CSRS Retirement Calculator
OPM general formula, sick leave and survivor cost
Estimated monthly annuity
$4,550
?
?
?
Monthly CSRS annuity with survivor election
$4,550
Without a survivor election
$5,031
Per year
$54,607
Survivor gets
$2,767/mo
Share of high-3
67.0833%
Your annuity rises with each CSRS cost-of-living adjustment (2.8% in December 2025), prorated in the first year.
How your annuity is computed
| Service | 35 yr 0 mo |
| Unused sick leave (1,000 hours) | 0 yr 5 mo 23 d |
| Service for computation (odd days dropped) | 35 yr 5 mo |
| Formula factor | 0.670833 |
| Unreduced annuity ($90,000 x 0.670833) | $60,374.97 |
| Survivor reduction on a $60,374.97 base | -$5,767.50 |
| Yearly annuity | $54,607.47 |
| Monthly (divided by 12, rounded down) | $4,550 |
| Survivor annuity: 55% of the base, per year | $33,206.23 |
Follows the worksheet in OPM's CSRS/FERS Handbook, chapter 50. Deposits, redeposits, part-time service and other special cases are not included.
The CSRS general formula
Your basic CSRS annuity is a share of your high-3 average salary, set by 5 U.S.C. 8339(a). OPM defines the high-3 as the highest average basic pay you earned during any 3 consecutive years of service; it includes pay subject to retirement deductions, such as shift rates, but not overtime or bonuses.
| Years of service | Share of high-3 per year |
|---|---|
| First 5 years | 1.5% |
| Next 5 years | 1.75% |
| Every year over 10 | 2% |
| Service | Share of high-3 | Monthly on a $90,000 high-3 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 years | 7.5000% | $562 |
| 10 years | 16.2500% | $1,218 |
| 15 years | 26.2500% | $1,968 |
| 20 years | 36.2500% | $2,718 |
| 25 years | 46.2500% | $3,468 |
| 30 years | 56.2500% | $4,218 |
| 35 years | 66.2500% | $4,968 |
| 40 years | 76.2500% | $5,718 |
| 41 years 11 months | 80.0000% (limit) | $6,000 |
| 45 years | 80.0000% (limit) | $6,000 |
Months count as twelfths of a year; OPM's Chart 4 carries each factor to six decimals, and the calculator uses the same rounding. The annuity may not be more than 80% of the high-3, which 41 years and 11 months of service reaches, but credit for unused sick leave can take it higher: in OPM's example, 43 years of service and a year of sick leave give 82% (Handbook 50A3.1-2). OPM divides the yearly annuity by 12 and rounds down to the dollar.
When you can retire under CSRS
| Retirement | Age and service | Effect on the annuity |
|---|---|---|
| Optional | 55 with 30 years, 60 with 20, or 62 with 5 | Unreduced |
| Early optional (early out during a major reorganization, RIF or transfer of function) | 50 with 20 years, or any age with 25 | Reduced 2% a year under 55 |
| Discontinued service (involuntary, not for misconduct) | 50 with 20 years, or any age with 25 | Reduced 2% a year under 55 |
| Special provisions (law enforcement, firefighters, air traffic controllers and others) | 50 with 20 years; air traffic controllers also any age with 25 | Separate formula, no age reduction |
| Deferred | Left with at least 5 years of civilian service | Starts at 62; no sick leave credit |
You also need at least 5 years of creditable civilian service, and at least 1 of the last 2 years before separation must be CSRS-covered service (the "one-out-of-two" rule). Unused sick leave cannot be used to meet any service requirement. For law enforcement officers, firefighters, nuclear materials couriers and Capitol and Supreme Court Police, OPM gives a special formula of 2.5% of high-3 for up to 20 years of that service plus 2% for the rest; this calculator uses the general formula only.
The under-55 reduction
In early optional and discontinued service retirements, the annuity is reduced by one-sixth of 1% for each full month you are under 55 at separation (5 U.S.C. 8339(h)). The reduction stays after you turn 55. It does not apply to disability or special provision retirements.
| Age at separation | Factor | Reduction |
|---|---|---|
| 50 and 0 months | 0.901667 | 9.83% |
| 51 and 0 months | 0.921667 | 7.83% |
| 52 and 0 months | 0.941667 | 5.83% |
| 53 and 0 months | 0.961667 | 3.83% |
| 54 and 0 months | 0.981667 | 1.83% |
Ages as on OPM's Chart 5: the years and months shown plus at least one day. In OPM's Example 4, an employee who retires early at 52 years, 2 months and 17 days with 27 years and 5 months for computation and a $48,310 high-3 has an unreduced annuity of $24,678.34, cut to $23,321.03 by the 0.945000 factor.
Unused sick leave
For an immediate annuity, all unused sick leave is added to your service for the computation (5 U.S.C. 8339(m)). OPM converts hours with its 2,087-hour chart and uses the next highest entry when your hours are not on it. Add the credit to your service, then drop any leftover fraction of a month. Sick leave does not count toward eligibility or the high-3.
| Hours | Service added |
|---|---|
| 174 | 1 mo |
| 500 | 2 mo 27 d |
| 1,000 | 5 mo 23 d |
| 1,500 | 8 mo 19 d |
| 2,000 | 11 mo 15 d |
| 2,087 | 1 yr |
| 4,174 | 2 yr |
Survivor annuity: cost and benefit
A married employee automatically gets a fully reduced annuity to provide a survivor annuity for the spouse, unless the spouse consents to less. You can instead choose part of your annuity as the survivor base, or no survivor annuity. The cost is 2.5% of the first $3,600 of the base plus 10% of the rest, taken from the annuity after any age reduction (5 U.S.C. 8339(j)(4)). The survivor gets 55% of the base, increased by the COLAs you received (5 U.S.C. 8341(b)). The total for a current and any former spouses cannot exceed 55% of your self-only annuity.
| Election | Yearly cost | Your annuity | Survivor gets per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full survivor benefit, $14,000 annuity | $1,130 | $12,870 | $7,700 |
| Partial, $3,000 base of a $14,000 annuity | $75 | $13,925 | $1,650 |
| Partial, $3,600 base | $90 | $13,910 | $1,980 |
The first two rows are OPM's examples in Handbook 50A3.1-3. In OPM's Example 2, a $34,874 high-3 with 31 years and 11 months for computation gives $20,953.45 a year; the full survivor election costs $1,825.35, leaving $19,128.10 ($1,594 a month), and the survivor would get $960 a month.
A retiree in good health can also elect an annuity for a person with an insurable interest in them, such as a close relative. The reduction is taken from the full annuity and depends on the age difference, and the survivor gets 55% of the reduced annuity:
| Person named, compared with you | Reduction |
|---|---|
| Older, the same age, or less than 5 years younger | 10% |
| 5 to under 10 years younger | 15% |
| 10 to under 15 years younger | 20% |
| 15 to under 20 years younger | 25% |
| 20 to under 25 years younger | 30% |
| 25 to under 30 years younger | 35% |
| 30 or more years younger | 40% |
Cost-of-living adjustments
CSRS annuities get the full cost-of-living adjustment at any age. For 2026 it is 2.8%, effective December 1, 2025 and paid from the January 2026 payment (FERS: 2.0%). Your first COLA is prorated at one-twelfth for each month you received the annuity before the increase, and the minimum increase is $1 a month (OPM BAL 26-101).
What the calculator leaves out
It follows the general formula with the age and survivor reductions. It does not apply the 10% reduction for an unpaid deposit on service before October 1, 1982, the actuarial reduction for an unpaid redeposit, part-time service proration, the special provision and congressional formulas, the disability guaranteed minimum, an alternative annuity, voluntary contributions or the CSRS Offset reduction at 62. For a high-3 under $5,000 the law substitutes 1% plus $25; that case is not modeled.
If part of your career was under FERS, use the FERS retirement calculator; the TSP calculator covers your Thrift Savings Plan.
Sources
- OPM: CSRS computation
- OPM: CSRS eligibility
- OPM: CSRS types of retirement
- OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook, Chapter 50: Computation of Annuity Under the General Formula
- OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook, Chapter 41: Voluntary Retirement Based on Age and Service
- OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook, Chapter 43: Early Voluntary Retirement
- OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook, Chapter 44: Discontinued Service Retirement
- OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook, Chapter 52: Survivor Benefit Elections
- OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook, Chapter 2: Cost-of-Living Adjustments
- OPM Benefits Administration Letter 26-101: Annual Changes (2026 COLA)
- 5 U.S.C. 8336: Immediate retirement
- 5 U.S.C. 8339: Computation of annuity
- 5 U.S.C. 8341: Survivor annuities
Checked September 28, 2026.