Last Updated: September 20, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

A thread on r/MilitaryFinance this month put the question the way NCOs actually ask it: I am an E-6 at 10 years, or an E-7 at 12. If I get out now I lose everything, right? No. You lose one thing, the pension. This guide runs the 2026 numbers on what walking away costs and what staying to 20 is worth, using FedTools' own DFAS-pinned pay table, and it covers a 2026 policy change most of the advice you are reading has not caught up to: Army continuation pay is now a flat 2.5 times monthly basic pay.

What Is Actually at Stake

The Reddit framing conflates two accounts that work in opposite ways: the TSP and the pension.

The TSP. Under the Blended Retirement System, DoD contributes an automatic 1 percent of basic pay and matches your own contributions up to an additional 4 percent. The matching contributions are vested when made. The automatic 1 percent vests after 2 years of service: 5 U.S.C. 8432(g)(2)(C) says those contributions "shall be forfeited if the employee separates from Government employment before completing" 2 years of service for uniformed members. Past that point they are yours. An E-6 at 10 years has been vested for 8 years. The account moves with you like any 401(k).

The pension. Enlisted retired pay is all or nothing at 20. For the Army, 10 U.S.C. 7314 provides that "an enlisted member of the Army who has at least 20, but less than 30, years of service... may, upon his request, be retired." The other services have parallel sections. An ordinary voluntary separation at 12 or 14 years earns no regular pension; disability retirement under 10 U.S.C. 1201 and other special authorities have their own rules.

The decision is whether to give up a shot at the pension in exchange for whatever a civilian career pays over the years you would have spent getting to 20.

The 2026 Continuation Pay Change

Continuation pay is the BRS mid-career bonus. The statute, 37 U.S.C. 356, sets a floor of 2.5 times monthly basic pay and lets each service pay more. For several years the Army used a variable band that ran from 2.5 up to 13 times basic pay depending on specialty and year.

Effective January 1, 2026, that ended. Per the Army's MyArmyBenefits guidance, Soldiers under BRS can now apply for continuation pay starting at 7 years of service instead of 8, and the Active Component and AGR rate is a flat 2.5 times monthly basic pay. Reserve Component Soldiers ordinarily receive 0.5 times, or 2.5 times if they served 270 involuntarily mobilized days in the prior 730.

Two conditions come with it. The statute allows the election only between 7 and 12 years of service, and the member must agree "to serve for not less than 3 additional years of obligated service"; the Army's 2026 guidance sets its obligation at 4 additional years. The specific repayment mechanics if you take the money and separate early were not confirmed for this piece; ask your career counselor before signing.

We confirmed the 2026 change for the Army only. The other services' 2026 multipliers were not reachable from a primary source when we wrote this. Do not assume the flat rate is DoD-wide.

The Math: Stay to 20 vs. Take the Money Now

FedTools 2026 analysis. The methodology below states every assumption.

Methodology. Basic pay figures are the four DFAS "Basic Pay – Enlisted Effective January 1, 2026" cells, read on dfas.mil on September 20, 2026 (page updated January 12, 2026): E-6 over 10 years $4,759.50, E-7 over 12 years $5,591.70, E-7 over 20 years $6,245.70, E-8 over 20 years $6,995.40; the same four cells are pinned in tests/calculators/military-pay-2026-enlisted-cells.test.ts. BAS is the 2026 DFAS enlisted rate ($476.95 a month). The BAH figures are illustrative national averages ($1,232 for E-6, $1,398 for E-7, without dependents), not a duty-station rate; substitute your own BAH. The E-6 at 10 years is assumed to reach E-7 by year 20, and the E-7 at 12 years is assumed to reach E-8 by year 20. That is a typical path for a retention-selected NCO, not a guarantee. Year-20 basic pay from the 2026 table stands in for the High-3 average, which slightly understates the real High-3 because it ignores future pay raises. The pension uses the BRS multiplier of 2 percent per year (10 U.S.C. 1409(b)(4)(A)), so 40 percent at 20 years. The pension value is a 30-year annuity as of the retirement date, with no COLA modeled, which understates the real value; to compare against money today, discount it a further 10 years (E-6) or 8 years (E-7) at the same rate. Regular Military Compensation uses our translator's convention: basic pay plus BAS ($476.95 a month) plus a national-average without-dependent BAH ($1,232 for E-6, $1,398 for E-7), with BAH and BAS grossed up by 22 divided by 78 to reflect their tax-free value. Basic pay and BAS carry DFAS cents, BAH is a whole-dollar illustrative figure; every derived figure is rounded once, at the end, to the nearest dollar.

Metric E-6 at 10 years (assumed E-7 by 20) E-7 at 12 years (assumed E-8 by 20)
2026 monthly basic pay (DFAS) $4,759.50 $5,591.70
2026 Army continuation pay, 2.5x $11,899 $13,979
Estimated Regular Military Compensation today $83,406 a year $95,946 a year
Assumed basic pay at 20 years (High-3 proxy, DFAS) $6,245.70 a month (E-7) $6,995.40 a month (E-8)
Annual BRS pension at 20 years (40%) $29,979 $33,578
Value of 30 years of pension at 3%, as of the retirement date $587,609 $658,142
Value at 4%, as of the retirement date $518,404 $580,631
Value at 5%, as of the retirement date (sensitivity) $460,856 $516,175

The continuation pay lump sum is between 2 and 3 percent of the pension's value at retirement. It is a retention nudge, and the 2026 flattening made it a smaller one.

A note on the RMC figures: our military rank to GS salary guide shows a higher RMC for an E-7 at 12 years because it uses Washington, D.C. with-dependents BAH. This table uses the national-average without-dependent rate, so the two posts share a formula and differ only in the housing assumption.

The Counter-Argument Nobody Should Skip

The table above tells you what staying is worth. It does not tell you what leaving is worth, and that is the number you need.

An E-7 at 12 years who separates has 8 years before the pension would have started. If a civilian job pays enough more than $95,946 in RMC to cover the pension's value (discounted back to today) over those 8 years plus the years after, leaving wins. If it does not, staying wins. For most enlisted specialties, the civilian premium is not that large, which is why the pension math usually favors staying. For a few, cyber, aviation maintenance, some medical fields, it can be.

Run your own version. The Military to GS Pay Translator converts your rank and years into the GS grade that matches your RMC, and the BRS vs. High-3 calculator lets you set your own High-3 and TSP assumptions against the pension figures above.

You May Not Get to Choose

One more variable. Each service sets a maximum number of years an enlisted member may serve in a grade. The Army calls them retention control points. The Air Force calls it high year of tenure. We could not confirm the current E-6 and E-7 thresholds from a primary regulation for this piece, so check your service's current table before you count on serving to 20.

An E-6 who is not promotable may face a control point before 20 in some services, and in that case the pension math changes because the pension may not be available at all.

Model Your Own Pension

Our free BRS vs. High-3 Calculator takes your expected High-3 annual basic pay, your TSP contribution choice, and a TSP return assumption, then shows the BRS pension at 20 years (40 percent), the legacy High-3 pension (50 percent), and the projected TSP balance side by side. Enter the year-20 annual basic pay from the table above, $74,948 for E-7 ($6,245.70 × 12) or $83,945 for E-8 ($6,995.40 × 12), as your High-3 to see the annuity the table is built on. Run your numbers →

Frequently Asked Questions

Does leaving the military at 12 years mean I lose my TSP?

No. Your own contributions and DoD's matching contributions are vested when made. Only the automatic 1 percent contribution has a vesting period, 2 years of service for uniformed BRS members under 5 U.S.C. 8432(g)(2)(C). At 12 years everything in the account is vested and portable.

What do I actually lose by leaving before 20 years?

The regular pension. Enlisted length-of-service retired pay requires at least 20 years under 10 U.S.C. 7314 for the Army and the parallel sections for the other services. An ordinary separation at 10, 12, or 14 years earns no partial pension; disability retirement has separate rules.

How much is Army continuation pay worth in 2026?

For Active Component and AGR Soldiers, a flat 2.5 times monthly basic pay as of January 1, 2026. That is $11,899 for an E-6 at 10 years and $13,979 for an E-7 at 12 years on the 2026 DFAS table. Reserve Component Soldiers ordinarily receive 0.5 times.

When can I take continuation pay?

The statute allows an election between 7 and 12 years of service under 37 U.S.C. 356(a)(1). Starting in 2026 the Army opens the window at 7 years, a year earlier than before. The statutory floor is 3 more years of obligated service; the Army's 2026 guidance requires 4.

What is a BRS pension worth at exactly 20 years?

BRS pays 2 percent of your High-3 average per year of service, so 40 percent at 20 years. For a member who reaches E-7 by year 20, that is about $29,979 a year on the 2026 pay table, or roughly $460,000 to $588,000 over 30 years valued at the retirement date, depending on the discount rate.

Can I be forced out before 20 years even if I want to stay?

Yes. Each service sets retention control points or high year of tenure limits by grade. The exact current thresholds for E-6 and E-7 vary by service and were not confirmed from a primary regulation for this piece, so check your service's current table.

Sources