Military Retirement Calculator

A military retirement calculator turns two numbers - years of creditable service and your high-3 average base pay - into a monthly pension. Under the legacy High-3 system each year is worth 2.5% of that average; under the Blended Retirement System it is 2.0%. An E-7 retiring at 20 years with a $5,600 high-3 average receives about $2,800 a month under High-3 and $2,240 under BRS.

This page is the military pension calculator for active-duty retired pay. To find the basic pay figure that feeds the high-3 average, use the military pay calculator; for a civilian defined-benefit plan with its own multiplier, use the pension calculator; and to see whether retired pay plus TSP and Social Security cover your retirement budget, run the retirement calculator.

How military retired pay is calculated

Every active-duty retirement system since 1980 uses the same skeleton: a percentage per year of service multiplied by an average of your highest basic pay. The Department of Defense publishes the formula as:

where the multiplier per year is 2.5% under High-3 (also called the Legacy system) and 2.0% under the Blended Retirement System (BRS). Years of service counts every full month as 1/12 of a year, so 22 years and 6 months enters the formula as 22.5. The high-3 average is the mean of your 36 highest-paid months of basic pay - housing allowance, subsistence, special pays and bonuses are all excluded. Multiply the result by 12 for annual retired pay. The calculator caps the multiplier at 100%, the point at which retired pay would equal your full high-3 average (40 years under High-3).

Worked example: an E-7 retiring at 20 years

Take a Sergeant First Class who retires the day she completes 20 years. Her highest 36 months of basic pay average $5,600. Under High-3 the multiplier is 2.5% × 20 = 50%, so monthly retired pay is $5,600 × 0.50 = $2,800, or $33,600 a year. Had she entered service after 2017 and fallen under BRS, the multiplier would be 2.0% × 20 = 40%: $5,600 × 0.40 = $2,240 a month, or $26,880 a year. The pension gap is $560 a month ($6,720 a year), which over a 30-year retirement adds up to $201,600 before cost-of-living adjustments. That gap is what the BRS Thrift Savings Plan match and continuation pay are designed to offset.

Second example: an O-5 retiring at 24 years

A Lieutenant Colonel with 24 years of service and a high-3 average of $11,900 illustrates how both inputs scale the result. Under High-3 the multiplier is 2.5% × 24 = 60%, giving $11,900 × 0.60 = $7,140 a month or $85,680 a year. Under BRS it is 2.0% × 24 = 48%, giving $5,712 a month or $68,544 a year. The monthly difference here is $1,428 - more than double the E-7 gap - because the 0.5 percentage-point-per-year spread is applied to a larger pay base and more years. The lesson: the two systems diverge most for senior officers with long careers.

Retired pay multiplier by years of service (20 to 30 years)

This table shows the multiplier for each retirement year and the resulting monthly and annual retired pay on a $5,600 high-3 average. Scale the dollar figures proportionally for your own average: a $8,400 average produces exactly 1.5 times these amounts.

Two patterns stand out. First, every additional year is worth a fixed dollar amount: $140 a month under High-3 and $112 under BRS on this pay base. Second, a BRS member needs 25 years to reach the 50% multiplier a High-3 member earns at 20 - five more years of service for the same pension percentage.

Retired pay at 20 years by high-3 average

Because the multiplier at 20 years is fixed (50% or 40%), retired pay scales directly with the pay base. The table below covers the range from a mid-career enlisted average to a senior officer average; the last column is the annual difference between the two systems.

Estimating your high-3 from the 2025 pay table

The high-3 is not your last paycheck. For a member retiring at exactly 20 years, the 36-month window spans 12 months at the "over 16" longevity step and 24 months at the "over 18" step. Using only the 2025 DFAS table, the resulting averages are shown below; they are the values behind the calculator's quick-fill buttons. Real averages will be slightly lower because the earlier months were paid under the 2023 and 2024 tables before those years' pay raises.

How to use this military retirement calculator

1. Pick your retirement system. Choose High-3 if you entered service between September 8, 1980 and December 31, 2017 and did not opt in to BRS. Choose BRS if you entered on or after January 1, 2018 or opted in during 2018.
2. Enter years of creditable service. Use the quick buttons for 20, 22, 24, 26 or 30 years, or type a decimal such as 22.5 for 22 years and 6 months.
3. Enter your high-3 average monthly base pay. Average your highest 36 months of basic pay from your LES statements, or press a preset to load a 2025 table estimate for E-7, E-8, O-4 or O-5 at 20 years. Use the military pay calculator to look up any paygrade and longevity step.
4. Read the result. The headline shows gross monthly retired pay; the tiles show the multiplier, annual pay, the value of one more year, and what the other system would pay. The table below the result covers every year from 20 to 30.

Who this calculator is for

• Service members near 20 years deciding whether to retire now or stay for the "over 22" or "over 26" step and a bigger multiplier.
• Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and Coast Guard members - the formula is identical across branches, so this works as an army retirement calculator or a navy one alike.
• BRS members planning TSP contributions who want to know how large the pension gap is that their TSP needs to fill.
• Military spouses and financial counselors building a post-service household budget.
• Junior members comparing a full 20-year career against separating early with a TSP balance.

High-3 vs BRS: which system are you under?

Your entry date, called your DIEMS date (Date of Initial Entry into Military Service), decides the system. Members who entered before September 8, 1980 are under Final Pay, which uses the final month's basic pay instead of a 36-month average. Entry from September 8, 1980 through December 31, 2017 places you under High-3. Members who entered after July 31, 1986 could once elect the Career Status Bonus/REDUX option (a $30,000 bonus at 15 years for a reduced multiplier), but new elections closed after 2017. Entry on or after January 1, 2018 means BRS, and members with fewer than 12 years as of December 31, 2017 had a one-time chance to opt in during 2018. Your LES shows the system you are under, and DFAS applies it automatically at retirement.

What BRS adds beyond the pension

The 2.0% multiplier is only part of the BRS package. The Department of Defense automatically contributes 1% of basic pay to a BRS member's Thrift Savings Plan account from 60 days after entry, and after two years of service matches member contributions up to a further 4%, for a total government contribution of 5% when the member contributes at least 5%. On a $5,600 base pay that is $280 a month from the government, or $3,360 a year, growing tax-deferred for decades. Government contributions vest after two years, so a member who separates at four, eight or twelve years keeps them - the group of roughly four in five who never reach 20 years under the legacy system and leave with no retirement benefit at all. BRS also pays continuation pay, a one-time bonus between 8 and 12 years of service of at least 2.5 times monthly basic pay for active duty in exchange for an additional service obligation, and offers the lump-sum option at retirement. Use the 401(k) calculator to project a TSP balance with a 5% match, since the mechanics are the same.

Key terms

• Creditable service: active-duty time (plus certain reserve time converted from points) that counts toward the multiplier, measured in full years and months.
• High-3 (high-36) average: the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay, normally the final three years.
• Multiplier: the percentage of the high-3 average paid as retired pay; 2.5% or 2.0% per year of service.
• COLA: the annual cost-of-living adjustment applied to retired pay, based on the Consumer Price Index.
• SBP: the Survivor Benefit Plan, an annuity of up to 55% of retired pay for a surviving spouse or child, funded by a premium of 6.5% of the covered base amount.
• CRDP / CRSC: programs that restore retired pay otherwise offset by VA disability compensation, for retirees with a 50%+ rating or combat-related conditions.
• DIEMS: the Date of Initial Entry into Military Service, which fixes your retirement system.

What changes the result the most

• Years of service: each year adds 2.5 or 2.0 percentage points, worth $140 or $112 a month on a $5,600 average. Staying from 20 to 22 years lifts High-3 retired pay from $2,800 to $3,080 a month.
• Final paygrade: a promotion in the last three years raises the high-3 average directly; an E-8 average of $5,887 instead of the E-7 $5,642 adds about $122 a month at 20 years under High-3.
• Retirement system: BRS pays 80% of the High-3 pension for the same career, offset by TSP contributions.
• Timing within the year: months count, so retiring six months after an anniversary adds 1.25 percentage points under High-3.
• Annual pay raises: each January raise lifts the 36-month average for anyone still serving, which is why real high-3 figures trail the current table slightly.

Tips for maximizing military retired pay

• Time your retirement after a longevity step or promotion so the higher basic pay counts in all 36 months of the average, not just a few.
• Count months, not just years. Retiring at 20 years and 11 months instead of 20 years flat adds 2.3 percentage points under High-3.
• BRS members: contribute at least 5% to the TSP from the first eligible month to capture the full government match; anything less leaves free money on the table.
• Decide on SBP before retirement. The election is made at retirement and is hard to reverse; model the 6.5% premium against your family's needs.
• File your VA claim early so CRDP or CRSC eligibility is settled by the time retired pay starts.
• Plan the tax side. Retired pay is taxable; estimate withholding with the income tax calculator.

Taxes, COLA and the take-home number

The figure this calculator produces is gross retired pay. Federal income tax applies in full, and DFAS withholds based on the W-4 you file with them. A single retiree whose only income is $33,600 of retired pay would, after the 2025 standard deduction of $15,000, have $18,600 of taxable income and owe about $1,994 in federal tax - roughly 5.9% of the gross - before any state tax, which varies by state. Retired pay is not subject to Social Security or Medicare payroll tax. Each year the check rises with a COLA matching the CPI increase, which is why a military pension holds its purchasing power far better than a fixed private annuity. A retiree who then works a civilian job earns Social Security credits on top of the pension; see the Social Security calculator for that benefit.

Limitations and assumptions

• Applies the active-duty formula only. Reserve and National Guard retirement is points-based and normally starts at age 60; convert points to equivalent years before using the multiplier.
• Shows starting retired pay in today's dollars; future COLAs are not projected.
• Does not model the Final Pay system (entry before September 8, 1980) or the closed CSB/REDUX option.
• Does not apply SBP premiums, VA waivers, CRDP/CRSC, garnishments or former-spouse divisions, all of which change the net deposit.
• Medical retirements and TERA use different reduction rules; the under-20-year warning is a reminder, not a computation of those cases.
• The presets use the 2025 table for all 36 months; real averages include the 2023 and 2024 tables and are a little lower.

Related calculators

Use this page when you already have a base pay figure and want the pension it produces. Reach for the military pay calculator first when you still need the basic pay for a paygrade and longevity step; use the pension calculator when your plan is a civilian one with a different multiplier, COLA or final-average rule; and use the retirement calculator when the question is whether retired pay, TSP and Social Security together cover the retirement you want. The retirement withdrawal calculator helps size TSP withdrawals once the pension is known.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Defense, Military Compensation - Retirement: High-3, Final Pay and BRS formulas.
• U.S. Department of Defense, Military Compensation - Blended Retirement System.
• Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) - Retired Military and Annuitants (retired pay, SBP, VA waiver, CRDP/CRSC).
• Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) - 2025 basic pay table (used for the quick-fill presets).
• Internal Revenue Service - Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income (military retirement pay).
• Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board - Thrift Savings Plan (BRS contributions and matching).