For aspiring former feds

FERS Pension vs. Tech Equity Calculator

Run the assumptions. See the tradeoff.

See how the pension you could earn by staying compares with a hypothetical tech compensation path. Adjust the assumptions, examine the tradeoffs, and identify the numbers that deserve a closer look.

Your federal path

Regular FERS employees only. Special-category, CSRS and unusual service histories need individual review.

No account required. Your inputs stay in your browser unless you ask us to email your result.

Current age

Birth year

Your MRA: 57

Years already served

Creditable civilian service

Current federal salary

High-3 salary

Average of your highest 3 consecutive years of basic pay, including locality. Bonuses and overtime don't count.

Federal retirement age

When you'd retire if you stay

Pension paid through age

Sets how many years you draw the pension. A longer life makes staying worth more.

Assume I leave my FERS contributions in place

With 5+ years, leaving your contributions in keeps a deferred annuity. Withdrawing them gives it up.

The tech path you're weighing

Enter what you'd actually be paid each year, in today's dollars.

Base + bonus

Annual vested equity compensation

RSUs that vest in a typical year, not the full grant. A $240k grant over 4 years is about $60k a year.

Advanced assumptions

Everything is in today's dollars, which takes inflation out of the comparison. Growth rates here are above inflation. Inflation is only used where FERS isn't fully protected from it: a deferred annuity is fixed in dollars when you leave, and FERS cost-of-living raises can trail inflation and don't start before 62.

Real federal salary growth

Real tech compensation growth

Real discount rate

Inflation

Federal TSP employer contribution

Private employer retirement contribution

Use your offer's 401(k) match

Expected case equity appreciation

Yearly stock price growth above inflation, used in the Expected case. Keep it modest.

Upside case equity appreciation

Yearly stock price growth above inflation, used only in the speculative Upside case.

The cash floor case always uses 0% equity appreciation.

Postpone an MRA+10 annuity to avoid the reduction

Only matters if you'd retire under MRA+10. Payments start at 60 (20+ years) or 62 instead of right away.

Your exit number

Confidence: Conservative

Your break-even tech compensation is approximately $177,419 per year.

Average annual cash plus vested equity, in today's dollars, over the same 19 years.

This compares staying (federal salary and TSP contributions to age 57, then FERS pension payments through age 85) with leaving now (tech cash, vested equity and retirement contributions to age 57, plus any deferred FERS pension you keep). It does not compare total federal and private-sector wealth, and it doesn't guarantee you'll earn more by leaving. See how it's calculated

Equity counted at its value when it vests, with 0% appreciation.

Break-even annual tech comp: $177,419
Your annual tech comp: $250,000
Above break-even: +$72,581/yr

How this number is built

Share of leave path from equity: 23%
Deferred pension kept by leaving: $18,000/yr
Extra pension from staying: $36,548/yr

On these assumptions, the leave path clears break-even by about $73K a year. About 23% of the leave path's value comes from equity, so most of it is cash you'd actually be paid.

At 57 with 31 years of service, you qualify for an immediate, unreduced FERS annuity (your MRA (57) with at least 30 years).

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Career and compensation coaching for testing your assumptions, target roles, and offer. Not financial or retirement advice.

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If you stay

Federal path to 57

$2.70M

Present value, today's dollars

Federal salary, 19 yrs: $2,148,570
TSP employer contribution (5%): $107,428
FERS pension: $439,383
Annual pension at start: $46,500 at 57
Multiplier x service: 1.0% x 31 yrs

If you leave now

Big Tech path, same 19 years

$3.77M

Present value, today's dollars

Tech cash compensation: $2,721,522
Vested equity: $859,428
Private retirement contribution (4%): $108,861
Deferred FERS pension kept: $76,808

Assumptions behind this result

Federal path

Current age / birth year: 38 / 1988
Minimum Retirement Age: 57
Years already served: 12
Current federal salary: $150,000
High-3: $150,000
Federal retirement age: 57
Pension paid through age: 85
FERS contributions left in: Yes
MRA+10 postponed: No

Tech path

Path: Big Tech
Cash (base + bonus): $190,000
Annual vested equity: $60,000
Private retirement contribution: 4%

Economic assumptions

Real federal comp growth: 0%
Real tech comp growth: 0%
Real discount rate: 3%
Inflation (for FERS erosion): 2.5%
Equity appreciation (this case): 0.0%
Federal TSP employer contribution: 5%

Regular FERS only. Special-category employees, CSRS employees and unusual service histories need individual review. Educational estimate, not financial or retirement advice. See the methodology.

From estimate to action

A better number still needs a realistic transition plan.

Compensation varies by role, company, location, experience, and market conditions. Use the estimate to identify the gap you need to investigate, then test whether your positioning and target roles can support it.

Translate your federal value

Show employers the commercial, operational, technical, or risk outcomes your work produced

Choose credible target roles

Compare your experience with the actual scope, hiring signals, and compensation patterns of specific roles

Validate before you resign

Test your assumptions through conversations, interviews, and real compensation data before making an irreversible decision