Under the Federal Employees Retirement System, the earliest FERS retirement age is your minimum retirement age, which falls between 55 and 57 depending on when you were born. Whether you can actually leave then with a full annuity, a reduced one, or nothing at all until later depends on how many years of creditable service you have on your last day. Age 62 is the other pivotal number in the system, because several benefits either turn on or turn off there.
Minimum Retirement Age by Birth Year
Your MRA is set by federal law at 5 U.S.C. § 8412 and depends entirely on your birth year:1GovInfo. 5 USC 8412 – Immediate Retirement
- Before 1948: 55
- 1948: 55 and 2 months
- 1949: 55 and 4 months
- 1950: 55 and 6 months
- 1951: 55 and 8 months
- 1952: 55 and 10 months
- 1953–1964: 56
- 1965: 56 and 2 months
- 1966: 56 and 4 months
- 1967: 56 and 6 months
- 1968: 56 and 8 months
- 1969: 56 and 10 months
- 1970 or later: 57
Most current federal employees were born in 1970 or later, so their MRA is 57. Hitting your MRA doesn’t automatically entitle you to retire; it’s the gate that opens three of the retirement paths described below.
The Four Ways to Retire Immediately
An immediate annuity begins within 30 days of your last day of federal service. You qualify if you meet any one of these age-and-service combinations:2U.S. Office of Personnel Management. FERS Information – Eligibility
- Age 62 with 5 years of service
- Age 60 with 20 years of service
- MRA with 30 years of service
- MRA with 10 years of service (reduced)
The first three give you an unreduced annuity. The fourth, called MRA+10, cuts your monthly check for life unless you handle it carefully.
The MRA+10 Reduction
Retire at your MRA with at least 10 but fewer than 30 years of service and your annuity is permanently reduced by 5% for each full year you’re under age 62, prorated at 5/12 of 1% per month. Someone leaving at 57 with 12 years takes a 25% permanent cut to every check going forward.2U.S. Office of Personnel Management. FERS Information – Eligibility
Two ways out of the reduction exist. If you have at least 20 years of service and wait until 60 to start the annuity, no reduction applies.3U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Applying for Deferred or Postponed Retirement Under the Federal Employees Retirement System Otherwise, you can separate at your MRA, postpone the annuity until 62, and collect at the full rate. Postponed retirement gets its own treatment below because the health insurance consequences differ sharply from a plain deferred retirement.
Why Age 62 Matters So Much
Three separate rules make age 62 the most financially significant number in FERS.
First, the annuity multiplier. Your basic FERS annuity equals 1% of your high-3 average salary times your years of creditable service. Retire at 62 or later with at least 20 years of service and the multiplier rises to 1.1%. On a 30-year career with a high-3 of $100,000, that’s the difference between $30,000 and $33,000 per year for life.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8415 – Computation of Basic Annuity The 1.1% multiplier does not apply to law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers, or other special provision employees.
Second, cost-of-living adjustments. FERS retirees under 62 generally do not receive annual COLAs on the basic annuity. The adjustment starts at 62, so retirees who leave in their late 50s can watch inflation erode their check for years with no offsetting increase.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8462 – Cost-of-Living Adjustments Special provision retirees and disability retirees are the exceptions; they get COLAs immediately.
Third, Social Security eligibility. Age 62 is when you can first claim Social Security retirement benefits, which is also why the FERS bridge payment described next ends there.
The Special Retirement Supplement
If you retire before 62 under one of the qualifying paths, FERS pays a temporary supplement that approximates the Social Security benefit earned during your federal career. It fills the gap until you can actually claim Social Security.
You qualify if you retire under any of these:
- MRA with 30 years of service
- Age 60 with 20 years of service
- Voluntary early retirement or discontinued service retirement
- Special provision retirement (law enforcement, firefighters, air traffic controllers)
You do not get the supplement if you retire under MRA+10, take a deferred retirement, or retire on disability. Payments stop at the end of the month before you turn 62, or earlier if you become eligible for Social Security.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8421 – Annuity Supplement
An earnings test applies. If you work after retiring and earn more than $24,480 in 2026, the supplement is reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn above that threshold. The limit tracks the Social Security retirement earnings test and adjusts each year. Only the supplement is affected; your basic annuity is never reduced because of outside earnings.7Social Security Administration. Receiving Benefits While Working
Retiring Before Your MRA
Two paths let you leave before hitting any of the standard combinations. Neither is available at will.
Voluntary Early Retirement Authority
An agency has to request and receive OPM approval before offering VERA, and it’s typically granted during major restructuring, workforce reductions, or reorganizations. When an agency has active VERA authority, employees can retire at age 50 with 20 years of service, or at any age with 25 years of service. VERA retirees do not face the 5% per year MRA+10 age reduction.8U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Voluntary Early Retirement Authority
Discontinued Service Retirement
If you’re involuntarily separated through no fault of your own, such as in a reduction in force or when your position is abolished, you’re eligible on the same age-and-service terms as VERA: 50 with 20 years, or any age with 25. No age reduction applies. Removal for misconduct or poor performance does not qualify.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8414 – Early Retirement
Deferred vs. Postponed Retirement
These two options sound alike and behave very differently, especially around health insurance.
Deferred Retirement
If you leave federal service before qualifying for any immediate annuity, you may still be entitled to a deferred annuity if you completed at least five years of creditable civilian service and did not take a refund of your retirement contributions. A lump-sum refund voids annuity rights until you return to covered service.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8424 – Lump-Sum Benefits
When the deferred annuity can begin depends on your service:
- 5+ years of civilian service: annuity begins the month after you turn 62, unreduced.
- 10+ years of service (including 5 civilian): you can start at your MRA, reduced by 5% for each year under 62.
- 20+ years of service: unreduced at age 60.
The catch: deferred retirees cannot carry FEHB or Federal Employees Group Life Insurance into retirement.11U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Types of Retirement
Postponed Retirement
Postponed retirement is only available to employees who meet the MRA+10 requirements at separation but choose to delay the annuity start date. It preserves your ability to re-enroll in FEHB. During the postponement, you can temporarily continue FEHB for up to 18 months by paying the full premium (both shares) plus a 2% administrative charge. When the annuity begins, you can re-enroll in FEHB if you had at least five years of continuous coverage before separating, and OPM resumes paying the government share.11U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Types of Retirement
If you’re leaving federal service in your late 50s and health coverage matters, the gap between postponed retirement (FEHB preserved) and deferred retirement (FEHB lost) can be worth tens of thousands of dollars before Medicare eligibility.
Special Ages for Law Enforcement, Firefighters, and Air Traffic Controllers
Federal law enforcement officers, firefighters, nuclear materials couriers, customs and border protection officers, and air traffic controllers work under different age rules. They can retire at 50 with 20 years of covered service, or at any age after 25 years of covered service.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8412 – Immediate Retirement
Mandatory separation ages apply too. Law enforcement officers, firefighters, nuclear materials couriers, and customs and border protection officers must separate by age 57 or upon completing 20 years of service, whichever is later. Air traffic controllers face mandatory separation at 56 under the same formula.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8425 – Mandatory Separation
These employees also receive COLAs immediately on retirement and qualify for the special retirement supplement regardless of age.
Keeping Health Insurance in Retirement
To carry FEHB into retirement, two conditions have to be met: you must retire on an immediate annuity, and you must have been continuously enrolled in FEHB for the five years of service immediately before retirement. If you’ve been enrolled for fewer than five years, you must have been enrolled since your first opportunity.14U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Health
Employees who dropped FEHB at some point during their career can find themselves locked out with no fix available close to retirement. Check your enrollment history well before you plan to leave.