age-62 estimate multiplied by covered FERS civilian years, capped at 40, divided by 40. The proxy is not an OPM-exact benefit calculation.

Who may qualify for the FERS annuity supplement?

Potentially supported paths include regular immediate retirement at MRA with 30 years or age 60 with 20 years, a qualifying VERA or discontinued-service retirement, and agency-confirmed special or reserve-technician paths. A qualifying early retiree below MRA generally waits until MRA. MRA+10, deferred, disability, phased, survivor, and age-62-or-later paths do not receive a supplement estimate here.

Do VERA and discontinued-service retirees receive the supplement immediately?

Not when a qualifying early retiree separates below the regular minimum retirement age. In that case, the modeled supplement start is generally MRA rather than the annuity commencement date. The tool shows that wait as a separate timeline segment and requires the retirement path and dates to be internally consistent.

How does the 2026 earnings test reduce the FERS supplement?

The 2026 lower exempt amount is $24,480. The annual reduction candidate is one dollar for each two dollars of countable earnings above that amount, capped by the applicable supplement entitlement. The page shows an average monthly scenario, not OPM's exact later withholding schedule. The exempt amount is not prorated solely because entitlement begins during the year.

What income counts for the FERS supplement earnings test?

Wages and positive net earnings from self-employment earned after entitlement generally count; for supported special retirees, the test generally does not apply before regular MRA. Pensions, the FERS annuity, Social Security, TSP or 401(k) withdrawals, investment income, unemployment, and workers' compensation stay outside this planning total. Current law also excludes certain qualifying ATC-contract earnings.

Does military buyback time or unused sick leave increase the supplement?

Ordinary bought-back military service and unused sick leave do not enter the covered FERS civilian service numerator for the supplement. Only agency-confirmed USERRA military service performed during civilian paid leave or leave without pay may receive different treatment. The calculator stops when that distinction is unresolved.

Is the FERS supplement the same as claiming Social Security?

No. The supplement is a temporary FERS benefit and is not a Social Security claim. It ordinarily ends by age 62 under the governing old-age-entitlement rules, whether or not the retiree chooses to file for Social Security at that time. Exact termination facts should be confirmed with OPM and SSA.

Is this FERS supplement calculator official, and are my entries stored?

No. FedUp.work independently applies published OPM, statutory, and regulatory rules for planning. OPM and agency records control eligibility and payment. The calculator runs in your browser; entries are neither transmitted nor stored, and no live government request, third-party earnings lookup, or FedUp data-platform lookup is required.

Continue the transition plan

Keep pension, supplement, savings, and work decisions separate

Use the appropriate rule set for each income source, confirm the official numbers, and then compare the bridge with the work you may want after Federal service.

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