Federal Retirement Date Planner | 2026 Professional Planning Edition

Choosing when to retire from federal service is about more than picking a date on the calendar.

The Federal Retirement Date Planner is an 11-page planning resource designed to help federal employees compare potential retirement dates and understand how age, service, retirement eligibility, FERS calculations, insurance coverage, leave balances, and other important factors can affect that decision.

Rather than looking at a retirement date in isolation, this planner helps you compare multiple dates side by side and identify the questions that should be verified before making your final decision.

INSIDE THE DATE PLANNER:

• FERS Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) reference chart
• Federal retirement pathway comparison
• Immediate, MRA+10, postponed, deferred, and early retirement considerations
• Three-date retirement comparison worksheet
• Age and creditable service comparison
• High-3 and FERS annuity planning
• 1.0% vs. 1.1% FERS calculation considerations
• MRA+10 age-reduction planning
• Separation date vs. annuity commencement date
• Annual leave and sick leave considerations
• FERS Annuity Supplement eligibility review
• FEHB continuation review
• FEGLI continuation review
• Social Security and Medicare planning milestones
• Retirement planning timeline
• Candidate-date decision scorecard
• Final decision and verification log
• Official authority and verification sources

BUILT AROUND THREE IMPORTANT STEPS:

YOUR DATA
Record your age, service, pay, leave balances, retirement coverage, and other information from your records.

PLANNING ESTIMATE
Compare potential retirement dates and estimate how each date could affect important retirement factors.

OFFICIAL VERIFICATION
Identify eligibility, insurance, service credit, and other information that should be confirmed with the appropriate agency or program before making a final retirement decision.

WHO THIS IS FOR:

Federal employees who are beginning to narrow down a retirement date or who want to understand the potential differences between several retirement-date options.

FORMAT:

• 11-page digital PDF
• Printable
• Designed for personal federal retirement planning
• 2026 Professional Planning Edition
• Immediate digital download

Your retirement date can affect more than when you stop working.

Compare the dates. Understand the tradeoffs. Verify the details. Make an informed decision.

IMPORTANT:

This is an independent educational and organizational resource. It is not an official government publication and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any federal agency. It does not provide legal, tax, investment, financial, or individualized retirement advice. Federal rules and individual circumstances can change. Final eligibility, service credit, benefit amounts, continuation of coverage, and retirement processing are determined by the responsible agencies under applicable law and regulation.