The FERS Supplement: Bridge Payments to Age 62
The FERS Special Retirement Supplement is a bridge payment added to your annuity when you retire before age 62 on an unreduced immediate annuity. OPM computes it as if you were age 62 and fully insured for Social Security: it estimates your full-career (40-year) Social Security benefit, then multiplies it by your years of FERS service divided by 40. The supplement ends when you reach age 62 or become eligible for actual Social Security, is subject to an earnings test, and is not available to disability, deferred, or MRA-plus-10 retirees.
Retiring at 57 with a full career behind you creates an income puzzle. Your FERS annuity starts immediately, but Social Security is five years away. Congress built a bridge for that gap: the FERS Special Retirement Supplement, sometimes called the annuity supplement. It is not a bonus. It approximates the Social Security benefit your federal service would have earned, paid monthly until age 62.
The formula, exactly
OPM computes the supplement as if you were age 62, fully insured for a Social Security benefit, when the supplement begins and had applied for Social Security. First it estimates what your full-career, 40-year Social Security benefit would be. Then it scales that estimate by your actual FERS civilian service: divide your years of FERS service by 40 and multiply.
The official example: if your estimated full-career Social Security benefit would be $1,000 per month and you worked 30 years under FERS, OPM divides 30 by 40 (0.75) and multiplies, giving a $750 monthly supplement before any reductions.
A second example with realistic numbers: a retiree whose estimated age-62 Social Security benefit is $24,000 per year ($2,000 per month) with 30 years of FERS service receives $2,000 x (30 / 40) = $1,500 per month, or $18,000 per year, added to the basic annuity until age 62. With 20 years of FERS service the same estimate pays $2,000 x (20 / 40) = $1,000 per month.
Notice what the formula implies. Every additional FERS year is worth one-fortieth of your estimated age-62 Social Security benefit. And because the estimate is a projection made before your full career is complete, OPM notes that estimates made well before retirement tend to run a little low.
Who is eligible
You may be eligible for the supplement if you retire voluntarily on an immediate annuity that is not reduced for age. The standard cases are retirement at your minimum retirement age with 30 years of service, at age 60 with 20 years, or at age 62 with 5 years. Employees who retire involuntarily or under early-out authority may receive the supplement once they reach their minimum retirement age.
Three groups are excluded outright. Disability retirees are not eligible. Anyone retiring under the MRA-plus-10 provision is not eligible. And anyone entitled only to a deferred annuity is not eligible. The supplement exists for people who retire immediately and voluntarily, not for those whose annuity starts later.
When it ends
Eligibility for the annuity supplement continues until the earlier of two dates: the last day of the month before the first month for which you would be entitled to actual Social Security benefits, or the last day of the month in which you reach age 62. For almost everyone, that means the last full month of the supplement is the month before the 62nd birthday.
This is a hard stop, not a phase-out. Plan your income around the month it ends, because the supplement can be a large share of early-retirement income. A $1,500 monthly supplement disappearing at 62 must be replaced by Social Security, TSP withdrawals, or other income.
The earnings test
Like Social Security benefits, the supplement is subject to an earnings test. If you earn wages or self-employment income above the exempt amount, your supplement is reduced by $1 for every $2 of earnings over the limit. Your FERS basic annuity is not reduced, and basic FERS benefits do not count as earnings. If you receive a supplement, you must report your earnings to OPM, and you will receive instructions on how to do so.
This matters most for retirees who plan to work after leaving federal service. Post-retirement wages shrink the supplement dollar for dollar at the two-for-one rate above the exempt amount, so a part-time job can erase it entirely.
What the supplement is not
The supplement is not Social Security, and receiving it does not affect your actual Social Security benefit later. It does not receive cost-of-living adjustments. And it is estimated from a projection: your personal estimate from your Social Security statement is the best starting point, and the closer you are to retirement, the more dependable the number.
To see the supplement in your total picture, estimate your basic annuity with our FERS pension calculator, add your estimated supplement, and check the combined income against your age-62 plan.
Data current as of October 2026. Sources: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Retirement Facts 8 (RI 90-8) and opm.gov retirement information pages.