For air traffic controllers, law enforcement officers, and firefighters under FERS Special Provisions
The pension is yours forever. The bonus check (called the FERS Supplement, or SRS) is a bridge payment that replaces Social Security until you're old enough to collect it. It stops automatically when you turn 62 — no exceptions.
High-3 = the average of your 3 highest consecutive years of base pay + locality pay. For most people, that's your last 3 years.
Every extra year adds two things: a bigger multiplier AND, in practice, higher pay going into your High-3 as raises continue. Both increase your pension permanently.
| Years Worked | Est. Monthly Pension | Extra vs. 20 Years |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | ~$4,250/mo | — |
| 21 | ~$4,375/mo | +$125/mo forever |
| 22 | ~$4,500/mo | +$250/mo forever |
| 23 | ~$4,625/mo | +$375/mo forever |
Table assumes a flat $150,000 High-3 the whole time, so it isolates just the multiplier effect. In practice your High-3 keeps rising with raises, so real dollar gains from working longer are usually bigger than this.
| 20+ Years (Special Provision) | Under 20 Years (Regular FERS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pension starts | Age 50 | Age 57–62 at earliest |
| Multiplier | 1.7% per year | 1.0% per year |
| Supplement | Yes (bridges to 62) | No |
| COLA on pension | Starts immediately | Starts at 62 |
Leaving at 18 years instead of 20 doesn't just cost you 2 years of pension — it costs you the 1.7% rate on everything, the supplement, and 7–12 years of waiting. The math is brutal.
This section uses a different worked example than the rest of this guide — the specific inputs from a public forum thread this analysis was built from, so the math can be checked against the source reports. $148,000 High-3, 25 years, retiring at 49, 2,080 unused hours, $150,000 final salary.
You have three options at retirement, not two. Most controllers only know about the first one.
The default. Your balance converts to extra creditable service in the pension formula.
Negotiated in the NATCA/FAA contract, and most controllers have never heard of it. Retire on an immediate annuity and you can elect a lump sum worth 40% of your balance's value instead of the service credit. This is a bargaining-unit benefit, not a general federal one — it's why OPM material says sick leave is never paid out.
It's all or nothing — you cannot split the balance between cash and credit. Taxed as ordinary income the year you receive it.
Stay on full payroll instead of retiring. That time counts as actual service, which raises both your service years and your High-3, because your High-3 window slides forward onto higher-paid years.
| A — Credit | B — Buy-back | C — Burn it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash up front | none | ~$59,800 gross | ~$150,000 in salary |
| Value vs. buy-back (today's $) | −$19k to −$27k | — | +$30k to +$77k |
| Requires medical need | No | No | Yes |
| Rank | 3rd | 2nd | 🏆 1st |
Option C wins on both ends when it's available — more money during the window and a bigger pension after. Option B beats Option A because cash today beats a fraction of a percent paid out over 38 years, discounted to today's dollars.
Every hour burned early is an hour unavailable for the end-of-career strategy. With the buy-back on the table, the floor value of a banked hour is now a guaranteed cash number, not just a pension fraction.
| As service credit | As 40% cash | As end-of-career pay | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per hour banked | ~$37 lifetime | ~$29 cash | ~$72 gross |
| Per 10 hours | ~$370 | ~$290 | ~$720 |
| Per 100 hours | ~$3,700 | ~$2,900 | ~$7,200 |
If you become medically unable to do your job, you may qualify for disability retirement. Whether it beats regular retirement depends entirely on how many years you have when it happens.
Dollar figures use a flat $150,000 High-3 for every row below to isolate the years-in-service effect. Earlier in a real career your High-3 is usually lower, which makes the gap even larger in medical's favor at low year counts.
| Years In | Regular Retirement | Medical Retirement | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 yrs | ~$1,250/mo — but not until 57+ | $5,000/mo starting now | 🏆 Medical — not close |
| 10–14 yrs | ~$1,250–$1,750/mo — but not until 57+ | $5,000/mo starting now | 🏆 Medical — not close |
| 15–19 yrs | ~$1,875–$2,375/mo — but not until 57+ | $5,000/mo starting now | 🏆 Medical — easily |
| ~20 yrs | ~$4,250/mo + $1,000 supplement = $5,250/mo | $5,000/mo, no supplement | ⚖️ Roughly equal, regular slightly ahead |
| 22+ yrs | ~$4,500/mo + $1,000 supplement = $5,500/mo | $5,000/mo, no supplement | 🏆 Regular pulls ahead |
Time spent on medical retirement typically counts as a year of service. At 62, your annuity may be recalculated using your real years plus the years on medical retirement, at the standard multiplier for whichever years apply. If that recalculated number is higher than your medical-retirement rate, you get the higher amount automatically.
What they typically cannot force on you: a demotion, a move to another city, or a job you're medically incapable of doing. Same grade, same location, medically feasible — those are usually the limits of what counts as a valid offer. Confirm the exact rule for your agency.
Your pay typically climbs inside your grade's band through two kinds of raises, though the exact mechanism depends on your agency and contract:
You typically catch up to your band's maximum gradually over several years as these two effects compound.
Your specific pay band, current locality rate, and raise schedule are published for your facility on USAJobs and your union's pay tables. Pull your own numbers rather than relying on any generic example.
Yes, in some cases. Federal law allows waivers letting certain 6(c) employees work past the standard mandatory retirement age, and these have been actively granted in recent years for occupations facing staffing shortages. Whether a waiver applies to your job series is worth confirming directly, since it varies.
Each extra year past your mandatory age still builds your pension — more service time and a higher High-3.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Does overtime count toward my pension? | No. |
| Does locality pay count? | Yes, in full. |
| Is sick leave paid out when I retire? | Depends on your bargaining unit. NATCA controllers can elect a 40% cash buy-back instead of service credit. General federal employees: no, service credit only. Annual leave is always paid out separately, in full. |
| Can sick leave help me hit 20 years? | No. It only adds to your pension calculation — not your eligibility. |
| When does the supplement stop? | The day you turn 62. No exceptions. |
| Can I access my TSP before 59½? | Often yes, penalty-free, for 6(c) employees who separate in the year they turn 50 or later. Confirm your exact situation. |
| How do I find my Social Security estimate? | SSA.gov — log in and check your earnings record. |
| Did I set a TSP beneficiary? | Log in to TSP.gov and check. If it shows "none," fix it today. |
Every rule in this guide comes from an official government source or a union contract. Here's where each key fact comes from and how to confirm it independently for your own situation.
| Fact | Source | How to Verify |
|---|---|---|
| 1.7% multiplier for first 20 years of 6(c) service | 5 USC §8415 | law.cornell.edu → search 5 USC 8415 |
| Age 50 / 20-year eligibility | 5 USC §8412 | law.cornell.edu → search 5 USC 8412 |
| High-3 includes locality, excludes OT/CIP | OPM FERS Handbook Chapter 50 | opm.gov → FERS information → computation |
| 6(c) COLA starts immediately on the pension | OPM FERS Handbook | opm.gov → FERS COLA |
| SRS formula and rules | 5 USC §8421; OPM | opm.gov → retirement → FERS supplement |
| Disability retirees do NOT get SRS | OPM / FedWeek | fedweek.com → search "disability retirement supplement" |
| 2,087 hours = 1 year sick leave credit | OPM CSRS/FERS Handbook Ch. 50 | opm.gov → leave → sick leave → retirement credit |
| Sick leave credit computed at 1.0% | 5 USC §8415 | law.cornell.edu → search 5 USC 8415 |
| 40% sick leave buy-back at retirement (NATCA) | NATCA/FAA CBA — 2024 contract Art. 41 (Art. 25 §17 in prior contracts) | natca.org → CBA ratification package; ask your local rep |
| No general federal cash payout for sick leave | OPM (applies to non-BUE employees) | opm.gov → leave → sick leave |
| Supervisor 1.7%-on-all-years provision (where it exists) | 5 USC §8415(f) or equivalent; check your job series | Confirm applicability with your HR/union — not universal across all 6(c) series |
| Disability retirement 60%/40% formula | OPM FERS disability retirement rules | opm.gov → disability retirement |
| Reassignment requirement before disability retirement | OPM qualification standards for your job series | opm.gov → your job series qualification standards |
If anything in this guide conflicts with what OPM, your HR office, or a certified federal employee benefits counselor (ChFEBC) tells you — trust them over this document. This guide is a starting point, not a substitute for personalized official advice.