# Gov Money Benefits

> Verified calculators for U.S. government pay and benefits: FERS retirement, TSP, GS pay
> tables with every locality, VA disability compensation, SSDI, military pay & BAH, and
> SNAP eligibility screening. Every changing figure is transcribed from its official source
> (OPM, TSP, SSA, VA, DFAS, USDA) into a versioned, dated rule pack and displayed with a
> visible verification stamp. All calculators run client-side; estimates only.

IMPORTANT: govmoneybenefits.com is a private, independent website. It is NOT affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. government or any government agency, including VA, SSA, OPM, DoD, DFAS, or USDA. For official determinations, use the official agency links provided on each page.

## Machine-readable data (cite these)

- [Rule pack index](https://govmoneybenefits.com/rulepacks/index.json): every data pack with packId, agency, effective year, verification date, and official source URL
- [Data provenance ledger](https://govmoneybenefits.com/sources): human-readable list of every source
- MCP server (8 tools): https://api.cosyslabs.com/govmoneybenefits/mcp — tool responses cite pack version + official source
- [Developer docs](https://govmoneybenefits.com/developers)

## Federal Employee Money

- [Federal Employee Money hub](https://govmoneybenefits.com/federal-employee-calculators): FERS retirement, TSP growth, GS pay tables with every locality, the FERS supplement, high-3, sick-leave credit, and military buyback — every federal-employee money question answered with calculators built on verified OPM and TSP figures.
- [FERS Retirement Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/fers-retirement-calculator): Estimate your FERS annuity from your high-3 average salary, creditable service years, and retirement age. Applies the 1% multiplier, the 1.1% multiplier at age 62 with 20+ years, your minimum retirement age by birth year, and the MRA+10 early-retirement reduction — with every step of the math shown.
- [TSP Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/tsp-calculator): Project your Thrift Savings Plan balance to retirement. Models your contributions, the 1% automatic agency contribution, the full match tiers (100% of the first 3%, 50% of the next 2%), annual contribution and catch-up limits from the verified IRS/TSP figures, and compound growth year by year.
- [TSP Loan Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/tsp-loan-calculator): Estimate the payment on a TSP general-purpose or residential loan, see total interest — which you pay back into your own account at the G Fund rate — and understand the repayment term rules and what happens to an outstanding loan when you separate from federal service.
- [GS Pay Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/gs-pay-calculator): Look up 2026 General Schedule pay for any grade, step, and locality. Returns the exact annual and hourly figures from the official OPM tables — base pay plus your locality percentage — for all 15 grades, 10 steps, and 58 locality areas including Rest of U.S.
- [GS Pay Scale 2026 — Base & Locality Tables](https://govmoneybenefits.com/gs-pay-scale/2026): The complete 2026 General Schedule pay scale: the base table for all 15 grades and 10 steps, plus a dedicated page for each of the 58 locality pay areas with its exact percentage and full adjusted table, transcribed directly from the official OPM XML tables and verified.
- [FERS Supplement Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/fers-supplement-calculator): Estimate your FERS annuity supplement — the bridge payment for federal employees who retire before 62. Uses the OPM estimating formula (your age-62 Social Security benefit × FERS service ÷ 40), applies the annual earnings test, and shows exactly why the supplement ends at age 62.
- [High-3 Salary Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/high-3-calculator): Compute your high-3 average salary — the highest-paid 36 consecutive months of your federal career — the exact figure your FERS annuity is based on. Enter your salary history periods and get the properly weighted average, with the math shown month by month.
- [Sick Leave Conversion Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/sick-leave-conversion-calculator): Convert your unused sick leave hours into extra FERS service credit using OPM's 2,087-hour rule. See the added months and days of creditable service your sick leave balance buys, and roughly what that extra service is worth in annual annuity dollars.
- [Military Buyback for Federal Employees](https://govmoneybenefits.com/military-buyback): How the military service credit deposit ("buyback") works for FERS employees: what the deposit costs (generally 3% of military basic pay plus interest after the grace period), how bought-back years raise your FERS annuity, and how to start the process with DFAS and your HR office.

## VA Disability Compensation

- [VA Disability Compensation hub](https://govmoneybenefits.com/va-disability-calculators): VA combined-rating math done right — bilateral factor included — plus current and past pay charts, back-pay estimates, and plain-language education pages. Every rate verified against VA.gov. Estimates only; the VA decides actual benefits.
- [VA Disability Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/va-disability-calculator): Combine multiple VA disability ratings the way the VA actually does it: largest first against remaining capacity, with the bilateral factor for paired left/right limb conditions and final rounding to the nearest 10. Watch every step of the math, then see the 2026 monthly amount for your dependent situation.
- [VA Back Pay Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/va-back-pay-calculator): Estimate VA retroactive pay from your effective date to your decision date. Counts the payable months (payment starts the first of the month after the effective date), applies the correct rate table across December 1 rate-year boundaries, and itemizes the total by rate year.
- [VA Disability Pay Estimator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/va-pay-estimator): See the exact 2026 monthly VA disability payment for any combined rating and dependent situation — spouse, children under 18, school children, dependent parents, and spouse Aid & Attendance — read directly from the verified VA.gov rate tables effective December 1, 2025.
- [VA Disability Pay Chart 2026](https://govmoneybenefits.com/va-disability-pay-chart-2026): The complete 2026 VA disability pay chart, effective December 1, 2025: monthly compensation for every rating from 10% to 100% and every dependent status — veteran alone, with spouse, with children, with parents — plus added amounts, transcribed from VA.gov and verified.
- [How the COLA Changes VA Pay](https://govmoneybenefits.com/va-cola-effect): How the annual Social Security COLA flows into VA disability compensation: the October announcement, the December 1 effective date, and exactly what the 2.8% adjustment added to each rating level for 2026 — with the before-and-after figures from the verified rate packs.
- [How VA Disability Ratings Work](https://govmoneybenefits.com/how-va-ratings-work): The VA rating system in plain, verifiable language: how each condition gets a percentage from the rating schedule, how multiple ratings combine under 38 CFR 4.25, what the bilateral factor is, and why the final number rounds to the nearest 10 — with every rule linked to its official source.
- [VA Effective Dates, Explained](https://govmoneybenefits.com/va-effective-dates): What sets a VA claim's effective date — generally the later of when entitlement arose or when VA received the claim — plus the intent-to-file rule, the first-of-next-month payment start, and how the effective date determines every dollar of retroactive pay.
- [C&P Exam Basics](https://govmoneybenefits.com/cp-exam-basics): What a VA Compensation & Pension exam is, in verifiable facts: who schedules it, what the examiner does and does not decide, how the results feed the rating decision, and what happens if you miss one — with every statement deferring to VA.gov as the source of record.

## SSDI Benefits

- [SSDI Benefits hub](https://govmoneybenefits.com/ssdi-calculators): Estimate Social Security Disability Insurance benefits from your earnings record with the real AIME-to-PIA bend-point formula, understand the 5-month waiting period and back pay, and see state-by-state SSDI facts — all from verified SSA figures.
- [SSDI Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/ssdi-calculator): Estimate your monthly SSDI benefit from your AIME with the real Social Security formula: 90% of the first $1,286, 32% from $1,286 to $7,749, and 15% above — the verified 2026 bend points. SSDI is not needs-based; the benefit is your PIA from your earnings record, shown here step by step.
- [SSDI Back Pay Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/ssdi-back-pay-calculator): Estimate SSDI back pay from your onset, application, and approval dates. Applies the 5-month waiting period (entitlement begins the sixth full month after onset, waived for ALS) and the 12-month retroactivity cap of 20 CFR 404.621, then counts the payable months through approval at your monthly benefit amount.
- [SSI vs SSDI — What's the Difference?](https://govmoneybenefits.com/ssi-vs-ssdi): Two Social Security disability programs, constantly confused: SSDI is insurance you earned through payroll taxes, so the amount tracks your work history. SSI is needs-based, with income and asset limits and a federal benefit rate. Here is how eligibility, amounts, health coverage, and back pay differ — and who can receive both.
- [SSDI by State — Average Benefits & Facts](https://govmoneybenefits.com/ssdi-by-state): Average SSDI payments in every state, from SSA's December 2024 state data: the national disabled-worker average is $1,580.79 per month, but state averages range meaningfully around it. Pick your state for its average benefit, beneficiary count, and links to the SSA field-office locator and official application.

## Military Pay & Education

- [Military Pay & Education hub](https://govmoneybenefits.com/military-pay-calculators): BAH by ZIP code, current military basic pay charts, drill pay for Guard and Reserve, and Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit tiers — every figure from the official DFAS and DoD tables, verified and dated.
- [BAH Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/bah-calculator): Look up your 2026 Basic Allowance for Housing by duty ZIP code, pay grade, and dependent status. Resolves your ZIP to its Military Housing Area and reads the exact monthly rate from the official DoD files — 338 housing areas, every grade, with and without dependents, verified.
- [Military Pay Chart 2026](https://govmoneybenefits.com/military-pay-chart-2026): The complete 2026 military basic pay chart, effective January 1, 2026: monthly rates for every enlisted, warrant officer, and officer grade across all years-of-service columns, transcribed from the official DFAS pay tables and verified — including the Executive Schedule caps at the top grades.
- [National Guard & Reserve Drill Pay Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/drill-pay-calculator): See what National Guard and Reserve service actually pays in 2026: one drill period equals 1/30 of monthly basic pay for your grade and years of service, and a standard drill weekend is four periods. Rates read directly from the verified DFAS tables — check a weekend, a month, or a full drill year.
- [Military Retirement Pay Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/military-retirement-calculator): Estimate military retired pay under any of the four plans: High-36 and Final Pay at 2.5% per year, the Blended Retirement System at 2.0%, and REDUX with its reduction before age 62 and recomputation after. High-36 pay is estimated from the verified 2026 DFAS table or entered directly.
- [Post-9/11 GI Bill Rates & Tiers](https://govmoneybenefits.com/post-911-gi-bill-rates): Your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit level, explained: the service-time tiers from 50% to 100%, the current academic year's book stipend and private-school tuition cap, and how the monthly housing allowance is derived from BAH — all from the verified VA rate tables, with VA's comparison tool as the source of record.

## SNAP & Benefits Screening

- [SNAP & Benefits Screening hub](https://govmoneybenefits.com/snap-eligibility): A state-by-state SNAP eligibility screener using the real USDA income tests, deductions, and maximum allotments, plus federal poverty level tables. See whether your household is likely eligible and go straight to your state's official application.
- [SNAP Eligibility Calculator](https://govmoneybenefits.com/snap-eligibility-calculator): Answer a few questions about your household — size, income, and expenses — and see whether you would likely pass the FY2026 SNAP gross and net income tests, plus an estimated monthly benefit from the USDA formula. Everything runs in your browser; your state agency makes every actual eligibility decision.
- [Federal Poverty Level 2026 — Guidelines & % of FPL](https://govmoneybenefits.com/federal-poverty-level-2026): The 2026 federal poverty guidelines exactly as HHS published them: $15,960 for one person and $33,000 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states, with separate higher tables for Alaska and Hawaii — plus a percent-of-FPL helper that places your income against the 100%, 130%, 138%, 150%, 200%, 250%, and 400% thresholds programs actually use.

## Key pages

- [COLA Watch](https://govmoneybenefits.com/cola-watch): countdown to every annual pay/benefit update (SSA COLA, VA rates, GS tables, BAH, TSP limits, SNAP)
- [Free Federal Retirement Kit](https://govmoneybenefits.com/kit)
- [Topics](https://govmoneybenefits.com/topics): pillar guides that explain a whole subject and link every calculator, guide, and term in it
- [Glossary](https://govmoneybenefits.com/glossary)
- [Guides](https://govmoneybenefits.com/guides)
- [About](https://govmoneybenefits.com/about)