UNDERSTAND YOUR
FEDERAL RETIREMENT
BENEFITS

The federal retirement system has three main pieces: your Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension, Social Security, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Each follows its own rules for eligibility, contributions, and distributions—and the rules interact. Service time feeds the annuity computation, survivor elections affect what continues to a spouse, and cost-of-living adjustments apply differently under FERS and CSRS. This page walks through the pieces so you know which questions to ask about your own records.

Retirement eligibility under FERS generally depends on your age and years of creditable service, including your minimum retirement age (MRA), which OPM sets between 55 and 57 based on your birth year. Service credit details matter here: unused sick leave converts to additional service time using OPM’s 2,087-hour chart, and eligible military service can count after a buyback deposit. Small timing differences can change the annuity computation or the date benefits begin, so it’s worth confirming your dates and service history with your agency.

Our sick leave conversion guide explains how unused sick leave becomes service credit, our military buyback resource covers crediting prior active-duty service, and our VERA guide explains how early retirement offers work. To see how service and salary enter the annuity computation itself, our FERS/CSRS pension estimator walks through OPM’s published formulas, and our deferred retirement guide covers leaving federal service before eligibility. You can explore all of these from the Federal Benefits Hub.

The Thrift Savings Plan works alongside your pension rather than replacing it. Traditional and Roth balances follow different tax rules at withdrawal, and the TSP sets its own rules for installment payments, partial withdrawals, and required minimum distributions. Knowing which rules apply to your balances helps you compare TSP income with your annuity and Social Security—though the tax specifics depend on your situation, so consult a qualified tax professional before making withdrawal decisions.

At retirement, FERS and CSRS retirees elect whether a survivor annuity continues to a spouse—and that election generally also determines whether the spouse can keep FEHB health coverage after the retiree’s death. OPM’s rules set the reduction to your own annuity for each level of survivor coverage. Because these elections are largely locked in once you retire, they are worth understanding well before you file.

You’ve spent years building a career through service. As retirement approaches, it’s a natural time to review the benefits you’ve earned and how they fit together—the pension, TSP, and insurance coverage each involve elections you can still shape. This stage is about more than calculations; it’s about knowing what your options actually are before you commit to them.

The clearest starting point is your own records. A good early habit is learning to read your leave and earnings statement—it shows the pay codes and deductions that shape your future benefits.