Federal Total Compensation Calculator
Your federal salary is only part of the story. Add up every component of your package — FERS pension accrual, TSP employer match, FEHB government subsidy, and leave value — and see what your job is actually worth.
The gap no comparison site shows you
| Benefit Component | Annual Value | % of Package |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $116,071.00 | 73.5% |
| FERS Pension Accrual (this year) | $1,160.71 | 0.7% |
| TSP Employer Contributions | $5,804 | 3.7% |
| FEHB Government Subsidy | $20,228.78 | 12.8% |
| Leave Value (annual + sick) | $14,683 | 9.3% |
| Total Package | $157,946.72 | 100% |
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Worked example: GS-12 Step 5 in Washington DC
10 years of service · 5% TSP contribution · Self and Family FEHB · standard 1.0% FERS multiplier
| Component | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $116,071.00 | GS-12 Step 5 · DCB locality (33.94%) |
| FERS Pension Accrual | $1,160.71 | 1.0% × $116,071 (value earned this year) |
| TSP Employer Contributions | $5,803.55 | 5% of salary (full match: auto 1% + 3% + 1%) |
| FEHB Government Subsidy | $20,228.78 | Self and Family · $778.03 biweekly × 26 |
| Leave Value | $14,682.68 | 264 hrs × $55.62/hr (160 annual + 104 sick) |
| Total Package | $157,946.72 | $41,876 (36.1%) above base salary |
How each component is calculated
1. Base Salary
Base salary is your GS base rate (from the OPM 2026 pay table) plus your locality pay adjustment. Formula: locality salary = base rate × (1 + locality%). For GS-12 Step 5 in the DC locality (DCB, 33.94%): $86,659 × 1.3394 = $116,071.
2. FERS Pension Accrual
This represents the additional annual pension benefit you earn by working one more year. The FERS multiplier (1.0% standard, 1.1% if you plan to retire at age 62 or later with 20+ years) is applied to your current salary as a proxy for the high-3 average. For GS-12 Step 5 DC: $116,071 × 1.0% = $1,160.71.
Over a 30-year career, a GS-12 employee would accumulate a pension of approximately $34,821/year in today's salary terms — paid for life, with COLA adjustments. The per-year accrual figure here is not the present value of your lifetime pension; it is the annual increment you earn by working one more year. Use the FERS Retirement Calculator for the full projection.
3. TSP Employer Contributions
FERS employees receive employer contributions in three buckets. The agency automatic 1% contribution is deposited regardless of whether you contribute anything. If you contribute your own salary, the agency matches 100% of the first 3% and 50% of the next 2%. Contributing 5% of your salary gives you the maximum 5% employer match — a total of 10% of salary going into TSP each year with no additional effort.
4. FEHB Government Subsidy
The government pays the lesser of 72% of the program-wide weighted average premium or 75% of your plan's own premium (5 U.S.C. § 8906(b)). For most mainstream plans, the 72%-of-weighted-average cap applies, and these OPM-published dollar amounts are the correct contribution figures.
| Enrollment | Biweekly | Annual | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self Only | $324.76 | $8,443.76 | No dependents |
| Self Plus One | $711.17 | $18,490.42 | Yourself + one dependent |
| Self and Family | $778.03 | $20,228.78 | Yourself + family (most common) |
5. Leave Value
Leave is valued at your hourly rate (annual salary ÷ 2,087 — the OPM standard hours-per-year divisor per 5 CFR § 550.112). Both annual leave and sick leave are included. Annual leave accrues according to your tenure tier.
| Service Length | Formula | Annual Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 3 years | 4 hrs × 26 PP | 104 hours | |
| 3 to 15 years | (25 × 6 hrs) + (1 × 10 hrs) | 160 hours | Last PP of year = 10 hrs per statute |
| 15 or more years | 8 hrs × 26 PP | 208 hours |
What this calculator does not include
The five components above represent the measurable, quantifiable core of the federal compensation package. Several additional benefits are real but harder to monetize without personalized data:
- FEGLI life insurance — Basic coverage (1× salary) is heavily subsidized by the government; Optional and Extra coverage are at your cost.
- FSAFEDS — Flexible spending accounts for health and dependent care; tax savings vary by income level and plan use.
- Transit/commuter subsidy — Up to $325/month tax-free for transit; varies by agency.
- Telework / schedule flexibility — A real economic benefit but not quantifiable without local commute cost data.
- Social Security — FERS employees pay into and receive Social Security. A full compensation comparison would include the employer's 6.2% OASDI share, but this varies by salary and would require a separate calculation.