Frequently asked questions

Your modeled income after federal and state tax, FEHB or Medicare premiums and life insurance (FEGLI), for your first calendar year of retirement. It includes your FERS pension, any FERS supplement, Social Security, VA compensation and planned TSP withdrawals that fall in that year. The monthly figure is the yearly figure divided by 12. In the year-by-year table, FEGLI is labelled "FEGLI (included)": it is already part of the healthcare and insurance total, not a second deduction.

If you retire before you claim Social Security, your income has two stages. "Before SS" is your monthly net income in your first year of retirement. "After SS" is your monthly net income once Social Security starts, at the claiming age you entered. The second figure is usually higher.

Your account withdrawals fill the gap between your other income and a target of 80% of your High-3. When Social Security starts, the plan withdraws less from your accounts, so net income can stay flat or even dip once taxes are counted. Hover over the figure to see what it includes.

First-year net income divided by the take-home pay you entered. Both are after-tax figures, so the comparison is net to net. It is not your pension divided by your salary.

A common planning benchmark: retirement net income of at least 80% of your current take-home pay. It is a rule of thumb, not an OPM or SSA requirement.

How far your first-year monthly net income falls below 80% of your entered take-home pay. We test the 80% target on the replacement percentage shown on screen, rounded to one decimal place: 79.95% shows as 80.0% and meets the target; 79.94% shows as 79.9% and does not. At 80.0% or above there is no gap.

Example (invented): take-home $8,000/month × 80% = $6,400. First-year net $6,000/month. Gap = $400/month.

Some reports use a different comparison, and say so in their label:

• "Gap vs. 80% target" compares to 80% of entered take-home. This is the main gap on Results.
• "Change from full take-home (100%)" compares to all of your take-home pay.
• Gap Analysis's lower half compares gross salary to gross retirement income.

Check the label beside the figure.

The gap is usually largest before Social Security starts. "It affects 2 of your 28 modeled retirement years" means only two of your projected years fall below the 80% target.

One score out of 100 built from six weighted parts: income adequacy (25%), longevity (20%), diversification (15%), healthcare costs (15%), FERS survivor election (15%) and COLA vulnerability (10%). Income adequacy uses the same comparison as Results: first-year net income against your entered take-home pay, with the same rounded 80% test. Grades: A 90 and above, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60. The same score appears on every page.

The grade measures overall readiness. A risk signal flags one specific issue, such as a large drop in survivor income, that is worth reviewing even in a strong plan.

No. Unless a page says otherwise, future amounts are in the dollars of each year, including COLAs and pay raises. They are not adjusted back to today's purchasing power.

There are four usual reasons:

1. We corrected or updated a calculation. Your plan recalculates the next time you open Results, and a "What changed" box explains the update.
2. A new official figure took effect, such as a new year's Medicare premium or COLA.
3. The calculation ran on a later date. If you haven't entered an "Amounts current as of" date, each recalculation counts from the day it runs, so a recalculation on a later day can change the result slightly. See the next question.
4. A pay-raise or COLA date passed on amounts you have not marked as current. See "Confirm your amounts" under Dates.

If you have not retired yet and haven't entered an "Amounts current as of" date, each recalculation counts from the day it runs. Your plan doesn't recalculate just because a day passed; it recalculates after a calculation update or when you change your plan. A recalculation on a later day then leaves fewer days of modeled TSP and HSA growth before you retire. Over decades that adds up to a small difference in later balances and withdrawals. First-year income, your score and your gap usually do not move. This is expected, not an error. If you have entered an "Amounts current as of" date, growth counts from that date instead, so this doesn't happen.

It appears on Results after your plan recalculates under a new version of our calculations. It says what we changed in plain language and, where we have the earlier figures, shows the before-and-after amounts. If you entered your own Social Security estimate, it confirms that estimate was not changed.

We can only show a before-and-after figure when the earlier figure was saved. For some older results it was not. Your current figures use the current calculation version; we just cannot show the exact earlier value.

No. A recalculation never changes what you entered. Only the results are recalculated.

Each time we correct or improve a calculation, we raise the version number and record the change in plain language. Saved results from an older version are marked out of date and recalculate when you next open Results. Text-only wording updates do not change your figures and do not show a "What changed" box.

If your saved results were out of date, opening Results recalculated them. Later visits use the saved result.

Comparisons and Results use the same calculation. If they differ, they were usually calculated at different times, for example on different days or before and after a calculation update. Open Results first; if a comparison then needs updating, it says so.

Between October 9 and 11 we released four calculation updates. The FERS supplement is now included in saved plans. The Financial Readiness score compares net income with take-home pay, as Results does. State tax is applied once, at the percentage you enter. The 80% target uses the same rounded percentage you see on screen. Your "What changed" box shows which of these affected your plan.

The date. The plan form shows a note when they disagree and tells you which age the date gives.

We don't know when you last updated your salary, VA amount and balances. Until you tell us, your forecast assumes they are current today. When a pay-raise date (January) or a COLA date (December) passes, the forecast applies that raise or COLA again, and your figures can step up or down. Enter the date in "Amounts current as of" on the plan form to stop this.

Pay raises take effect in January and Social Security and VA COLAs in December. If your amounts are not marked as current, the forecast moves on those dates. See the question above.

For retired plans, the forecast is anchored to the date your results were last calculated, so it doesn't drift day to day. When a real COLA or premium change takes effect, we recalculate and explain the change in a "What changed" box.

In whole months, as OPM does: any fractional month is dropped. Unused sick leave is converted to service at 2,087 hours per year, and it counts toward the pension amount but not toward eligibility to retire. (OPM BAL 10-101)

By law, it is your highest 36 consecutive months of basic pay, which for most people is the last 36 months before retirement. By default the plan projects it from your current pay, with January pay raises at the rate you entered, using the three years before your retirement date. If you turn off the projected High-3 and enter your own amount, the plan uses your amount.

It depends on your birth year: 55 if born before 1948, rising to 56 for 1953–1964, then to 57 for 1970 and later. (OPM)

To avoid confusion between day-first and month-first formats. We use this style for the dates in your plan and results.

High-3 × years of service × 1%. If you retire at 62 or older with at least 20 years of service, the multiplier is 1.1%. (OPM)

Example (invented): High-3 $100,000 × 25 years × 1% = $25,000 a year before any survivor reduction.

Usually because of your survivor benefit election. A full survivor benefit reduces your pension by 10%; a partial one by 5%.

By law, an early retirement under MRA+10 is also reduced: 5% for each year you are under 62, unless you have 20 or more years and delay the start to 60. Saved plans don't apply this reduction yet, so for an MRA+10 retirement your modeled pension is higher than OPM would pay.

Under FERS, regular retirees don't receive a COLA until age 62. Disability retirees, survivor annuitants and special-provision retirees (law enforcement, firefighters, air traffic controllers) are the exceptions. (OPM COLA FAQ)

The FERS "diet COLA" rule:

For January 2026, Social Security rose 2.8% and FERS annuities rose 2.0%.

If you leave the field blank or at its default, we apply OPM's rule above to the Social Security COLA rate in your plan. If you enter a different rate, we use yours.

If you retire before 62 on an immediate unreduced retirement at your MRA with 30 years, or at 60 with 20 years, you may receive a supplement that approximates the Social Security you earned under FERS. Your saved plan includes it when your dates and service qualify. It equals your Social Security estimate at 62 × (civilian FERS years, rounded to the nearest whole year, ÷ 40). It has no COLA and stops at 62; MRA+10 retirements don't receive it. After your MRA it is reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn above the Social Security earnings limit ($24,480 in 2026). The plan assumes you have no earnings after you retire.

No. The Methodology page says so. Plans for disability retirement will not be accurate.

Yes. It is added to your service for the pension calculation (see Dates).

The monthly estimate you entered, which should be your benefit at full retirement age (your Primary Insurance Amount) from your SSA statement at ssa.gov/myaccount. We adjust it for the claiming age you choose.

A rough estimate for people who don't have their SSA statement handy. It estimates your average indexed earnings from your current salary and years worked, then applies SSA's benefit formula. It does not use your actual earnings record or future COLAs. Use your SSA statement for planning; the quick estimate goes into your plan only if you click to apply it.

We corrected it to use SSA's 2026 bend points ($1,286 and $7,749) and to pick the bend-point year SSA uses, the year you turn 62, not the year you claim. If you entered your own estimate, your plan was not changed. (SSA bend points)

Your benefit at full retirement age is 90% of your average indexed monthly earnings up to the first bend point, plus 32% up to the second, plus 15% above it, rounded down to the dime.

Example (invented, 2026): earnings $8,000/month → $1,286 × 90% + $6,463 × 32% + $251 × 15% = $3,263.20/month.

It depends on your birth year: 66 for 1943–1954, rising by 2 months a year for 1955–1959, and 67 for 1960 or later. If you were born on January 1, use the previous year. (SSA)

Before FRA, your benefit is reduced 5/9 of 1% a month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond. With FRA 67, claiming at 62 pays 70%. After FRA, it rises 8% a year until 70; with FRA 67, claiming at 70 pays 124%.

A spouse can receive up to 50% of the worker's FRA benefit at the spouse's own FRA. Claiming earlier reduces it 25/36 of 1% a month for 36 months, then 5/12 of 1%, so 32.5% of the worker's benefit at 62 with FRA 67. If the spouse's own benefit is higher, the higher amount is used. The plan models this only when you enter your spouse's own Social Security estimate above zero; it doesn't yet add a spousal-only benefit for a spouse with no benefit of their own.

That is the date Social Security would start under that option. "SS at exact FRA" means claiming in the month you reach full retirement age. The plan works year by year, so it counts Social Security from the plan year in which you reach that claiming age, not from the exact month.

Yes. Future amounts grow each year at the Social Security COLA rate in your plan (2.5% unless you change it). The actual 2026 COLA was 2.8%; the 2027 COLA is announced October 14, 2026.

The 2026 standard premium, $202.90 a month per person, unless you enter your own Part B premium. Either amount grows each calendar year at the Part B growth rate in your plan. The plan works year by year, so it starts in the first plan year in which that person is 65 or older (or the later Medicare start age you enter), not in your exact enrollment month. A start age below 65 is treated as 65. (CMS 2026 fact sheet)

IRMAA is an extra Part B charge for higher incomes. In 2026 it starts at modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) above $109,000 for single filers and $218,000 for joint filers. There are six tiers, adding $81.20 to $487.00 a month per person. (SSA)

That is how SSA does it. Your 2026 premium is based on your 2024 tax return. In your first retirement years, that can mean a surcharge based on your last working years' salary.

Yes. Retirement is a "life-changing event". You can ask SSA to use your current income with form SSA-44. When your plan has no income figure for two years earlier, we use your first retirement year's income and say so in a tooltip.

CMS raises the thresholds each year for inflation. The plan assumes they rise at your plan's Social Security COLA rate from 2027. The surcharge amounts grow at your Part B growth rate (5% unless you change it).

We charge each person's Part B only while that person is alive in the plan.

10% for each full 12 months you could have had Part B but didn't, for as long as you have Part B. You avoid it if you delay while covered by current-employment coverage (a Special Enrollment Period). FEHB as a retiree does not count as current employment. (Medicare.gov)

Yes, if you were enrolled for the 5 years immediately before retiring (or continuously since your first opportunity) and retire on an immediate annuity. Your spouse can keep FEHB after your death only if they receive a survivor annuity. (OPM)

The premium you entered. There is no single FEHB premium; it depends on your plan and enrollment type. Check your premium each fall during Open Season (the second Monday of November to the second Monday of December).

CHAMPVA has no premium. When you also have Medicare Part B or other insurance, CHAMPVA pays second, and the plan assumes $600 a year ($50 a month) of remaining medical costs, plus your prescription costs and any Part B premium. The $600 is our assumption, not a VA figure. You can enter your own yearly out-of-pocket amount instead; an amount of zero keeps the $600 assumption.

On the standard setting, enough to bring your gross income up to 80% of your High-3. Your pension, Social Security, VA compensation and other income count first; accounts fill the rest. Traditional TSP and IRA balances are used first, then Roth. Withdrawals are higher when a Required Minimum Distribution applies, and lower if the balance runs out. This 80% target is gross and is not the same as the 80%-of-take-home benchmark on Results.

Because of the withdrawal target above. More pension means you need a smaller TSP withdrawal to reach the same target, so total income stays about the same while your TSP balance lasts longer. You will see the benefit in later balances and lifetime income.

Your plan grows your current balance and contributions to your retirement date at the return rates you entered, day by day. Your statement shows today's balance.

The IRS requires minimum yearly withdrawals from traditional TSP and IRAs starting at age 73 if you were born 1951–1958, or 75 if born 1960 or later. If your planned withdrawal is below the minimum, the plan withdraws the minimum. For people born in 1959 the final rules don't settle the age; the plan uses 73. (Federal Register, July 19, 2024)

It orders withdrawals to reduce tax. It does not yet enforce RMDs, so it may withdraw less than the required minimum. A notice on the page says so.

Your HSA keeps growing and is not spent on healthcare in the plan. Its ending balance is shown separately. It is not included in your net income.

On the standard setting, federal tax is your plan's effective federal rate (15% unless you change it) applied to taxable income, not the IRS bracket tables. State tax is a flat percentage you enter (type 4.95 for 4.95%), applied once. VA compensation and Roth withdrawals are not taxed. The tax-optimized setting uses the federal brackets and standard deduction. That is why some reports show taxable income as "Not calculated" while still showing the tax.

By law, none, up to 50% or up to 85% of your benefit is federally taxable depending on your income. The plan uses one fixed share for every year, 85% unless you change it, which can overstate tax for lower incomes. States are modeled as not taxing Social Security.

$24,500 regular, plus an $8,000 catch-up at 50 or older, or $11,250 at ages 60–63. (IRS)

How much your household's modeled net income falls in the first year after the member's assumed death, compared with the year before. "38% decrease (2048 to 2049)" compares those two calendar years.

We can only model the survivor years when you are married and have entered both life-expectancy ages, and your spouse is expected to outlive you. Enter your spouse's birthdate and life expectancy on the plan form to see it.

Three things can change at once:

• FERS pension. It stops and is replaced by the survivor annuity you elected: 50% of your unreduced pension (full election), 25% (partial) or nothing.
• Social Security. Your spouse keeps the larger of the two benefits, not both.
• VA compensation. It stops. If you turn on VA survivor benefits (DIC) and enter the monthly amounts, the plan pays them to your spouse instead. Entering them does not mean VA has awarded them.

A full survivor annuity reduces your own pension by 10%; a partial one by 5%. The Best Strategy table shows the lifetime effect of each choice for your plan.

Only in limited cases, such as a marriage after retirement or within a short window after your first payment. Plan as if it is final. (OPM)

Yes. Without a survivor annuity, your spouse's FEHB coverage ends when you die. That is one reason "No survivor election" can look better on lifetime income but carry more risk.

As tax-free monthly income, at the amount you entered, in each year of your retirement while you are alive in the plan. If you die first in the plan it stops, and any DIC amounts you enter are paid to your spouse instead (see Survivor benefits). It is not taxed and does not count toward IRMAA.

No. A FERS civilian pension is not offset by VA compensation. (The offset rules apply to military retired pay, not to a FERS annuity.)

By the Social Security and VA COLA rate in your plan. VA COLAs take effect December 1 each year, the same percentage as Social Security. In 2026 that was 2.8%.

For a veteran with no dependents: 50% $1,132.90, 70% $1,808.45, 100% $3,938.58 a month. Rates with dependents are higher. (VA)

Yes, if you receive it. Enter your total monthly take-home: your net federal pay from your Leave and Earnings Statement plus your monthly VA compensation. Your retirement income includes VA compensation, so your current take-home must include it too. Otherwise your replacement percentage would look higher than it really is.

Example (invented): net pay $5,000 + VA $2,000 = take-home $7,000. Retirement net income $6,300 = 90% replacement. If VA were left out of take-home, the same plan would show $6,300 ÷ $5,000 = 126%.

Among the options compared, the one with the highest modeled lifetime net income: the sum of your net income for every year in the plan. If an option ties with your current plan, your current plan wins.

A second ranking that scores first-year income, your gap to the 80% target and risk. It favors options that raise early income, such as claiming Social Security sooner. Those can lower lifetime income. When the two rankings disagree, the page shows how much less lifetime income the first-year option produces.

Example (invented): retiring later and claiming Social Security at FRA might raise first-year income by $40,000 but lower lifetime income by $300,000, because Social Security starts smaller and earlier.

Your current plan; retiring 1 or 2 years later; claiming Social Security at full retirement age; a combination of both; and partial or no survivor election. Every option is a full calculation of your plan with that one change. Nothing is estimated from a shortcut.

The planner can't calculate it accurately yet, so we leave it out rather than guess.

No. It is the option with the highest modeled lifetime income under your plan's assumptions. Lifetime income is only one consideration; survivor protection, health coverage and how long you live matter too. Check the figures before you decide.

The Score column ranks the options against each other. It is not your Financial Readiness score.

Comparisons run only when your saved results are current. Open Results first; that brings your plan up to date.

They are part of FedVet Pro. Free accounts see a locked section with no figures.

We test eligible retirement dates about six months apart in a range around your saved date, plus your saved date, under OPM's unreduced rules (MRA+30, 60+20 and 62+5). Reduced MRA+10 dates aren't tested. Each date is a full calculation of your plan. The date with the highest modeled lifetime net income is shown, with how much more it produces than your saved date.

A FERS annuity starts on the first day of the month after you retire. Retiring on the last day of a month avoids waiting most of a month for your first payment. The plan itself works year by year, so it doesn't model your exact first-payment date.

Strategy tests whole-year delays from your saved date. The date tool tests dates about six months apart, so it can find one in between.

Working longer usually raises your High-3, years of service and TSP, and shortens the years you draw on savings. The tool measures modeled income only. It doesn't weigh the value of retiring sooner, which is your call.

OPM often takes several months to finalize a new annuity, and pays an interim amount meanwhile. The card is a stress test, assuming about 60% of your pension for 4 months, to show how much cash you might need. It is an assumption, not an OPM figure.

How your lifetime income changes if COLAs, Social Security timing, healthcare costs or other rates differ from your plan's assumptions. "Saved plan" is your plan as entered; "Favorable" and "Unfavorable" use more and less helpful rates. Each is a full calculation.

Yes. Reports and Excel exports read your saved results, so they match Results. If your results are out of date, open Results first.

A printable summary of your plan's saved results. Find it under "Retirement Blueprint PDF" on Results or in Report Center. It is included with FedVet Pro.

The PDF is a snapshot from the date shown. Your plan has been recalculated since then. Click Regenerate to make a new PDF with current figures.

Your previous PDF is still available, but its figures may be out of date. We keep it until a new one is made successfully.

The PDF was made before we started recording which calculation version produced it, so we can't confirm it matches your current figures. Regenerate it to be sure.

No. You'll see "We couldn't make a new Blueprint. Your previous PDF is still available, but its figures may be out of date." Try again later.

Excel (.xlsx) workbooks.

$129 a year (about $10.75 a month, $26.88 less than 12 monthly payments) or $12.99 a month, cancel anytime. Both include every report, the Retirement Blueprint PDF, full strategy comparisons and Excel exports.

No. The one-time Blueprint purchase has been retired. FedVet Pro includes the Retirement Blueprint PDF.

Build and save plans and see your Results: first-year income, replacement, gap and score. Strategy comparisons, most reports and the Blueprint PDF are locked. Locked sections never show sample or invented dollar amounts.

Your account has Pro access without a monthly or annual subscription, for example through an invitation. "Current plan" appears only on the subscription you are paying for.

Go to Manage Billing, which opens Stripe's secure billing page, and cancel there. Your access continues until the end of the period you paid for, and your plans are kept. Payments are not refundable except where the Terms or the law say otherwise; report a billing error within 30 days.

• FERS disability retirement.
• CSRS and CSRS Offset.
• Special-provision retirement (law enforcement, firefighters, air traffic controllers) in a saved plan. The separate Special Retirement calculator does estimate it.
• Military service credit, buyback and military retired pay. The plan form doesn't ask for them; if you bought back military time, include those years in your total service.
• The Social Security earnings test, which can withhold benefits if you work after claiming before FRA.
• Age-reduced Social Security survivor benefits.
• A "bridge bucket" withdrawal strategy.
• Full IRS tax brackets on the standard setting, which uses your plan's effective rates. The tax-optimized setting does use the federal brackets and standard deduction.
• The MRA+10 early-retirement reduction (see FERS pension).
• A spousal-only Social Security benefit for a spouse with no benefit of their own.

We review each release and update the planner's figures. When an update changes calculations, we raise the calculation version and explain it in your "What changed" box.

No. FedVetRetirement provides educational projections. Confirm your figures with OPM, SSA, VA and your agency's benefits office before you decide.