Retire at 26 or 29? Each Extra Military Year Adds $2,180 to $6,807

Last Updated: October 4, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

Every year you serve past 20 raises your military retirement pay, and the amount depends on your rank and on which year it is. Under the legacy High-3 system each year adds 2.5% of your High-36 average. Under the Blended Retirement System (BRS) it adds 2%. On the 2026 pay tables, with no promotion, that works out to between $2,180 and $6,807 of pension per extra year for the ranks below.

The Rule: 2.5% a Year, With No Ceiling at 30

Three provisions of 10 U.S.C. 1409 do the work.

• The multiplier. Legacy High-3 retired pay is 2.5% times your years of creditable service. That is 50% at 20 years, 65% at 26 and 75% at 30. Under BRS the figure is 2% a year: 40% at 20, 52% at 26 and 60% at 30.
• Past 30. For anyone retiring after December 31, 2006, the multiplier keeps growing: 75% plus 2.5% for each year beyond 30. Under BRS it is 60% plus 2% a year.
• Months. Each full month of service beyond your full years counts as 1/12 of a year. Under High-3 that is about 0.21 percentage points a month. Leftover days do not count.

The multiplier is applied to your retired pay base, the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay. An extra year therefore helps twice. The multiplier goes up, and the 36-month average drops an older, lower month and picks up a newer, higher one.

Retired pay under both systems is adjusted each December 1 for the full change in the price index, after a first adjustment that can be prorated under 10 U.S.C. 1401a. The dollars an extra year adds therefore keep pace with inflation.

FedTools 2026 analysis of the 2026 monthly basic pay table (effective January 1, 2026). Assumptions: no promotion; every month priced at 2026 rates; High-36 for a retirement at N years is 12 months at the "over N minus 4" rate plus 24 months at the "over N minus 2" rate. Gain per extra year is the two-year change in annual retired pay divided by two, rounded to the dollar. The break-even is the years of retirement needed to recover one year of pension given up by staying. It leaves out active-duty pay, taxes and discounting. A real High-36 reaches back into lower 2024 and 2025 tables, so actual figures run somewhat lower.

The BRS column is a comparison in the same dollars. A member with 21 or more years in 2026 had at least 12 years of service on December 31, 2017 and was not eligible to opt into BRS.

Our 20-year retirement pay by rank post uses a simpler High-36 estimate, so its 20-year figures run slightly higher than the ones here.

How to read the break-even column

The break-even answers one narrow question: how many years of collecting the bigger pension does it take to make up for the year of pension you did not collect?

It is the same under High-3 and BRS. BRS retired pay is 80% of the High-3 figure at the same years and base, so the pension given up and the pension gained shrink by the same proportion.

With flat basic pay, the break-even equals your years of service. An O-5's basic pay stops rising at "over 22." From 26 years on, each extra year adds only the 2.5 points of multiplier, and staying from 28 to 30 takes 28 years of retirement to recover on pension alone.

A longevity raise shortens that. Where staying another two years moves you into a higher pay cell, the break-even in the table drops to about 13 to 18 years.

Read the break-even as a measure of the pension and nothing else. During each extra year you also draw active-duty pay and allowances, which are far larger than the pension you would have collected.

Where the best and worst pension years are

• Best: 26 to 28 for E-7, E-8, E-9 and O-6. The "over 26" pay rate fills two-thirds of the High-36 by 28 years.
• Weakest: 28 to 30 for the enlisted grades shown, where the break-even is about 21 to 22 years, and every year from 26 on for an O-5, whose basic pay is flat so those years add multiplier only.
• Months matter. Leaving at 26 years and 11 months instead of 26 years even adds 11/12 of 2.5 points, about 2.29 percentage points of your High-36.

If You Took the Career Status Bonus (REDUX)

The Career Status Bonus required 15 years of active duty and closed after December 31, 2017. A member past about 24 years in 2026, up to 30, could have reached 15 years in time to take it. A member at 20 to 22 years in 2026 could not.

At 30 years the reduction disappears. REDUX cost-of-living adjustments are also generally one point below the full adjustment.

What Else an Extra Year Changes

BRS and the TSP. Under 5 U.S.C. 8440e, the government's automatic and matching TSP contributions are capped at 5% of basic pay and stop when a member completes 26 years of service. For a BRS member, years 27 through 30 add the 2% multiplier and no government TSP money.

Survivor Benefit Plan. Full SBP coverage costs 6.5% of the base amount, which is your monthly retired pay. A larger pension means a larger premium and a larger survivor annuity. On a $3,000-a-year pension gain, about $195 goes to the premium.

Concurrent receipt. Eligibility for Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay turns on a VA rating of at least 50%, under 10 U.S.C. 1414. Leaving at 20 or at 30 does not change that test.

Pay caps. Basic pay for O-6 and below is capped at Level V of the Executive Schedule. In 2026 that cap first meets the O-6 table at "over 30," so it does not flatten any figure in the table above.

Run Your Own Numbers

The free Military Retirement Income Calculator takes your pay grade, years of service and VA rating and shows gross retired pay, the SBP premium and the VA offset. Run it once at the years you have now and again at the years you are weighing, then compare the two results.

Already planning a federal civilian job after retirement? See how military retired pay and a GS salary combine.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does each year past 20 add to my military pension?

Each year adds 2.5% of your High-36 under the legacy High-3 system and 2% under BRS, per 10 U.S.C. 1409. In 2026 dollars with no promotion, FedTools calculates a gain of $2,180 a year for an E-7 going from 20 to 22 years, up to $6,807 a year for an O-6 going from 26 to 28, under High-3.

Does military service past 30 years still count toward retired pay?

Yes, for anyone retiring after December 31, 2006. The High-3 multiplier becomes 75% plus 2.5% for each year beyond 30. Under BRS it is 60% plus 2% for each year beyond 30. The flat 75% ceiling applies only to members who retired before 2007.

Do partial years count toward military retirement?

Full months do. The statute credits 1/12 of a year for each full month of service beyond your full years. Under High-3 each month is worth about 0.21 percentage points of your High-36. Leftover days do not count.

How long until staying one more year pays for itself?

On pension alone, and if your basic pay is flat, it takes as many years of retirement as you have years of service. Staying from 28 to 30 as an O-5 takes 28 years to recover. Years that bring a longevity raise cut the figure to about 13 to 18 years. This measure ignores the active-duty pay you earn by staying.

Is the break-even different under BRS?

No. BRS retired pay is 80% of the High-3 figure at the same years of service and the same High-36, because the multiplier is 2% a year instead of 2.5%. The pension given up and the pension gained both scale by 80%, so the break-even is the same.

I took the Career Status Bonus. How does that change the math?

Under REDUX, if you retire before 30 years and under age 62, your multiplier is reduced by 1 point for each year short of 30. Each year toward 30 is therefore worth 3.5 points, and the reduction disappears at 30 years. Members at about 24 or more years in 2026 could have taken the bonus.

Does staying past 26 years cost a BRS member anything?

The government's automatic and matching TSP contributions end when a member completes 26 years of service, under 5 U.S.C. 8440e. Before 26, each year carries up to 5% of basic pay in government TSP money on top of the pension gain. After 26, only the 2% multiplier is added.

Does a bigger pension raise my SBP premium?

Yes, with full coverage. The Survivor Benefit Plan premium is 6.5% of the base amount, and the base amount is your monthly retired pay. A higher pension raises both the premium and the annuity your survivor would receive.

Related Resources

• Military Retirement Income Calculator: Retired pay, SBP and VA offset from grade, years and rating.
• Military Retirement Pay at 20 Years by Rank: The 20-year snapshot and the High-3 versus BRS gap.
• BRS vs. High-3 Calculator: Compare the two systems side by side.
• SBP Calculator: Premium and survivor annuity.
• 2027 Military Pay Raise by Grade: What next year's raise does to basic pay.

Sources: 10 U.S.C. 1409 (retired pay multiplier, months of service, Career Status Bonus reduction); 10 U.S.C. 1407 (retired pay base); 10 U.S.C. 1401a (cost-of-living adjustments); 10 U.S.C. 1447, 1452 (Survivor Benefit Plan); 10 U.S.C. 1414 (concurrent receipt); 37 U.S.C. 203 (basic pay caps); 37 U.S.C. 354 (Career Status Bonus); 5 U.S.C. 8440e (TSP contributions for BRS members); 2026 monthly basic pay table, Schedule 8, Pay of the Uniformed Services, effective January 1, 2026.