Army Retirement Calculator
Estimate monthly retired pay for a soldier who retires after 20 or more years of service. Pick the retirement plan, enter your years and your average basic pay, and see the monthly amount.
This is an unofficial estimate from the formulas in federal law. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service publishes the basic pay tables each year, and your own retirement paperwork gives your real numbers.
- Free
- Works offline after your first visit
- Saves on this device
- No sign-up
- Updated
How it works
Retired pay is a percentage of your average basic pay for your highest 36 months. The percentage is a multiplier times your years of service. The long-standing plan uses 2.5% for each year. The Blended Retirement System, which covers people who joined in 2018 or later and some who chose it, uses 2% for each year.
Years of service count full months as twelfths of a year, so this page rounds down to the whole month. The pay is shown as zero below 20 years, because that is the usual minimum for retired pay.
Enter average basic pay yourself, from the pay table for your rank and years, averaged over your best 36 months. Pay raises, cost of living increases, early retirement reductions, and the lump sum choice under the blended plan are not included.
Worked example
With 20 years of service under the High-3 plan (2.5% a year) plan, the multiplier gives 50% of your average basic pay. On an average of $5,500.00 a month, retired pay is $2,750.00 a month, or $33,000.00 a year, before any tax.
Questions
What is the high-3 average?
It is your basic pay averaged over the 36 months when it was highest. Allowances such as housing and food are not part of basic pay.
Who is under the blended plan?
People who first joined on or after January 1, 2018, and some earlier members who chose to switch. Your service records show which plan you are in.
Does this include a cost of living increase?
No. Retired pay is adjusted for inflation after you retire, and those changes are not in this estimate.
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