The FERS 1.1% Multiplier: The Age 62 + 20-Year Bonus

Updated June 2026 · Educational only — not financial, tax, or legal advice

Most FERS pensions are computed at 1% of your high-3 per year of service. But there's one situation where that becomes 1.1% — a 10% larger pension, for the rest of your life. It's one of the most valuable thresholds in the whole system, and a lot of people retire just short of it without realizing what they gave up.

The rule

It's all-or-nothing and it applies to your whole pension, not just the years past 20. Miss it by a month — retire at 61, or with 19 years — and every year of service is computed at 1.0%.

What the 10% actually means

Take an employee with a $100,000 high-3 and 20 years of service:

That's $2,000 more every year, for life — and it compounds with COLAs. Over a 25-year retirement, before COLAs, that single threshold is worth roughly $50,000.

Two traps to know

• Sick leave doesn't count toward the 20 years. Unused sick leave is added to your service for the annuity amount, but it cannot get you to the 20-year mark needed to trigger the 1.1% rate. You need 20 years of actual creditable service. (More in the sick leave guide.)
• It only applies at 62+. A FERS employee who retires at 60 with 30 years uses 1.0%, even though they have far more than 20 years — because they're under 62. Working to 62 flips the rate.

Is it worth working to 62?

This is a comparison, not a rule. Working from, say, 60 to 62 gets you three things at once: the 1.1% rate, two more years of service, and likely a higher high-3 — often a 20–25% larger pension than leaving at 60. Against that, you weigh two more years of work, two fewer years of retirement, and your health and circumstances. There's no universal right answer — but you should make the call knowing the number, not discover the gap afterward. The calculator lets you run both ages side by side in seconds.