FERS Early RetirementTo qualify for FERS Early Retirement, you must...
Your Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) is different depending on when you were born. Click here to find your
Minimum Retirement Age for FERS.
Technically, OPM considers this a kind of Immediate Retirement. But most people refer to this as Early Retirement. What If I Have 30+ Years in Service?If you are at your MRA, and have more than 30 years of creditable service, you may be eligible for regular Immediate Retirement. Under regular Immediate FERS Retirement, you will receive 100% of your pension. Click here to learn more about regular Immediate Retirement under FERS.FERS Early Retirement = Reduced PensionYou should know that when you retire at your MRA with 10 to 29 years in service, you will not receive 100% of your FERS pension.Your FERS pension will be PERMANENTLY reduced by 5% for every year you are under age 62. You should also know that your pension will not get Cost of Living Adjustments UNTIL you reach age 62. And when you do qualify to have your pension increased by COLA – you will not get any retroactive increases, it simply increases by whatever amount is set for that year. Example of Pension Reduction for Early FERS RetirementLet's say your MRA is 56 years old, and you retire at 56 years old with 10 years of creditable service, your FERS pension will be reduced by (62-56 = 6 years) x 5% = 30% reduction.For easy numbers, let’s say your full pension benefit would have been $1,000 per month if you retired at 62. Because you are retiring at age 56, you will now only receive $700 per month. And you will continue to get $700 a month until you reach age 62, at which point you will qualify for the Cost of Living Adjustment (let’s say the retirement COLA is 3% that year). At age 62, you will now receive $721 a month. The 30% reduction is permanent. Your pension will not go up later. It stays at that reduced amount for the rest of your life. And your pension will not increase by the Cost of Living Adjustments for retirement until you reach age 62. Your Pension Check May Be DelayedWhen you retire under FERS Early Retirement - OPM says your retirement is effective 30 days after your last day of work.But, just because your retirement is *effective* in 30 days, that does not mean that it is *payable* in 30 days. From my experience with Federal Employees, it actually takes several months to receive your first check. I Want FERS Early Retirement. What's Next?Ready to punch-out? Do you want help determining if FERS Early Retirement is right for you?If you're looking for someone to help you get the most out of your Federal benefits and help you manage your personal and retirement finances - consider finding a financial planner who is also experienced in Federal benefits. Learn more about
how a Federal Retirement Planner can help you.
Return from FERS Early Retirement to FERS Retirement
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