What is FERS deferred retirement?

It is the annuity you can claim later if you leave federal service without qualifying for an immediate annuity and leave your FERS contributions in the fund. With at least 5 years of creditable civilian service it starts at age 62 (5 U.S.C. 8413(a)), and that door carries no requirement that you separated before your MRA. With at least 10 years of total creditable service, and only if you separated before your MRA, you can instead elect a start date any time from your MRA up to age 62 (5 U.S.C. 8413(b)), with a reduction for starting early. Total service can include military service whose deposit you paid before separating; the 5-year minimum cannot.

When is the earliest I can start a deferred annuity without a reduction?

It depends on how much service you had at separation. With 30 or more years you can start at your MRA with no reduction. With 20 to 29 years the unreduced date is age 60. With 5 to 19 years it is age 62. The rule is 5 U.S.C. 8415(h)(2): your service is measured as of your separation date, but your age is measured as of the date the annuity starts.

How big is the reduction if I start before 62?

Five-twelfths of 1 percent for each full month the start date comes before your 62nd birthday, which is 5 percent a year (5 U.S.C. 8415(h)(1)). The count runs from the commencing DATE, not from the age you start: 5 CFR 842.404 reduces the annuity "for each full month by which the commencing date of annuity precedes the 62nd birthday." A deferred annuity commences on the first day of the month after you reach the elected age (5 CFR 842.212), and OPM treats you as reaching an age on the day before your birthday (OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook ch. 46: "For retirement purposes, an employee is considered to reach a year of age on the day before his or her birthday"). So if you were born on the 1st, the annuity starts on the 1st of your birthday month and the count is a whole number of years; anyone whose birthday is not the first of a month is one month short of the whole-year figure. Start at an MRA of 57 with a birthday on June 15 and the commencing date is July 1 five years early, which is 59 full months and 24.5833 percent, not 60 months and 25 percent. The reduction is permanent either way.

Do I get the 1.1 percent multiplier if my deferred annuity starts at 62 with 20 years?

No, and it is worth being blunt about it because the belief is common. A deferred annuity is always computed at 1 percent. The 1.1 percent factor in 5 U.S.C. 8415(i) only applies to an employee who "retires entitled to an annuity under section 8412" and who is "at least 62 years of age and has completed at least 20 years of service" at the time of separation. A deferred annuity is paid under section 8413, so the first test fails. And the second can never be met either: anyone who was 62 with 20 years at separation would have had an immediate annuity under 5 U.S.C. 8412(c), which means they were not deferred at all.

Can I keep FEHB and FEGLI with a deferred retirement?

No. For FEHB, 5 U.S.C. 8901(3) defines an annuitant as someone retiring on an immediate annuity or under section 8412 or 8414, and section 8413 is not on that list. For FEGLI, 5 CFR 870.701(a)(1) requires being entitled to retire on an immediate annuity. OPM states it plainly: if you receive a deferred annuity you are not eligible to re-enrol in health benefits, life insurance, or dental and vision benefits.

Is deferred retirement the same as postponed retirement?

No, and the difference is worth a lot of money. Postponed retirement is for someone who separates at or after their MRA with at least 10 years and delays the start date under 5 U.S.C. 8412(g). A postponed annuitant can reinstate FEHB and FEGLI when payments begin, provided they were enrolled for the 5 years of service immediately before separating (5 U.S.C. 8905(b); 5 CFR 870.701(a)(2)). A deferred annuitant cannot, however long they were enrolled. The usual deferred case is a separation before the MRA, but it is the immediate-annuity test that actually decides: reach your MRA with only 5 to 9 years of service and no paragraph of 5 U.S.C. 8412 reaches you, so your annuity is still deferred to age 62 under 8413(a) and the FEHB and FEGLI loss still applies. If you are close to 10 years at your MRA, waiting to separate can be the single most valuable decision in the whole plan.

Does military service count toward a deferred annuity?

Yes, for everything except the 5-year minimum. 5 U.S.C. 8410 requires 5 years of civilian service, so military time cannot get you there. Once you have 5 civilian years, creditable military service counts toward the 10-year line for an early start under 8413(b), the 20 and 30-year lines that remove the age reduction, and the annuity itself. Post-1956 military service is creditable only if you paid the deposit in full before you separated (5 U.S.C. 8411(c)(1); 5 CFR 842.307(a)(3)), and OPM Handbook chapter 45 says the deposit must be made before separation to receive credit in a deferred annuity. Service that counts toward military retired pay generally cannot be credited (5 U.S.C. 8411(c)(2)).

How does part-time service change a deferred annuity?

It counts in full toward the 5, 10, 20 and 30-year tests, but the amount is prorated. 5 U.S.C. 8415(g)(1) computes the annuity on the full-time rate of pay and then multiplies it by "the ratio which the employee's actual service ... bears to the total service that would be creditable for the employee if all of the service had been performed on a full-time basis." OPM rounds that factor to the nearest percent. Ten years with five of them at 20 hours a week gives a factor of 0.75, so a $100,000 high-3 pays $7,500 a year at 62 rather than $10,000. Enter your part-time time and average weekly hours and the calculator applies the factor.

Does this calculator work for Congressional staff or someone who was on workers' compensation?

Not for the amount. A Congressional employee with at least 5 years of Congressional or Member service has up to 20 of those years computed at 1.7 percent under 5 U.S.C. 8415(c), unless first covered after 2012 as a revised or further revised annuity employee (8415(d)); Members have their own formula in 8415(b). Time credited while receiving OWCP compensation earns 1 percentage point more under 8415(n) once it reaches 2 months in total. This tool uses 1 percent for all service, and it says so on the result when you tick either box.

Does my high-3 grow while I wait for the annuity to start?

No. OPM Handbook chapter 45 says the deferred annuity is based on the average salary in effect at separation, and that in the years between separation and age 62 the average salary is not adjusted by any intervening cost-of-living adjustments. A FERS annuity also does not begin receiving cost-of-living increases until age 62 (5 U.S.C. 8462(c)(3)).

Calculator

FERS Deferred Retirement

If you leave federal service with at least 5 years in but without qualifying for an immediate annuity, you can still draw a FERS annuity later. This works out the earliest date it can start, what the age reduction costs you, and the three benefits a deferred annuity does not carry.

Reviewed by Jonathan D., 20-year federal employee · Formulas verified against OPM.gov · Updated October 2026

Rule snapshot

Reviewed October 3, 2026 · Sources: 5 U.S.C. 8413, 5 U.S.C. 8415(c), (g), (h), (i), (n), OPM Handbook ch. 55 (part-time), 5 CFR 842.404, OPM Handbook ch. 45, OPM deferred retirement · Inputs stay in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Your numbers

Date of birthSets your minimum retirement age under 5 U.S.C. 8412(h).

Separation dateThe day you left, or plan to leave, federal service.

High-3 average salaryFrozen at your separation salary. It gets no increase before the annuity starts. If any of your high-3 years were part-time, use the full-time rate of the position (5 U.S.C. 8415(g)(1)(A)).

Creditable civilian service (years)

Whole years, then extra months (0 to 11). Civilian service only: you need at least 5 civilian years for any annuity (5 U.S.C. 8410).

Creditable military service (years)

Leave blank if none. Count post-1956 military service only if you paid its deposit in full before you separated (5 CFR 842.307(a)(3)). It adds to the 10, 20 and 30-year tests and the annuity, but not to the 5 civilian years.

Part-time service (years, months, hours a week)

Leave blank if every year was full-time. Part of the civilian service above, not extra. Several tours: enter the total part-time time at its average weekly hours. The annuity is multiplied by your actual-to-full-time service ratio (5 U.S.C. 8415(g)); eligibility still counts the time in full.

Who this does not fit

Congressional employees and Members have their own 1.7 percent formula (5 U.S.C. 8415(b)-(d)), and time credited while on workers' compensation earns an extra 1 percent (8415(n)). This tool uses the regular 1 percent. Tick what applies and the result will flag it.

Some of my service was as a Congressional employee or Member of Congress.Some of my service credit is for time I received OWCP workers' compensation.

Your deferred annuity

$1,074 a month

Your deferred annuity can start as early as July 1, 2037 at $1,074 a month, or wait until July 1, 2042 for the unreduced $1,425 a month.

When you can start it

Each commencing date you may elect, with the age reduction that applies to it. The monthly figure is one twelfth of the yearly annuity rounded down to the dollar, the way OPM pays it, so twelve months can come to a few dollars less than the yearly figure.
Start at	First payment	Reduction	Monthly (rounded down)	Yearly
Your MRA (57 years)	July 1, 2037	24.58%	$1,074	$12,896
Age 60	July 1, 2040	9.58%	$1,288	$15,461
Age 62Earliest unreduced	July 1, 2042	None	$1,425	$17,100

Your MRA (57 years): Reduced 24.58 percent: counting from the July 1, 2037 commencing date, 59 full months precede your 62nd birthday, at five-twelfths of 1 percent each (5 CFR 842.404, 5 U.S.C. 8415(h)(1)).
Age 60: Reduced 9.58 percent: counting from the July 1, 2040 commencing date, 23 full months precede your 62nd birthday, at five-twelfths of 1 percent each (5 CFR 842.404, 5 U.S.C. 8415(h)(1)).
Age 62: No age reduction. The annuity starts on or after your 62nd birthday, so no full month precedes it (5 CFR 842.404).

How we got this

Minimum retirement age: born 1980, so your MRA is 57 years (5 U.S.C. 8412(h)).
Age on your separation date: 46 years. That is below your MRA, so this is a deferred retirement under 5 U.S.C. 8413.
Service factor: 1 percent, not 1.1 percent. The 1.1 percent factor in 5 U.S.C. 8415(i) only reaches annuities paid under section 8412, and a deferred annuity is paid under section 8413.
Unreduced annuity: $95,000 high-3 x 18 years of service x 1 percent = $17,100 a year.
Earliest start: 18 years is 10 years or more, so 5 U.S.C. 8413(b) lets you elect any date from your MRA up to age 62.
Earliest unreduced start: 62 years. Under 20 years of service, so the reduction only disappears at age 62.
Age reduction: 5 CFR 842.404 counts "each full month by which the commencing date of annuity precedes the 62nd birthday", so the count runs from July 1, 2037 to your 62nd birthday on June 15, 2042 - 59 full months at five-twelfths of 1 percent, or 24.5833 percent. OPM treats you as reaching an age on the day before your birthday (OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook ch. 46), and the annuity starts on the first of the month after that, so counting whole years from the starting age would overstate the reduction by one month for any birthday that is not the first of a month.

What a deferred annuity does not come with

FEHB health insurance

Cannot be reinstated when the deferred annuity starts.

5 U.S.C. 8901(3) defines "annuitant" for FEHB as someone retiring on an immediate annuity or under section 8412 or 8414. Section 8413 is not on the list. 5 CFR 890.303(a)(2) also requires meeting the 5 U.S.C. 8905(b) participation test "as of the commencing date" of the annuity.

FEGLI life insurance

Cannot be reinstated when the deferred annuity starts.

5 CFR 870.701(a)(1) continues Basic life insurance only where the employee "is entitled to retire on an immediate annuity". A deferred annuity is not immediate.

FERS annuity supplement

Never payable on a deferred annuity.

5 U.S.C. 8421(a) lists the qualifying annuities: subsections (a), (b), (d)(1), (e) and (f) of section 8412 and subsections (a), (b) and (c) of section 8414. Section 8413 is absent.

Unused sick leave credit

Not added to service in a deferred retirement.

OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook ch. 45, 45B1.1-2(C), NOTE: "Accrued and unused sick leave to the employee's credit at date of separation is not creditable for any purpose in a deferred retirement."

Your high-3 is frozen at your separation salary. It gets no cost-of-living increase in the years before the annuity starts (OPM Handbook ch. 45, 45A2.1-2(A), adopted for FERS at 45B2.1-2(A)).
A FERS annuity does not start receiving cost-of-living increases until age 62 (5 U.S.C. 8462(c)(3)).
Taking a refund of your FERS contributions voids these annuity rights for the refunded service (5 U.S.C. 8424(a)).
You must apply. OPM does not start a deferred annuity automatically. OPM now takes deferred applications through its Online Retirement Application (ORA): choose "Options for former federal employees", then "Start deferred or postponed application", and submit at least 60 days before you want the annuity to begin (OPM, Types of Retirement).

What this models

The honest boundary of this tool. Anything in the right column changes your real number and is not in the math above.
Modeled	Not modeled
Earliest commencing date under 5 U.S.C. 8413(a) and (b), and the earliest unreduced date under 8415(h)(2).	Special provision service (law enforcement, firefighter, air traffic controller, customs and border protection). Those groups have their own unreduced doors at 8412(d)(1)(B), (e)(2) and (f)(2).
Regular FERS employees only. Every eligibility test here uses the regular-employee age and service rules.	Special provision retirement under 5 U.S.C. 8412(d) and (e). A law enforcement officer, firefighter, air traffic controller, nuclear materials courier, Capitol or Supreme Court Police officer, or customs and border protection officer can retire immediately at any age with 25 years of covered service, or at 50 with 20 — so if you have that service, you may be IMMEDIATELY eligible even where this tool says your annuity is deferred, and you would keep FEHB, FEGLI and the supplement. Check with your agency retirement counsellor before relying on a deferred result.
The annuity at 1 percent of high-3 per year of service, with the five-twelfths-of-1-percent-per-month age reduction, and the monthly rate as one twelfth of the yearly annuity rounded down to the dollar, the way OPM pays it.	Any CSRS component in a transferred annuity. The reduction applies to both components, but this tool computes a pure FERS annuity.
Creditable military service with the deposit paid before separation, counted toward the 10, 20 and 30-year tests, the 8412 immediate-annuity tests and the amount, but not toward the 5 civilian years 5 U.S.C. 8410 requires.	Whether your military service is actually creditable. Service used for military retired pay generally cannot be credited (5 U.S.C. 8411(c)(2)), and a deposit not completed before separation cannot be paid afterwards (5 CFR 842.307(a)(3)).
The commencing date as the first of the month after you reach the chosen age (5 CFR 842.212), reaching each age, and testing the MRA, 60 and 62 on your separation date, the day before your birthday (OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook ch. 46). The age reduction is counted in full months from that date to your 62nd birthday (5 CFR 842.404).	An elected date later than the earliest one. Under 8413(b) you designate any date from your MRA to 62, and each later month you choose removes one month of reduction. Also a February 29 birthday in a common year: no primary source says whether it falls on February 28 or March 1, so the reduction count can differ from OPM's by one month (the result flags it).
Loss of FEHB, FEGLI and the FERS supplement, each tied to its own authority.	Survivor annuity elections and their cost, the alternative form of annuity, and court-ordered apportionment.
Service in whole years and months.	Day-level service arithmetic, unused sick leave (not creditable at all in a deferred retirement per OPM Handbook ch. 45, 45B1.1-2(C)), and any redeposit for refunded service.
Part-time service: the annuity on the full-time high-3, multiplied by the ratio of actual to full-time service rounded to the nearest percent (5 U.S.C. 8415(g)(1); OPM Handbook ch. 55, 55B2.1-1). One part-time stretch at an average weekly tour.	Intermittent service (8415(g)(2): part-time "shall not be considered to include employment on a temporary or intermittent basis"), and the special proration for part-time Veterans Health Administration title 38 service (Handbook ch. 55, 55B4).
Regular FERS service at 1 percent.	Congressional employees and Members. 5 U.S.C. 8415(c): with at least 5 years of Congressional or Member service, that service "not exceeding a total of 20 years, shall be computed by multiplying 1 7/10 percent of the individual's average pay by the years of such service"; 8415(b) sets the Member formula; 8415(d) returns revised and further revised annuity employees to the regular formula. A ticked box flags the result as not reliable.
Every credited month at the same percentage.	Workers' compensation (OWCP) credit. 5 U.S.C. 8415(n): with "at least 2 months of credit under section 8411(d) for any period while receiving benefits under subchapter I of chapter 81, the percentage otherwise applicable ... for that period so credited shall be increased by 1 percentage point." The tool credits it at 1 percent, so it understates; a ticked box flags the result.
A frozen high-3, with no indexing before the annuity starts.	Cost-of-living increases after the annuity starts, and the tax treatment of the annuity.

Precision limits: service is handled in whole years and months, and the commencing date is taken as the first of the month after you reach the chosen age, which OPM treats as the day before your birthday. OPM works some figures to the day, so your official computation can differ by about a month of service either way. This is an estimate for planning, not an OPM determination.

Deferred, not postponed

These two words get used as if they mean the same thing. They do not. A deferred retirement is what you get when you leave without qualifying for any immediate annuity: usually because you separate before your minimum retirement age, but also if you separate after it with only 5 to 9 years of service and are under 62 (5 U.S.C. 8413(a)). A postponed retirement is what you get when you separate at or after your MRA with at least 10 years and choose to delay the start date under 5 U.S.C. 8412(g).

The annuity math is nearly identical. The insurance is not. A postponed annuitant can reinstate FEHB and FEGLI when payments begin, if they were enrolled for the 5 years of service immediately before separating. A deferred annuitant never can. If your separation date is anywhere near your MRA, that one fact is worth checking before you sign anything.

The two doors in section 8413

With at least 5 years of creditable civilian service, 5 U.S.C. 8413(a) entitles you to an annuity beginning at age 62. That is the only door below 10 years, and no age reduction touches it.

With at least 10 years of total creditable service, 8413(b) opens a second door: you may elect a start date any time from your MRA up to age 62. Starting early costs five-twelfths of 1 percent per month, or 5 percent a year, under 8415(h)(1). The reduction is permanent.

The exception is where it gets interesting. 8415(h)(2) switches the reduction off if you would meet the age and service test of 8412(a) or 8412(b), with service measured at separation and age measured at the commencing date. Since 8412(a) is MRA with 30 years and 8412(b) is age 60 with 20, that gives three unreduced dates: your MRA with 30 years, age 60 with 20 years, or age 62 with anything from 5 years up.

The 1.1 percent myth

A deferred annuity is computed at 1 percent. Always. The 1.1 percent factor exists in 5 U.S.C. 8415(i), but it reaches only an employee who “retires entitled to an annuity under section 8412” and who is at least 62 with 20 years of service “at the time of the separation on which entitlement to the annuity is based.” A deferred annuity is paid under section 8413, so the first test fails. The second cannot be met either: anyone who was 62 with 20 years of service at separation was entitled to an immediate annuity under 5 U.S.C. 8412(c), and so was never deferred.

So a deferred annuitant was never in line for 1.1 percent; nothing is taken away at 62. The factor matters when you are deciding when to leave. Someone who stays until 62 with 20 years retires under 8412 at 1.1 percent: on a 20-year record that is 2 percent of high-3 more, or $2,000 a year on a $100,000 high-3, on top of keeping FEHB and FEGLI. See the FERS Retirement Calculator for what an immediate retirement at 62 would have produced instead.

Before you take a refund instead

Taking back your FERS contributions as a refund voids the annuity rights built on that service (5 U.S.C. 8424(a)). For most people with 10 or more years in, the deferred annuity is worth far more than the contributions, because the government's share is the larger part of what funds it. Check the numbers above against the refund figure on your leave and earnings statement before you decide.

And if you are being separated involuntarily rather than leaving by choice, stop here and check the discontinued service retirement rules first. A DSR pays immediately and carries no age reduction under FERS, and you can keep FEHB if you meet the 5-year enrollment rule (5 U.S.C. 8905(b)). It is a different and much better benefit than a deferred annuity.