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Projections
What your profile and the decisions you have recorded add up to. Mark a mistake on any checklist page and the lines here move.
Who this is built for
This is a beta. Every figure here is an illustration built from what you have entered, not a statement of what you are owed — only DFAS, the VA and your own finance office can tell you that.
- Not built for you — Medical or disability retirement (Chapter 61)
- A disability retirement uses a different multiplier and a longevity cap that this does not model at all. Nothing here applies.
- Not built for you — Already separated
- Built for somebody still serving. It projects forward from today's pay and will overstate everything if you have already left.
- Not built for you — Already retired
- Built for somebody still accruing. Use the money chain for what a retirement actually pays out.
- Not built for you — Spouse, former spouse or survivor
- Nothing here models an annuity, DIC, or arrears of pay. Do not use it to plan a survivor's income.
- Partly — read this — Active duty separating before 20 years
- The TSP and net-worth lines are right. The retired pay line is zero throughout, which is correct — there is no partial pension below twenty years — but it is easy to read as a chart failure rather than an answer.
- Partly — read this — Guard or Reserve
- Retired pay is drawn only once your good years and points per year are on your profile, and it is projected in today's dollars from the day you become eligible. It does not model the gray area before pay begins; the Reserve planner does.
- Built for you — Active duty heading for a 20-year retirement
Every calculator here carries this list. See all of them side by side.
Estimates only. These figures are not financial advice and not a promise of any benefit. They use rates published for 2026, which change every year. Verify anything you plan to act on with your finance office.
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Side by side
The comparisons that a graph cannot show.
Blended Retirement System against Legacy High-3
Which one applies to you is set by your DIEMS date and cannot be chosen now.
| Option | Legacy High-3 | Blended Retirement System |
|---|---|---|
| Who is in it | DIEMS before 1 Jan 2018 | DIEMS on or after 1 Jan 2018 |
| Multiplier per year | 2.5% | 2.0% |
| At 20 years | 50% of High-3 | 40% of High-3 |
| At 30 years | 75% of High-3 | 60% of High-3 |
| TSP automatic 1% | No | Yes, after 60 days of service |
| TSP match up to 4% | No | Yes, from 2 years of service |
| Continuation pay | No | Yes, between 8 and 12 years of service |
| Lump-sum option | No | Yes, 25% or 50% at retirement |
TRICARE plans by life stage
Costs change every year. Check tricare.mil for the current figures before deciding.
| Plan | Who it is for | Enrolment deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Prime | Active duty, families, retirees under 65 in a Prime Service Area | Open Season, or 90 days from a qualifying life event |
| Select | Families and retirees under 65 who want provider choice | Open Season, or 90 days from a qualifying life event |
| Reserve Select | Selected Reserve members not eligible for FEHB | Any time, or at a qualifying life event |
| Retired Reserve | Gray-area retirees under 60 holding a 20-year letter | After you qualify. It does not start automatically |
| For Life | Anyone 65 or older with Medicare Part A and Part B | Automatic, but Part B must already be in place |
| Young Adult | Unmarried children aged 21 to 26 without their own plan | Any time after regular eligibility ends |
| CHCBP | Anyone losing TRICARE, including former spouses | 60 days from losing eligibility |
Concurrent receipt: CRDP against CRSC
You cannot receive both. There is an annual season to switch between them.
| Option | CRDP | CRSC |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Restores retired pay offset by VA compensation | Pays compensation for combat-related disability |
| Rating needed | 50% or more | 10% or more |
| Service needed | 20-year retirement | Retirement, and a combat-related condition |
| How you get it | Automatic if you qualify | You must apply |
| Taxable | Yes | No |
Social Security claiming age
Full Retirement Age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
| Claim at | Effect on the monthly amount | Worth considering when |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | Permanently reduced, to 70% of the full amount at an FRA of 67 | You need the income now, or you have reason to expect a shorter retirement |
| Full Retirement Age | The full amount | You want the straightforward answer |
| 70 | Increased to 124% of the full amount at an FRA of 67 | You expect a long retirement, or you want to raise a surviving spouse's benefit |
Figures we could not verify
These are deliberately excluded from every calculation on this page rather than estimated.
- BRS lump-sum discount rate. Published annually by the DoD Office of the Actuary. The current-year rate could not be confirmed to a primary source. Verify ↗
- Temporary Early Retirement Authority (15-19 years). The statutory authority reportedly lapsed on 31 December 2025, but a Department comptroller policy memo for FY2026 also exists. The two sources conflict. Verify ↗
- Continuation pay multiplier and the exact year it is offered. Each service publishes its own multiplier annually and they diverge. Do not rely on another service's figure. Verify ↗
- SkillBridge duration caps by rank. Rank-tiered caps were tightened in 2026 and differ by branch. Verify ↗
- Post-9/11 GI Bill transfer-of-entitlement eligibility caps. A service-years cap on transfer eligibility has been proposed and rescinded historically. Current policy could not be confirmed. Verify ↗
- Conditions added to the PACT Act presumptive list in 2025-2026. The presumptive list is expanded on a rolling basis. Only the VA's own list is authoritative. Verify ↗