Military Pension Calculator 2026 — TSP, VA & FERS

How Much Does It Pay

How much does a veteran actually get in retirement?

On a $3,000/month military retired pay, a $300,000 TSP drawn at 4%, $2,200/month Social Security and $1,500/month tax-free VA disability: about $7,359/month net, combining all four sources after a rough tax estimate. That is the whole-picture number, not a single benefit. For a federal civilian pension specifically — that is FERS, the federal government's own plan for civilian employees, which many veterans join when they take a federal job after service — on a $90,000 top-three-year average salary and 22 years, the pension alone runs about $1,815/month gross at age 62 or later, or about $1,650/month before 62, with nothing counted for unused sick leave. These are worked examples on these figures, not your number — enter your own pay, balances and years in the calculators below to see yours. This is general educational information, not personalized advice.

Quick Answer

Should I roll my TSP into an IRA when I leave military service?

Not automatically. The TSP offers the G-Fund, a government-backed bond fund that earns more than most money-market accounts and exists nowhere else, plus some of the lowest expense ratios in the investment industry. An IRA gives you more investment choices but often higher fees. The right answer depends on your specific funds, your income needs in transition, and your long-term goals. We compare both options side-by-side before making any rollover recommendation. This is general educational information, not personalized advice.

Free Tools

Veteran & Military Retirement
Calculators

Answer one question about yourself and we will show you the tools that fit. Most people get a number in under a minute.

What your monthly retirement paycheck actually looks like once retired pay, the TSP, Social Security and VA compensation stack together. What a VA rating is worth once you count that it is tax-free. What a rollover would have to earn before it beats leaving the money in the TSP. How much you could move to Roth in your low-income years. What your yearly raise is really worth if you retired partway through the year. And, if you took a federal civilian job after service, what your federal pension is worth once unused sick leave is counted — and what separating first would forfeit.

Hypothetical illustrations for education only. Not a prediction, recommendation, or guarantee. Your actual result will differ.

Start here. Which one is you?

One tap, and we'll show you the tools that fit. Nothing is locked.

I also work, or worked, for the federal government as a civilian.

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Your Federal Service

These are sample numbers. Change your salary, years, and age below to see your own figures. Takes about 30 seconds.

High-3 Average Salary

$

Your highest 3 consecutive years of basic pay, annualized. Basic pay only, not overtime, bonuses, or awards.

Years of Service

Plus Months

Unused Sick Leave (hours)

Your balance at separation. Converted at 2,087 hours = 1 year (OPM Chart 2). It counts toward your annuity ONLY if you retire on an immediate annuity, not if you separate first.

Age at Separation

Retirement Path

"Retire now as an employee" credits your unused sick leave. "Separate first, defer later" — leaving now and claiming the annuity at your eligibility age — forfeits it entirely. This tool shows you both.

Your Situation

These are sample numbers. Change your income and retired pay below to see your own conversion room.

Filing Status

State of Residence

Other Taxable Income Before Any Conversion

$

Your taxable income / AGI driver before converting: Social Security's taxable portion, interest, dividends, RMDs, wages. In CT and NY, your military retired pay is fully state-exempt and is excluded from the state's AGI test, which is why your room can be large.

Annual Military Retired Pay (context)

$

Shown for context. 100% state-exempt in CT and NY regardless of amount, so it does not count against the state AGI test.

Federal Bracket to Stay Under

On / near Medicare?

Connecticut: preserve the FULL exemption?

CT's pension/IRA deduction is 100% under $100k AGI (MFJ) / $75k (single), then steps down to 0% by $150k / $100k.

Your Situation

These are sample numbers. Change your rating and household below to see your own figure.

Education only. This tool does not determine VA eligibility or predict a rating. Only the VA assigns ratings. It illustrates the dollar value of a rating you already have or are exploring. Not tax, legal, or investment advice.

Disability Rating

Dependent Status

No dependent add-on below 30%. This does not include the extra amount paid for children or for a dependent parent, so if you have either, your real payment is higher than the figure here.

Roughly what share of an extra dollar goes to tax? (%)

Leave it at 22 if you are not sure. Used only to show tax-equivalent value. This tool does not compute your bracket.

Annual Taxable Withdrawal This Could Replace

$

Optional. If left at 0, the tool uses your annual VA amount. Traditional-TSP withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income; this is an illustration, not a recommendation about which accounts to draw from.

VA Home-Loan Amount (funding-fee illustration)

$

Optional. Shows the funding fee a non-exempt borrower would pay versus $0 for a funding-fee-exempt veteran.

Your Situation

These are sample numbers. Change the figures below — your retired pay, your TSP, your VA — to see your own.

Filing Status

State of Residence

Retired Pay Figure

Monthly Military Retired Pay

$

Gross monthly retired pay from your DFAS statement.

TSP Type

TSP Annual Draw (%)

TSP Balance

$

Social Security (monthly)

$

Not reduced by your military retired pay.

VA Disability (monthly)

$

Tax-free; stacks on top.

What You Would Be Moving

These are sample numbers. Change your balance and the fees below to see your own break-even.

TSP balance you are considering moving

$

Only the part you would actually move. Leaving some behind is a partial rollover, and the arithmetic below applies only to the part that leaves.

Share of that money sitting in the G Fund today

Percent. The G Fund is the one holding with no private-market equivalent, so it is the part a rollover actually gives up. At 0 the break-even below is driven by cost alone.

Advisory fee at the new home (%)

Fund costs at the new home (%)

Which G Fund window to measure against

This choice moves the answer more than anything else on this tab, which is why all four are shown rather than one being picked for you.

Your Situation

These are sample numbers. Change your figures below to see your own adjustment.

Retirement Plan

REDUX applies only if you took the Career Status Bonus. It is closed to new elections.

When You Retired

Retire partway through the measurement year and your first adjustment is prorated.

Monthly Military Retired Pay

$

Gross monthly retired pay from your DFAS statement.

Social Security (monthly)

$

Carries its own adjustment.

VA Disability (monthly)

$

Rates are adjusted too, and are not prorated by your retirement date.

TSP Draw (annual dollars)

$

A flat dollar draw. This is the piece with no adjustment at all.

Assumed Inflation (%/yr)

A scenario you choose, not a forecast. Future adjustments are not knowable.

Your Estimated FERS Annuity

Estimated annual basic annuity (this path)

$0

—

Educational estimate, not advice. Not a certified benefit calculation.

sirmiumcapital.com/veterans

Sick leave converted to service—

Total service for computation (this path)—

Multiplier applied—

Annual annuity (retire as employee)—

Annual annuity (separate first, defer)—

Difference the sick-leave credit makes—

The sick-leave detail most estimators miss

—

Things to weigh

—

Run your full picture, free 15-min call

The next COLA changes every number on this page

VA compensation rates move with the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, and military retired pay moves with it. The figures in this calculator are the ones effective December 1, 2025. Leave your email and we will send you the new rates when they are announced. Your own official figure comes from the VA and DFAS.

One email when the new rates publish. After that we only write when a VA or TSP rule changes. Unsubscribe anytime. When you send your email, the figures you typed are saved with it, so we can prepare for a call.

Your Conversion Window

Illustrative amount you could convert this year

$0

—

Educational estimate, not advice. Not a recommendation to convert.

sirmiumcapital.com/veterans

What's holding the room (binding ceiling)—

Room under your federal bracket—

Room under IRMAA tier 1—

Room under your state exemption—

Rough federal tax on a full-room conversion—

Things to weigh

—

Size it with an advisor, free 15-min call

The next COLA changes every number on this page

VA compensation rates move with the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, and military retired pay moves with it. The figures in this calculator are the ones effective December 1, 2025. Leave your email and we will send you the new rates when they are announced. Your own official figure comes from the VA and DFAS.

One email when the new rates publish. After that we only write when a VA or TSP rule changes. Unsubscribe anytime. When you send your email, the figures you typed are saved with it, so we can prepare for a call.

What a Rating Is Worth Tax-Free

Tax-free monthly VA compensation (at this rating)

$0

—

Educational estimate, not advice. Not an eligibility determination.

sirmiumcapital.com/veterans

Tax-free annual VA compensation—

Equivalent taxable income (at your rate)—

Tax a like-size withdrawal would cost—

VA home-loan funding fee, non-exempt (first use)—

VA home-loan funding fee, exempt veteran$0

Read this first

—

Talk through your rating, free 15-min call

The next COLA changes every number on this page

VA compensation rates move with the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, and military retired pay moves with it. The figures in this calculator are the ones effective December 1, 2025. Leave your email and we will send you the new rates when they are announced. Your own official figure comes from the VA and DFAS.

One email when the new rates publish. After that we only write when a VA or TSP rule changes. Unsubscribe anytime. When you send your email, the figures you typed are saved with it, so we can prepare for a call.

Your Estimated Paycheck

Estimated net monthly income

$0

—

Educational estimate, not advice. Not a certified figure.

sirmiumcapital.com/veterans

Military retired pay (monthly)—

TSP withdrawal (monthly)—

Social Security (monthly)—

VA disability (monthly, tax-free)—

Gross monthly income—

Federal tax (rough est.)—

State tax (rough est.)—

Effective tax rate—

Simplified estimate. Your actual tax depends on your full return.

Things to weigh

—

Run your full picture, free 15-min call

The next COLA changes every number on this page

VA compensation rates move with the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, and military retired pay moves with it. The figures in this calculator are the ones effective December 1, 2025. Leave your email and we will send you the new rates when they are announced. Your own official figure comes from the VA and DFAS.

One email when the new rates publish. After that we only write when a VA or TSP rule changes. Unsubscribe anytime. When you send your email, the figures you typed are saved with it, so we can prepare for a call.

Your Break-even

A rollover of this money has to earn about

—

Educational estimate, not advice. Not a recommendation to move or to stay.

sirmiumcapital.com/veterans

What the G Fund portion earns now—

Yearly cost of the move—

That cost in dollars, first year—

Break-even vs the 10-year window—

Break-even vs the trailing 30 days—

What this does and does not tell you

—

Talk it through with a fiduciary

The rate this compares against resets every month

The G Fund rate is reset monthly, so the hurdle above moves with it. Leave your email and we will send you the new figure when it changes. Your own official rate comes from the TSP.

One email when the rate resets. After that we only write when a VA or TSP rule changes. Unsubscribe anytime. When you send your email, the figures you typed are saved with it, so we can prepare for a call.

Your First Adjustment, And What It Costs

What a smaller first adjustment costs you, permanently

$0

—

Educational estimate, not advice. Your own figures come from DFAS.

sirmiumcapital.com/veterans

Your first-year adjustment—

Every year after that—

—

What inflation does to the whole stack

In today's dollars, this stack is worth

—

Adjusted every year — Partly adjusted — Not adjusted —

—

Things to weigh

—

Run your full picture, free 15-min call

The next COLA changes every number on this page

VA compensation rates move with the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, and military retired pay moves with it. The figures in this calculator are the ones effective December 1, 2025. Leave your email and we will send you the new rates when they are announced. Your own official figure comes from the VA and DFAS.

One email when the new rates publish. After that we only write when a VA or TSP rule changes. Unsubscribe anytime. When you send your email, the figures you typed are saved with it, so we can prepare for a call.

Your numbers

Est. annual annuity—

Sick-leave credit value—

Illustrative conversion room—

What's holding it—

Tax-free monthly value—

Equivalent taxable income—

Est. net monthly—

Tax-free VA in the stack—

A rollover has to earn—

Yearly cost of the move—

Permanent first-year gap—

Stack in today's dollars—

Want a second set of eyes on these?

You just ran the math yourself. If it would help to talk it through, our team will look at your situation with you. Free, 15 minutes, no pressure.

Book a free 15-min call

Not ready to talk? Leave your email and we’ll send you a recap of these numbers, plus the new VA and retired-pay rates when they are announced.

Built on the real rules: OPM's FERS formula and 2,087-hour sick-leave conversion, 2026 VA disability rates, the Connecticut pension/military exemptions, and 2026 IRS and Medicare figures.

Know your number, but not sure how to invest it? Take the 2-minute risk profile →

Sirmium Capital LLC is a registered investment adviser. Educational purposes only. Not personalized financial advice. This tool does not create an advisory relationship. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

What your number means

The inputs that move it most, in plain English.

The calculator gives you a number. This section is about the decisions inside it: what builds it, which inputs move it most, and how to keep it. It updates live as you change the FERS inputs above, and it is a hypothetical illustration built only on the figures you entered, not a projection and not advice.

Your full Retirement Plan — the ten-section plan document around this number. It starts empty; three answers is enough for a first figure.

These sentences describe the sample inputs above. Change the inputs in the calculator and they describe you.

The inputs that move this number most

Each line changes one input and holds the rest, before taxes. Real decisions move several at once, which is what a planning conversation is for.

The link keeps your numbers in your browser's address bar only. We do not receive or store them, and nothing is emailed. Anyone you send the link to will see the numbers you entered.

Walk through these levers in 15 minutes

Fee-only · Fiduciary · Veteran-focused · Free, no obligation

These sentences and figures are hypothetical illustrations based only on the numbers entered above. They are one of several possible outcomes, not a prediction. You can change the inputs at any time to see how the picture shifts.

This is educational information, not investment, tax, or legal advice, not a recommendation to retire, keep working, or pick a path, and not a guarantee. Sirmium Capital LLC is a registered investment adviser. Using this tool does not create an advisory relationship. Confirm your figures with OPM and, for tax questions, a qualified tax professional.

Copies a link that reopens these calculators with your numbers already in them. The numbers travel inside the link itself and are never sent to us.

Want it written down? your full Retirement Plan is the plan document around these numbers. It starts empty; three answers is enough for a first figure.

Important: These calculators are hypothetical illustrations for education only. They are not investment, tax, or legal advice, not a recommendation, and not a guarantee. Your actual result will differ. FERS and military retired-pay figures are estimates, not certified benefit calculations. Your official figures come from OPM and DFAS/DoD. The VA alone determines disability ratings and eligibility; this tool never makes that determination. Figures use general 2026 federal, state, and benefit data, current as of June 2026 (OPM FERS rules and the 2,087-hour sick-leave chart; IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32; CMS 2026 IRMAA; VA 2026 compensation rates effective Dec. 1, 2025, and the current funding-fee schedule; Connecticut DRS/OLR), and do not reflect every credit, other income, NIIT, AMT, your full state return, market changes, survivor or age reductions, the FERS Special Retirement Supplement, or CRDP/CRSC concurrent-receipt offsets. Tax rules and thresholds can change. If you later become a client and roll over assets, Sirmium may earn advisory fees on those assets. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Confirm specifics with OPM, DFAS, the VA, and a qualified tax professional before acting. Questions about your plan? Talk to our team.

The Challenge

The Civilian Transition Requires a New Strategy

Moving from active duty to the civilian sector fundamentally alters your tax situation, income streams, and investment strategy.

Whether you're deciding on the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), trying to figure out if you should roll over your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), or needing to coordinate your military pension with a new civilian 401(k), the complexity increases exponentially upon retirement or separation.

Sirmium Capital provides clear, objective, fee-only advice. We don’t earn commissions off expensive mutual funds or insurance products. We simply help you align the benefits you earned in uniform with your goals in the civilian world.

Veteran Wealth Strategy

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Rollover Analysis
Military Pension Integration (High-3 vs. BRS)
VA Disability Tax Coordination
Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Evaluation
Civilian 401(k) / Benefit Coordination
GI Bill & Education Funding Strategies

Free Resource

What happens to your TSP when you leave the service

Three things happen to a Thrift Savings Plan account at separation without anyone asking you, and none of them are on the checklist you are handed on the way out.

A small balance is closed for you. If your vested balance is under $200 when your service reports the separation, TSP pays the whole thing directly to you in a single payment and closes the account. It happens 60 days after TSP is notified or 60 days after your separation date, whichever comes first, and 20 percent is withheld for federal tax. You are not given the option to stay. A balance under $5 is forfeited outright and shown as forfeited on the next statement.

Combat-zone money cannot follow you into a civilian TSP. A uniformed-services account can be moved into a civilian TSP account if the vested balance is $200 or more, and only up to the end of the calendar year before the year you turn 72. But a tax-exempt balance built from contributions made in a combat zone cannot make that move. To keep it growing tax-deferred you have to leave the uniformed-services account open and hold it there until you withdraw.

Doing nothing is a decision. Every one of those runs on its own timetable, measured from a separation date you already know.

Source: TSP booklet Distributions (tspbk25), retrieved 28 August 2026. Confirm your own balance and dates with TSP; for the tax treatment of any payment, speak with your tax professional.

Get Your Free Veterans Retirement Blueprint

The five decisions that move the most money at retirement: the FERS sick-leave trap, the TSP Roth conversion window, your VA disability value, your real four-part paycheck, and the SBP election. Built for military and federal retirees, and made to read alongside the calculator above.

Download the free Blueprint (PDF) Download the free Checklist (PDF)

Sirmium Capital LLC is a registered investment adviser. Educational purposes only. Not personalized financial advice.

What's Inside:

The FERS sick-leave trap that can cost you a full year of service credit
How tax-free VA disability can change what you draw from a taxable TSP
CRDP vs. CRSC: which one restores your offset retired pay
State-by-state tax treatment of military pay vs. your FERS pension

FAQs

Common Military Retirement Questions

Not if you retire during the measurement year. Your first adjustment is prorated by the quarter you retire in, and a member who retires in the final quarter receives none of that cycle's adjustment at all. Only someone already retired before the measurement year began receives the full percentage. The reason it matters more than it sounds: every later adjustment is applied to that smaller starting figure, so a reduced first adjustment is a permanent step down rather than a one-year dip. Your own percentage comes from DFAS. See what a prorated first year costs over twenty years, or run it on your own numbers in the COLA and Purchasing Power tab above.

A military pension is years of service times a percentage of your highest-36-months average basic pay (the "high-3"). Under the legacy High-3 system the multiplier is 2.5% per year of service, so 20 years equals 50% of high-3; under the Blended Retirement System (BRS), for members who entered service on or after January 1, 2018, it is 2.0% per year, so 20 years equals 40% of high-3, paired with government-matched Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions. Sirmium Capital models High-3 versus BRS retired pay for military and federal families as part of free, educational planning.

VA disability compensation is paid tax-free and is set by a national rate table tied to your combined rating and dependents. For 2026 (rates effective December 1, 2025), a veteran with no dependents receives about $1,132.90 per month at a 50% rating and $3,938.58 per month at 100% (roughly $47,263 a year), with higher amounts for veterans who have dependents. Because that income is excluded from federal and state taxable income, every tax-free dollar goes further than the same amount of taxable income. Only the VA assigns ratings; Sirmium Capital illustrates what an existing rating is worth tax-free when coordinating a veteran's income plan.

There is no automatic answer, because the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) offers two features an IRA usually cannot match: the G Fund, invested in special U.S. Treasury securities whose principal is backed by the U.S. government and never declines in value, and costs the TSP reports as lower than 99% of investment options. An IRA offers a far wider menu of investments but often at higher cost, so the right choice depends on which funds you hold, your income needs during transition, and your long-term goals. Sirmium Capital compares the TSP and an IRA side by side, including fees, before any rollover decision, as general educational planning rather than individualized advice.

Go Deeper

Veteran Planning Resources

Watch

The Five Decisions of a Veteran Retirement

A short, plain-English walk through the five choices that set your retirement income for life: the FERS annuity and the sick-leave trap, your TSP in the quiet years, the tax-free value of a VA rating, the stacked paycheck with CRDP versus CRSC, and the Survivor Benefit Plan. Education only, no obligation.