Federal government early retirement runs through three doors: the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA), the FERS MRA+10 provision, and discontinued service retirement. Each has its own age and service thresholds, and each carries permanent consequences for the size of your pension, your access to the FERS Special Retirement Supplement, and your ability to keep federal health coverage. The reductions are not recalculated later. Whatever you sign for is what you live with.
Voluntary Early Retirement Authority
VERA is not a standing benefit. Your agency has to request and receive approval from the Office of Personnel Management before it can offer early retirement, and OPM grants that authority only when the agency faces major restructuring, downsizing, or a transfer of function.1U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Voluntary Early Retirement Authority Some agencies, including the Department of Defense, hold their own standing VERA authority.
If your agency is authorized, you qualify for an immediate annuity at any age with 25 years of service, or at age 50 with 20 years of service. You must be serving under a non-temporary appointment and have been continuously employed by the agency for at least 31 days before it submitted its VERA request to OPM.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8336 – Immediate Retirement The same age and service thresholds apply under both CSRS and FERS.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 US Code 8414 – Early Retirement
The financial hit depends on your system. FERS employees taking VERA face no age-based reduction, which is what makes VERA the most valuable of the three early paths for anyone under FERS. CSRS employees under VERA lose one-sixth of one percent for each month they are under 55, which is 2% per year. A CSRS employee retiring at 50 under VERA takes a 10% permanent cut.4U.S. Department of Commerce. Voluntary Early Retirement Authority
VERA windows close. When the authorization period ends, so does the offer, and windows often run weeks or months rather than years.
The MRA+10 Provision
MRA+10 is a permanent feature of FERS and does not depend on any agency downsizing. Any FERS employee who reaches their Minimum Retirement Age with at least 10 years of creditable service can use it. Your MRA depends on your birth year:5eCFR. 5 CFR 842.204 – Immediate Voluntary Retirement – Basic Age and Service Requirements
- Born before 1948: MRA is 55.
- Born 1948–1952: MRA rises in two-month steps from 55 and 2 months to 55 and 10 months.
- Born 1953–1964: MRA is 56.
- Born 1965–1969: MRA rises in two-month steps from 56 and 2 months to 56 and 10 months.
- Born 1970 or later: MRA is 57.
You get an immediate annuity, but the price is steep. Your pension is permanently reduced by five-twelfths of 1% for each full month you are younger than 62 when payments begin, which works out to 5% per year.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8415 – Computation of Basic Annuity A 57-year-old retiree loses 25% of their annuity for life. A 55-year-old loses 35%. On a $24,000 base annuity, a 55-year-old MRA+10 retiree gives up $8,400 every year and never recovers it.
MRA+10 retirees also do not qualify for the FERS Special Retirement Supplement. That is a second, separate loss, discussed below.
Postponing the MRA+10 Annuity
You do not have to start collecting the moment you separate. If you leave federal service qualified for MRA+10 but delay the start of your payments, you can shrink the penalty or eliminate it entirely.7U.S. Office of Personnel Management. What Happens if I Postpone the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) Plus 10 Annuity?
Waiting until age 62 wipes the 5%-per-year reduction out completely. So does waiting until age 60 with at least 20 years of service, or your MRA with 30 years of service. During the postponement period you receive no annuity payments and you lose FEHB coverage until your annuity begins. Bridging that gap with private insurance is often the single biggest obstacle to using this strategy, especially if you are years away from Medicare at 65. When the postponed annuity does start, you can re-enroll in FEHB if you were enrolled for the five years immediately before you separated.8U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Applying for Deferred or Postponed Retirement Under FERS
Discontinued Service Retirement
If your position is eliminated or you are involuntarily separated for reasons other than misconduct, you may qualify for a discontinued service annuity. The age and service thresholds match VERA: any age with 25 years of service, or age 50 with 20. You also need at least five years of creditable civilian service.9U.S. Office of Personnel Management. CSRS/FERS Handbook Chapter 44 – Discontinued Service Retirement
One trap: if your agency offers you a reasonable position at the same grade and pay within your commuting area and you decline it, you forfeit eligibility. Unused sick leave cannot be counted toward meeting these minimum service thresholds, though it does count toward your annuity calculation once you qualify.
The FERS Special Retirement Supplement
The FERS supplement is a bridge payment that partially replaces Social Security income until you turn 62. It goes only to FERS retirees who leave with their MRA and at least 30 years of service, or at age 60 with at least 20 years. MRA+10 retirees, deferred retirees, and disability retirees do not receive it.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 8421 – Annuity Supplement
The amount is roughly your estimated Social Security benefit at 62 multiplied by your years of FERS-covered civilian service divided by 40.11U.S. Office of Personnel Management. CSRS/FERS Handbook Chapter 51 – Retiree Annuity Supplement A retiree with 30 years of FERS service and an estimated Social Security benefit of $2,000 at 62 would receive about $1,500 a month. The supplement stops when you turn 62 or first become eligible for Social Security, whichever comes first.
Two features surprise retirees. The supplement receives no cost-of-living adjustments, so its buying power drops every year. And it is subject to a Social Security-style earnings test: in 2026, earnings from wages or self-employment above $24,480 reduce the supplement by $1 for every $2 over the limit.12Social Security Administration. Receiving Benefits While Working Investment income, TSP withdrawals, and other pension income do not count against it.
Health and Life Insurance
Continuing FEHB into retirement requires the “5-year rule”: you must have been enrolled in FEHB for the five years of service immediately before your retirement date, or for all your service since your first opportunity to enroll if that was less than five years.13U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Can the Employee’s Five-Year Enrollment Requirements for Continuing Health Insurance Coverage Be Waived? A gap in enrollment can disqualify you, and there is no way to buy back missed time. If you are eyeing early retirement in the next few years, check your enrollment history now.
FEGLI follows nearly the same rule: five years of coverage immediately before retirement, or since your first chance to enroll. Accidental death and dismemberment coverage cannot be carried into retirement at all.14U.S. Office of Personnel Management. FEGLI Insurance FAQs
Getting to Your TSP Before 59½
Your TSP is separate from your pension, and access rules turn on your age at separation, not your years of service. Normally, withdrawals from an employer retirement plan before 59½ trigger a 10% early withdrawal penalty on top of income tax. Federal employees get an exception.
If you separate from federal service during or after the calendar year you turn 55, you can take TSP withdrawals without the 10% penalty. This “rule of 55” applies whether or not you qualify for a full retirement.15Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions Federal law enforcement officers, firefighters, customs and border protection officers, and air traffic controllers get penalty-free access starting at 50.16Thrift Savings Plan. Public Safety Employees Exemption to the Early Withdrawal Penalty
Rolling your TSP into an IRA before 59½ kills this exception on the rolled funds. If you plan to draw on retirement savings before 59½, leave the money in TSP until you cross that age.
The Survivor Election
At retirement you decide whether to elect a survivor annuity for your spouse. Under FERS, a full survivor annuity reduces your own pension by 10%, a partial by 5%. Under CSRS the reduction is 2.5% of the first $3,600 of the elected base plus 10% of any amount above $3,600.17U.S. Office of Personnel Management. How Is the Reduction Calculated? This reduction stacks on top of any early retirement penalty. If you are married and choose to provide less than a full survivor annuity, your spouse must sign a consent form. Once your retirement is finalized, the choice is essentially locked in for life.