HighThree models your FERS pension, TSP trajectory, and the real break-even cost of leaving federal service — so you can make career decisions with numbers, not hunches.
You'll need: birth date · SCD (from SF-50 box 31) · current salary · TSP balance (TSP.gov) · SS estimate (SSA.gov)
Four calculators. One transparent model. Every assumption yours to tune.
Year-by-year forecast of your salary, TSP balance, rolling high-3, and projected pension. Every assumption is yours to customize.
Open estimator → 02 — BREAK-EVENDrag a departure-year slider and see the extra annual salary you'd need in the private sector to replace what you walk away from.
Compute break-even → 03 — WHEN TO RETIREYear-by-year comparison of lifetime retirement value at every possible retirement age — so you can see exactly what each extra year of service is worth.
Explore timing → 04 — ALL SCENARIOSEvery possible departure year, side by side. See the break-even premium required if you left at age 30, 35, 40, or any other year — all at once.
See all scenarios → 05 — EDUCATIONYOS, High-3, the 62+20 bonus, FEHB, the FERS Supplement — the twelve factors that actually move your retirement number, explained with examples.
Learn the levers → 06 — METHODOLOGYEvery formula, source, and assumption — spelled out. Because a number without its math is just a guess.
Read the method → 07 — RELOCATIONCompare all 50 states by retirement tax burden, cost of living, property tax, climate, and healthcare. See how much you'd save by moving.
Compare states →A GS-14 with 30 years of service retiring at 62 has a FERS pension with a present value of roughly $1.3 million — that's what it would cost to self-fund the same inflation-adjusted annuity on day one of retirement.
Most private-sector job offers undervalue this by 30—50%. The break-even calculator shows you exactly what premium you'd need to negotiate to walk away whole.
See the break-even math →Three inputs. A transparent model. Decisions you can defend with data.
Birth date, SCD, current pay, TSP balance, contribution rates. Nothing leaves your browser.
Pay raise %, TSP growth, contribution limits, inflation. Conservative defaults load by default.
Year-by-year table, tabbed charts, retirement breakdown, and the break-even number.
"A FERS pension is one of the most valuable compensation instruments left in the American workforce. Before you consider leaving — know exactly what you'd be leaving behind."
Answers to the most frequent concerns from federal employees.
Start with the estimator. Get your baseline. Then stress-test it against the career moves you're actually considering.