Last Updated: July 22, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

Veterans who go federal get one military buyback system with one rulebook. Veterans who become teachers, troopers, or city employees get fifty, and the difference between them is worth real money. The same four years of active duty that cost a federal employee a roughly $5,400 deposit can cost a Texas teacher more than triple that, while Florida sometimes credits military time for free. Here is how the six biggest state systems price your military service, side by side against the FERS baseline.

The comparison table

System Cost method Year cap Interest One year costs (illustrative)
FERS (federal baseline) ~3% of your military base pay No explicit cap None for ~3 years, then variable A year of E-4 pay (~$36K) ≈ $1,080
TRS Texas Current TRS salary × member rate (~7.7%) 5 years 8% compounded from first eligibility $60K teacher ≈ $4,620 before interest
CalPERS Pay-and-contribution-rate method 4 years Compounded annually from membership date Varies by classification and salary
FRS Florida Full actuarial cost, or free if the time isn't creditable elsewhere ~4 years Embedded in the actuarial price $0 in the free-credit scenario
TRS Georgia Member contribution rate + interest ~5 years Board-set rate Simplest formula of the six
NYSLRS Contributions you would have paid + interest 3 years Statutory rate Tier-dependent
OPERS Ohio Full actuarial cost (actuary-determined) 5 years From calculation date to payment Quoted individually

FedTools 2026 comparison, compiled from each system's governing statute: Texas Gov't Code § 823.302, Cal. Gov't Code § 20996, Fla. Stat. § 121.111, O.C.G.A. § 47-3-82, N.Y. Laws 2016 ch. 41, Ohio Rev. Code § 145.30.

Why the same years cost so much more in a state system

The federal deposit looks backward: FERS prices your credit at roughly 3% of what the military actually paid you, which for junior-enlisted years is a small number. Most state systems look forward instead. They price the credit at what you earn now, at your civilian contribution rate.

That design difference compounds. A teacher who serves four years as an E-4, then teaches a decade in Texas before buying the credit, pays 7.7% of a $60,000 teaching salary per year of credit. And TRS Texas has been charging 8% compounded interest since the year she first became eligible to buy. The federal employee with the identical service record pays about a thousand dollars per year of credit and got a three-year interest-free window to do it.

In every state system here, the purchase price rises with your career, so the credit is cheapest the day you're hired. Get the quote in year one even if you can't pay until year five.

What the credit actually buys you

Purchased years drop straight into the pension formula:

  • TRS Georgia: 2% × years × highest-2-year salary. One purchased year adds about 2% of final salary, every year for life.
  • TRS Texas: 2.3% × years × highest-5-year salary. One year adds about 2.3%.
  • FERS, for comparison: 1% (1.1% retiring at 62 with 20+ years) of the high-3.

State multipliers run roughly double the federal one, which is why the higher state purchase prices can still pencil out. A Georgia teacher buying four years at, say, $16,000 total adds about 8% of final salary to every retirement check. On an $80,000 final average, that is $6,400 a year, repaying the purchase in under three years of retirement.

USERRA is the other track (and people confuse them)

If you left a state job you already held to deploy or serve, and came back, you don't need the purchase program. USERRA entitles you to make up the missed contributions and have your service treated as unbroken. That's federal law and applies to every system in this table.

The purchase programs cover the other situation: military service performed before you joined the system. Different track, different paperwork, different price. Ask your system which one applies before anyone quotes you a cost.

The WEP/GPO repeal changed this math for the better

Teachers in Texas, California, and Georgia, along with many police, fire, and municipal employees, work outside Social Security. Until recently, the Windfall Elimination Provision clawed back the Social Security those workers earned from covered work, including their military years. The Social Security Fairness Act repealed WEP and GPO effective January 2024, with retroactive lump sums already paid and monthly adjustments running since spring 2025.

The practical effect for a veteran in a non-covered state job: your military service now pays you twice, at full value. Once through the purchased state pension credit, and again through unreduced Social Security earned from those same years. Before the repeal, the second stream was docked. The purchase decision was marginal for some people then; it's clearer now.

If you're weighing federal vs. state employment

The buyback rules are one honest input to that choice. The federal deposit is cheaper and uncapped; state multipliers are richer per year. Run the federal side of the comparison with the Military Buyback Calculator, which prices your exact deposit and the lifetime annuity payoff. If you're comparing total career paths, the Military-to-GS Salary Translator puts your rank against the federal pay scale, and your state system's benefits office can quote the equivalent purchase on their side.

Reservists and Guard members: your situation is better than either baseline. You can buy back active time while keeping your reserve retirement on the federal side, and the state systems in this table price your activated periods the same way they price any active duty.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy military service credit if I work for a state government instead of the federal government?

Yes. All six systems compared here sell military service credit, similar in concept to the FERS buyback. Caps run 3 to 5 years and cost formulas vary sharply.

How does state military credit cost compare to the federal FERS deposit?

FERS charges about 3% of your old military base pay. Most states charge more: TRS Texas uses your current salary times about 7.7% plus 8% compounded interest; Florida and Ohio price at full actuarial cost. The same year of service can cost several times more in one system than another.

How many years can I purchase?

NYSLRS caps at 3, CalPERS at 4, and TRS Texas, TRS Georgia, and OPERS at 5. FERS has no explicit cap.

Does USERRA automatically give me the credit?

Only for service that interrupted a state job you already held. Pre-employment military service goes through the purchase programs instead.

Does the Social Security Fairness Act change this?

Yes. WEP and GPO are repealed effective January 2024, so non-covered state workers now collect full Social Security from military years alongside the purchased pension credit.

Is there a deadline?

Purchases must complete before retirement, and interest accrues from first eligibility in systems like TRS Texas (8% compounded). Get the quote in your first year of membership.

Sources: Texas Gov't Code § 823.302, Cal. Gov't Code § 20996, Fla. Stat. § 121.111, O.C.G.A. § 47-3-82, Ohio Rev. Code § 145.30, SSA: Social Security Fairness Act.