When Can I Retire From Federal Government? FERS Age and Service Rules

Start With Your Minimum Retirement Age

Your earliest possible voluntary retirement under FERS depends on a sliding scale tied to your birth year. If you were born before 1948, your MRA is 55. For each birth year from 1948 through 1969, the MRA increases by two months. Anyone born in 1970 or later has an MRA of 57.

That MRA isn't your retirement date by itself — it's the floor. Whether you can actually retire at that age depends on how much creditable service you have.

The Four Voluntary Retirement Combinations

MRA + 30 years of service. This is the earliest path to a full, unreduced pension. You also qualify for the Special Retirement Supplement — a monthly bridge payment approximating your Social Security benefit earned during federal service, which continues until you turn 62. In 2026, the SRS is subject to an earnings test: OPM reduces it by $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480 from post-retirement work.

Age 60 + 20 years of service. Same unreduced pension, same supplement eligibility. The difference is you don't need to look up your MRA — just clear the age-60 bar. If you have 20 years at 60, you're fully eligible.

Age 62 + 5 years of service. The lowest service requirement in FERS. Five years of creditable civilian service gets you a pension at 62. If you have at least 20 years of service at 62, the pension multiplier bumps from 1.0% to 1.1% per year — a roughly 10% increase in the total annuity for the same service.

MRA + 10 years (reduced). Reached your MRA with at least 10 years of service but fewer than 30? You can retire immediately, but the annuity takes a permanent 5% cut for each year you're under age 62. A 57-year-old with 15 years of service would face a 25% reduction that never goes away. You can avoid the penalty by postponing the start of your annuity until age 60 (with 20 years) or 62.

What Counts as Creditable Service

Your service computation date on your SF-50 may not reflect reality. Several types of service require separate verification:

Post-1956 military service counts only if you've completed the military deposit (3% of basic military pay, plus interest). Temporary civilian service before January 1, 1989, is creditable only if you've paid the 1.3% deposit. Temporary service after that date is permanently non-creditable under FERS. Part-time years count as full years for eligibility (twenty calendar years of half-time work satisfies the 20-year threshold), but OPM prorates the annuity computation to reflect actual hours worked.

If you left federal service, withdrew your contributions, and returned later, the refunded period counts toward eligibility but drops out of the annuity calculation unless you redeposit the amount plus interest.

The Timing Decision

Once you know which pathway applies, the timing question shifts from "can I?" to "when exactly?"

Picking the right separation date matters more than most employees realize. Separating at the end of a pay period maximizes your lump-sum payout for unused annual leave. Your annuity begins on the first day of the month following separation — so separating on December 31 means your first annuity payment covers January, while separating on January 2 pushes the start to February.

During the gap between your last paycheck and OPM's first full annuity payment, you'll receive interim payments — typically 60% to 80% of your estimated net pension. As of mid-2026, OPM's average processing time is around 78 days overall (roughly 50 days for digital filings, about 100 for paper). Building a three-to-six-month cash bridge before you separate prevents the interim pay period from becoming a financial squeeze.

Checking Your Timeline

If you're within five years of potential eligibility, start the verification process now: pull your complete eOPF, confirm your Retirement SCD against your actual service history, and verify five consecutive years of FEHB enrollment. The FERS Retirement Eligibility & Timing Guide organizes this into a phased checklist — from the five-year audit through the 90-day pre-application step — so nothing falls through the gap between agency HR's static estimates and OPM's final adjudication.

See more United States guides →