Finance calculators

Army Retirement Calculator

Updated Sep 11, 2026 By Infinity Calculator
Rate Formulas Sources
Service Profile
Service Component
Used to auto-select your eligible retirement plan.
Projected retirement date: —
Reserve/Guard pay normally starts at age 60.
Drives base pay lookup.
Used for the High-3 base-pay average.
Retirement Plan
—
Adjust Assumptions
Current value: 2.5%
Current value: 85
—
Auto-filled by state; edit to override.
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Estimated Retirement Pay

Pay table effective Jan 1, 2026. Figures are projections.
Step-by-Step Solution
COLA Projection
MilestoneAgeMonthly PayAnnual Pay
BRS vs. High-3 Comparison
High-3 (2.5%/yr)
Monthly Pension—
Annual Pension—
Lifetime Pension—
Monthly Difference
—
—
BRS (2.0%/yr + TSP)
Monthly Pension—
Annual Pension—
Lifetime + TSP—
—
Cumulative Pay Projection

Introduction

This Army Retirement Calculator helps you estimate your military retirement pay. It covers all four retirement plans: Final Pay, High-3, REDUX, and the Blended Retirement System (BRS).1 This tool shows Active Duty, Army Reserve, and National Guard members what to expect each month after they retire.

Enter your rank, years of service, and service entry date. The calculator picks the right plan for you, looks up your base pay, and does the math step by step. It also builds a side-by-side comparison of High-3 vs. BRS so you can see which plan pays more over your lifetime. You can adjust for COLA, state taxes, disability ratings, and TSP contributions to get a clearer picture of your total retirement income.

Use this calculator to plan ahead. A few small choices now, like how much you put into TSP or how long you serve, can mean thousands of dollars more each year in retirement.

How to Use Our Army Retirement Calculator

Enter your military service details below to estimate your monthly and annual retirement pay, lifetime pension value, and how different retirement plans compare. Here is what each field means.

Service Component: Pick whether you serve on Active Duty, in the Army Reserve, or in the National Guard. This changes how your retirement pay is calculated.

Service Entry Date: Enter the date you first joined the military. The calculator uses this date to suggest the right retirement plan for you.

Total Years of Service: Enter the total number of years you will have served when you retire. Most soldiers need at least 20 years to qualify for retirement.2

Age at Retirement: Enter how old you will be on the day you retire. Reserve and Guard members usually start getting paid at age 60.4

Retirement Grade (Rank): Choose the rank you expect to hold when you retire. Your rank sets your base pay, which drives your pension amount.

Years at Highest Grade: Enter how many years you will have spent at your final rank. This helps figure out your High-3 pay average.

Retirement Plan: Choose your retirement plan. The calculator suggests one based on your entry date, but you can pick a different one to compare. Final Pay, High-3, REDUX, and BRS each use a different formula.

Custom High-3 Average: If you know your exact 36-month pay average, type it here.1 Leave this blank to let the calculator estimate it for you.

CSB/REDUX Election: Check this box if you took the $30,000 Career Status Bonus at 15 years of service.1 This only applies to the REDUX plan.

Govt TSP Contribution %: For BRS only. Enter the total government contribution to your Thrift Savings Plan: 1% automatic plus up to 4% matching.1

Member TSP Contribution %: For BRS only. Enter the percentage of your base pay that you put into your TSP each month.

Estimated TSP Balance at Retirement: For BRS only. Enter how much you expect to have in your TSP account when you retire.

Continuation Pay: For BRS only. Enter the continuation pay you received or expect to receive after 7 to 12 years of service.7

Total Retirement Points: For Reserve and Guard only. Enter your total retirement points. You earn points from drills, active duty days, and membership years.5

Qualifying Years: For Reserve and Guard only. Enter the number of years where you earned 50 or more points.5 You need at least 20 qualifying years to retire.4

Pay Commencement Age: For Reserve and Guard only. Enter the age when your retirement pay will start. This is usually 60 but can be lower with qualifying active service.4

DoD Disability Rating: Turn on the Medical Retirement section and slide to your DoD disability rating. This is separate from any VA rating you may have.2

Annual COLA: Slide to set the yearly cost-of-living adjustment you expect. The default is 2.5%, which is a common estimate.

Life Expectancy: Slide to the age you want the calculator to project through. This affects your lifetime pension total.

State of Residence: Pick the state where you plan to live after you retire. Many states do not tax military retirement pay at all.

State Income Tax Rate: This fills in automatically when you pick a state. You can change it if your situation is different.

Once all your information is entered, click the Calculate button to see your results. The calculator will show your estimated monthly and annual pay, a step-by-step breakdown of the math, a COLA projection table, and a side-by-side comparison of BRS versus High-3.

How Army Retirement Pay Works

When you serve in the U.S. Army for 20 or more years, you earn a monthly pension for the rest of your life.2 This is called military retirement pay. The amount you get depends on your rank, how long you served, and which retirement plan applies to you.

The Four Retirement Plans

There are four military retirement plans. The one you fall under depends on when you first joined the service.1

Final Pay is for members who entered service before September 8, 1980.1 It uses your last base pay and multiplies it by 2.5% for each year you served.1 For example, 20 years of service gives you 50% of your final base pay.1

High-3 is for members who entered on or after September 8, 1980, and before January 1, 2018.1 Instead of your final paycheck, it uses the average of your highest 36 months of base pay.1 The multiplier is the same: 2.5% per year.1

REDUX applies to members who entered on or after August 1, 1986, and before January 1, 2003, and chose the Career Status Bonus (CSB).1 You get a $30,000 bonus at 15 years of service.1 Until age 62, your multiplier is cut by one percentage point for each year of service under 30.1 Your cost-of-living adjustments are normally one percentage point smaller, with a one-time catch-up at age 62.1

Blended Retirement System (BRS) is for anyone who joined on or after January 1, 2018.1 It uses a lower multiplier of 2.0% per year but adds government contributions to your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).1 You can also receive continuation pay after 7 to 12 years of service if you agree to serve at least 3 more years.7

Reserve and National Guard Retirement

If you serve in the Army Reserve or National Guard, your retirement pay is based on points instead of years. You earn points through drills, active duty days, and membership.5 You divide your total points by 360 to get your equivalent years of service.6 You need at least 20 qualifying years to retire, and pay usually starts at age 60.4

Medical and Disability Retirement

If you leave the Army due to a medical condition, you may qualify for disability retirement. You need a DoD disability rating of at least 30%.1 Your pay is based on either your disability percentage or your years of service, whichever amount is higher, and the disability percentage is limited to 75%.3

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA)

Military retirement pay goes up each year to keep pace with inflation.1 This increase is called a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. Under most plans, COLA matches the Consumer Price Index.1 Under REDUX, the adjustment is normally one percentage point less than full COLA, but not less than zero.1 At age 62 there is a one-time readjustment to the High-36 amount, and the reduced COLA then continues.1

State Taxes on Military Retirement

Military retirement pay based on age or length of service is taxable for federal income tax.8 State taxes vary. Many states fully exempt military pensions from state income tax. Some states tax it partially, and a few tax it fully. Where you live in retirement can make a real difference in your take-home pay.

Formulas used

High-3 Average Base Pay
\text{High-3} = \frac{\text{BasePay}_{YOS} + \text{BasePay}_{YOS-1} + \text{BasePay}_{YOS-2}}{3}
Monthly Retirement Pay (Final Pay / High-3) 1
\text{Monthly Pay} = 2.5\% \times YOS \times \text{Base Pay}
BRS Monthly Retirement Pay 1
\text{Monthly Pay}_{BRS} = 2.0\% \times YOS \times \text{High-3 Average}
REDUX Reduced Multiplier 1
\text{Multiplier}_{REDUX} = (2.5\% \times YOS) - (1\% \times (30 - YOS)) \quad \text{if } YOS < 30 \text{ and age} < 62
Reserve / Guard Equivalent Years 6
\text{Equivalent Years} = \frac{\text{Total Retirement Points}}{360}
COLA-Adjusted Monthly Pay 1
\text{Adjusted Pay} = \text{Monthly Pay} \times \left(1 + \frac{COLA\%}{100}\right)^{n}
TSP Monthly Drawdown (4% Rule) 9
\text{TSP Monthly} = \frac{\text{TSP Balance} \times 4\%}{12}
Disability Retirement Pay 1
\text{Disability Pay} = \max\!\left(\min(\text{Rating}\%,\; 75\%),\; r \times YOS\right) \times \text{Retired Pay Base}, \quad r = \begin{cases} 2.5\% & \text{legacy plans} \\ 2.0\% & \text{BRS} \end{cases}

Frequently asked questions

How many years do I need to serve to retire from the Army?

You need at least 20 years of service to retire from the Army with a pension.2 This applies to Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard. Reserve and Guard members need 20 qualifying years.4 A qualifying year is one in which they were credited with at least 50 retirement points.5

What is the High-3 average and how is it calculated?

The High-3 average is the mean of your highest 36 months of base pay.1 This calculator estimates it by averaging your base pay at your current years of service and the two years before it. You can enter a custom amount if you know your exact average.

What is the 4% TSP withdrawal rule used in the BRS results?

The 4% rule comes from a 1994 study of historical returns: a first-year withdrawal of 4 percent of a portfolio, followed by inflation-adjusted withdrawals, never ran out in less than 33 years in any past case it tested.9 The calculator takes 4% of your TSP balance and divides it by 12 to show a first-year monthly amount. It then adds that to your pension to show your combined monthly income under BRS.

Why does my Reserve or Guard pay start at age 60?

By law, Reserve and National Guard retirement pay usually begins at age 60.4 However, qualifying active service after January 28, 2008, reduces that age by 3 months for each 90 days served in a fiscal year, or in any two consecutive fiscal years after September 30, 2014, down to as low as age 50.4 You can adjust the pay commencement age in the calculator.

What is the retirement multiplier?

The multiplier is the percentage of your base pay you receive as a pension. Under Final Pay and High-3, it is 2.5% per year of service.1 Under BRS, it is 2.0% per year.1 For 20 years of service, that means 50% under High-3 or 40% under BRS.1

What is continuation pay under BRS?

Continuation pay is a mid-career bonus under the Blended Retirement System, paid when you have completed 7 to 12 years of service.7 For active duty members it is at least 2.5 times your monthly basic pay, and the most it can be is 2.5 times your monthly basic pay at 12 years plus up to 13 more months of that pay.7 You must agree to serve at least 3 more years to receive it, and you can take it as a lump sum or in up to four payments.7

Is DoD disability retirement pay the same as VA disability compensation?

No. They are separate. DoD disability retirement pay comes from the Department of Defense and is based on your military service. VA disability compensation comes from the Department of Veterans Affairs.2 If you receive both, your military retired pay may be reduced by the amount of your VA compensation unless a program such as CRDP or CRSC applies.2

What does the BRS vs High-3 breakeven age mean?

The breakeven age is when the total money received under High-3 catches up to the total under BRS plus your TSP balance. Before that age, BRS total wealth is higher because of the TSP lump sum. After that age, the higher High-3 pension payments overtake the BRS total.

How do retirement points work for Reserve and Guard?

You earn 1 point per day of active duty, 1 point per drill period, and 15 points per membership year just for being in the Reserve or Guard.5 Drill and membership points count toward retired pay only up to 130 a year.6 You add up all your points and divide by 360 to get equivalent years of service.6 The calculator has a built-in points estimator to help you.

Why does REDUX pay jump at age 62?

Under the REDUX plan, your COLA is normally one percentage point less than full COLA.1 At age 62, your multiplier goes back to 2.5% per year and your pension gets a one-time readjustment to what it would have been under High-36 with full COLA.1 After that, annual COLA goes back to the reduced amount.1

What if I do not know my exact High-3 average?

Leave the Custom High-3 Average field blank. The calculator will estimate it by averaging the base pay for your rank at your current years of service and the two prior years. This gives a reasonable estimate for most soldiers.

Sources

  1. Retirement. Military Compensation and Financial Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense. Accessed September 11, 2026.
  2. Types of Retirement. Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Accessed September 11, 2026.
  3. 10 U.S. Code § 1401 — Computation of retired pay. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. § 1401(a), formula 1. Accessed September 11, 2026.
  4. 10 U.S. Code § 12731 — Age and service requirements. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. § 12731(a), (f). Accessed September 11, 2026.
  5. 10 U.S. Code § 12732 — Entitlement to retired pay: computation of years of service. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. § 12732(a)(2). Accessed September 11, 2026.
  6. 10 U.S. Code § 12733 — Computation of retired pay: computation of years of service. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. § 12733(3). Accessed September 11, 2026.
  7. 37 U.S. Code § 356 — Continuation pay: full TSP members with 7 to 12 years of service. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. § 356(a), (b), (d), (e). Accessed September 11, 2026.
  8. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income. Internal Revenue Service. 2025;Military retirement pay. Accessed September 11, 2026.
  9. Bengen WP. Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data. Journal of Financial Planning. 1994;October 1994; 2004 reprint, p. 5. Accessed September 11, 2026.

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