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Military Retirement Pay Calculator

Military retirement pay is directly linked to cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) each year announced by the Social Security Administration.

While there are some military calculators online, many of them are confusing to fill out, contain metrics that can be misleading (extrapolating inflation data), and have a generic approach to professional promotion pay scales.

Not ours.

Our approach uses decades of historical data of military pay to track pay progression to a general average (which we list). It also doesn’t take into account obscure economic projections or military rank promotion timelines. Why? Because predicting the future is hard. Instead, we just get you the bare bones of what your base retirement pay will be based on your years of service and rank. We also allow you to make future projections by giving you the data in what it would be in today’s financial amounts, and future amounts.

Note: This tool is aimed at helping you if you’re active duty or serving in the National Guard or the Reserves.

Below are additional resources and calculators for retirement pay, BRS, High-3, Redux, COLA, Thrift Savings Plan, and more.

Additional Military Retirement Calculators

  • Blended Retirement Comparison Calculator: This calculator provides a comparison between the Legacy High-3 versus the Blended Retirement System (BRS).
  • BRS Calculator: This calculator estimates your retirement benefits under the Blended Retirement System (BRS).
  • High-3 Calculator: This calculator estimates your retirement benefits under the Legacy High-3 retirement plan.
  • Final Pay Calculator: This calculator estimates your retirement pay flow under the Final Pay retirement system including charts and tables based on your situation. Only applies to those who entered service before Sept. 8, 1980.
  • REDUX Calculator: This calculator estimates your retirement benefits under the REDUX retirement plan for those who opted for the Career Status Bonus at 15 years of service but are not yet retired.
  • Retired Disability Pay Estimator: **No longer Available from DFAS** This military medical retirement calculator allows you to enter your personal information to estimate your monthly compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, retired pay and Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC).
  • RMC Calculator: Regular Military Compensation (RMC) represents a basic level of compensation that every service member receives, directly or indirectly, in-cash or in-kind and which is common to all military personnel based on their pay grade, years of service and family size.
  • SCAADL Calculator: Special Compensation for Assistance with Activities of Daily Living (SCAADL) is a special monthly compensation for eligible catastrophically injured or ill service members who require assistance with activities of daily living or who are at high risk for personal safety and cannot live independently in the community without caregiver support.
  • Thrift Savings Plan Retirement Calculators: The TSP calculators will help you decide whether receiving monthly income is right for you by comparing the available options and features.
    • Estimate the growth of your TSP account.
    • Calculate to determine the specific dollar amount to be deducted each pay period to maximize contributions.
    • Paycheck Estimator – Estimate how a contribution to a TSP account will affect take-home pay and account savings over time.
    • Contribution Comparison Calculator: Use this tool to Determine which type of contributions (traditional and/or Roth) will best suit your retirement goals.
    • TSP Payment and Annuity Calculator
    • Estimate Loan Payments
  • COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment): The annual COLA increase affects many retirement pay systems, including retired military and Social Security. You can track your next increase through the COLA Increase Watch page.