What is the difference between High-36 and the Blended Retirement System?

High-36 covers members who entered between September 8, 1980 and December 31, 2017 and pays a 2.5% per-year pension. BRS covers those entering from January 1, 2018, trading a 2.0% pension for government TSP contributions of 1% automatic plus up to 4% matching.

What is the REDUX reduction?

Members who took the $30,000 Career Status Bonus have their multiplier reduced by one percentage point for each year of service short of 30. At age 62 the pension is recomputed to the full 2.5% per year, though the reduced COLAs already applied are not restored.

What is the retired pay base?

For anyone entering service on or after September 8, 1980 it is the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay. For earlier entrants it is final basic pay on the day of retirement.

Military Retirement Pay 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.

Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works

Retirement planYears of creditable service

High-36 basic pay — estimated from the 2026 DFAS table, or enter your own

Retiring gradeYOS at retirement

Estimated high-36 average: $6,211.50/mo

Override with your own high-36 (optional)$/moLeave at 0 to use the estimate above.

Estimated monthly retired pay$3,105.75

Annualized$37,269

Multiplier applied(2.5% per year)50%

The high-36 estimate averages your basic pay across the retiring grade's last three years-of-service steps from the verified 2026 DFAS table. Your actual high-36 comes from your own pay history — enter it directly for a closer figure. DFAS computes the official retired pay, and this tool does not model disability retirement, VA-compensation offsets, SBP elections, or the REDUX COLA reduction.

Verified 2026-07-30 against DFAS Military Pay Tables — 2026 Basic Pay (Commissioned Officers, Officers w/ >4 Yrs Creditable Service, Warrant Officers, Enlisted Members), effective January 1, 2026 (effective 2026-01-01)

Estimate only — not legal, financial, or benefits advice. Only DoD can determine your actual benefit.

Official source: DoD — military retirement plans & calculators ↗

🎓 Understand this tool

What it is

An estimator for military retired pay under the four longevity-retirement plans, showing the multiplier your years of service earn and the monthly pension it produces from your retired pay base.

How it works

Each plan sets a per-year multiplier: 2.5% under Final Pay, High-36, and REDUX, and 2.0% under the Blended Retirement System. REDUX subtracts one point for each year short of 30 until age 62, when it is recomputed. The total is capped at 75% by 10 U.S.C. 1401, and the retired pay base is your highest-36-month average (or final basic pay for pre-1980 entrants).

Getting the most from it

Pick the plan that matches when you entered service — the tool lists the entry-date window for each.
Enter creditable years, then either let the tool estimate your high-36 from the DFAS table or type your own.
Read the multiplier line to see how the plan choice alone changes the pension.
If you took the Career Status Bonus, compare the pre-62 and post-62 REDUX figures.

Reading your result

The figure is gross monthly retired pay before SBP premiums, taxes, and any VA-compensation offset. The multiplier is the reliable part; the high-36 estimate is only as good as the pay history behind it.

What it can't tell you

It does not model disability retirement, Reserve point-based retirement, SBP elections, the REDUX COLA reduction, or the concurrent-receipt rules that govern VA offsets. DFAS computes official retired pay.

Frequently asked questions

For High-36 and Final Pay it is 2.5% times your years of service times your retired pay base; the Blended Retirement System uses 2.0% instead. Twenty years under High-36 therefore pays 50% of the high-36 average, and the multiplier is capped at 75% by statute.

Part of: Military Pay & Benefits: Every Component Explained →

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🎗️Military Retirement Pay Calculator