Know what your military retirement is really worth.

Understanding military retirement

Military retirement is one of the most generous defined-benefit programs left in the U.S. — but it's also a 20-year cliff. Make it to 20 and you walk away with a lifetime pension starting the day you retire (no waiting until 60-something), full TRICARE health coverage, plus VA disability and other benefits. Leave at 19 and you get nothing on the pension side. Understanding the math is the difference between "is it worth grinding out the last few years" and "should I separate now and take the offer."

BRS vs Legacy / High-3

If you entered service on or after January 1, 2018, you're under the Blended Retirement System (BRS): 2.0% per year of service multiplier, plus a TSP match of up to 5% with vesting at two years, plus a midcareer Continuation Pay bonus around the 12-year mark. If you entered before 2018 and didn't opt into BRS, you're under Legacy / High-3: 2.5% per year, no TSP match, no Continuation Pay. BRS gives a smaller pension but more total compensation if you separate before 20 (because TSP match is yours regardless). Legacy gives a richer pension at the 20-year mark.

How retired pay is calculated

Active duty retired pay is multiplier × years of service × high-3 average basic pay. The multiplier is 2.5% under Legacy/High-3 or 2.0% under BRS. "High-3" is the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay — typically your final 36 months. So a 20-year retiree under Legacy gets 50% of their high-3 (2.5% × 20). A 30-year retiree gets 75%. Retired pay receives an annual COLA tied to CPI-W, and is taxable federally — though several states exempt military retirement income from state income tax.

The 20-year cliff and military buyback

If you separate before 20 years of service, you don't qualify for retired pay. But your military service can still pay off if you transition to a federal civilian career: under FERS, you can pay a deposit (roughly 3% of military basic pay during those years, plus interest after a grace period) to add your military years to your federal civilian retirement. For most former military feds, the buyback breaks even within 1-3 years of FERS retirement. We have a dedicated military buyback calculator that runs the numbers for your specific situation.

Beyond the pension

A complete picture of military retirement value also includes TRICARE health insurance for life (a six-figure lifetime value, especially before Medicare eligibility at 65), VA disability compensation (tax-free, separate from retired pay), the Survivor Benefit Plan that pays 55% to your spouse if elected, and the BAH/BAS allowances you forgo when you separate. The calculator above quantifies the major pieces.

What this calculator does

You enter your branch, rank, years of service, and projected separation date. The calculator returns a present-value estimate of your remaining military compensation — base pay, BAH/BAS, retirement benefits, TRICARE value — alongside a comparison against any civilian salary you punch in. Free with an account: scenarios you can save, year-by-year retired-pay projections, TSP and SBP modeling, civilian breakeven analysis, TRICARE lifetime value, and a downloadable PDF report.

What this calculator is not: a replacement for an official DFAS benefit estimate, a personalized financial plan, or tax advice. It models the standard active-duty BRS and Legacy/High-3 rules. Reserve and Guard retirement (which uses a points-based system and starts at age 60) is not yet supported. For irrevocable separation decisions, talk to a military-finance-aware advisor and confirm numbers with DFAS.