Using the BRS Calculator for Active Duty Service Members

This step is the simplest. Select “Active Duty,” then choose whether you expect to retire from active or reserve duty. For demonstration purposes, we’ll assume retirement straight from active duty.

Press “Continue” to proceed.

In this step, you’ll be asked, “How many years do you think you’ll serve before you leave?” You may not know now, so put in your best estimate. Remember, the longer you stay in, the longer you can contribute to your TSP account. You’ll only be eligible for a pension payment if you retire after serving 20 years on qualifying active service.”

In all, you’ll put in:

• Your birth date
• Your pay entry base date (This is the month and year you first got paid by the military. This can be found on your LES.)
• Your current pay grade
• Your active service date (This is the month and year you first went on active duty. It can be found on the DD Form 214, block 12a.)
• The number of years you’ll serve (This is the number of years you serve before you separate or retire. To show your future pension payment, make sure you put in at least 20 years.)

Once you’ve put in your answers, press “Continue.”

For this step, you might not know the answers now. Many of these boxes are pre-filled with the most common responses. Try starting with the suggested common responses. You can always customize the responses through drop-down menus.

You’ll enter your:

• Life expectancy
• TSP withdrawal age (This is the age when you decide to start withdrawing money from your TSP account. This defaults to 67, BRS’s “Full Retirement Age,” but you can start withdrawing at 59½ years without paying extra income taxes. The longer you can wait to withdraw, the more money you will earn.)
• TSP contribution rate (This is the percentage of your basic pay you plan to contribute to your TSP. This defaults to 5% since that’s what’s needed for the government to contribute a max of 5% of your basic pay. However, you can increase or decrease this amount if you plan on deducting more or less money from your monthly pay.)
• TSP rate of return (This is how much extra money you think your retirement account will make each year before you start withdrawing from it. This defaults to a 7% average annual increase. You can decrease this percentage for a more conservative estimate and a lower future TSP payment. You can increase it if you think the market will perform better by the time you withdraw your funds.)
• TSP rate of return after withdrawal (This is how much you think your account will make each year after you begin to withdraw. This defaults to 3%.)
• Current TSP account balance (This consists of what you’ve contributed so far and what the government has matched. You can find this information online at the official TSP website.)

After you have made your choices, click “Continue.”

How much you contribute to your retirement accounts will depend on your basic pay amount. That amount increases with promotions and years of service. Therefore, the calculator asks what you think your pay grade will be every year to your projected separation year.

If you are unsure, the system automatically fills in each year’s possible pay grade following a “typical military career progression.” You can simply continue from this step, or you can override the calculator’s suggestions with the drop-down menu.

During your career, you may receive large bonuses. One of these is called “Continuation Pay,” which you will receive on agreeing to serve for at least three more years. This step will ask you for some basic information to determine how big a bonus you might receive and the amount you may put into your TSP retirement account.

Again, the calculator will automatically fill in this section for you, based on common scenarios for most service members, but you can customize it, too. Once you are done, press “Continue” to see the results.

This first tab shows you how much the government will pay you every year, from now through retirement.

The first columns reflect the basic pay you receive until you leave the service — as you do now. You may also see a “Continuation Pay” spike on top of your basic pay.

When you officially retire from military service with at least 20 years of active service, you will receive an annuity payment each month. This is the “BRS Pension” column series that reflects your monthly payments until you reach the age at which you will start withdrawing from your TSP account, which defaults to 67 years old. Those withdrawals from your TSP account will be in addition to your BRS pension.

Remember that if you leave before 20 years, you will receive no pension payment — but you can receive withdrawals from your TSP account.

Remember, your TSP savings account is an actual account that uses your contributions to invest for your retirement. That means your TSP account has a real dollar amount, just like a checking or savings account. You cannot access it before you turn 59½ without tax penalties.

The TSP Summary tab shows you what that account will be worth each year, based on the estimates you inputted earlier. The chart divides itself into your personal contribution earnings and those the government matches, but the total amount belongs to you.

Notice that your account is projected to continue growing, even after you stop contributing when you retire. That’s because the money you already put into the account will usually earn more every year through investments. The amount typically starts decreasing the year you start withdrawing from it.

The previous charts assume that you do not take a lump sum of the value of your future retirement pension. However, if you decide to take a lump sum of either 25% or 50% when you retire, this section shows you how your retirement annuity would change.

Notice how your pension returns to a “full payment” later in the chart. That’s because BRS pensions go back to full payment status once you turn 67 years old — the program’s “Full Retirement Age” — even if you took the lump sum back when you first retired from military service.

Tables beneath the main bar chart discuss the final dollar amounts in more detail. It will also show you how you end up with less money throughout your lifetime if you choose to take the lump sum upfront, instead of waiting to receive the full pension payment each year.

If reading spreadsheets is more understandable to you than bar graphs, this is the tab designed for you. It will list the calendar year and the payments made to you throughout your lifetime.

It will include:

• Annual basic pay calculated from your projected promotions and bonuses
• TSP contributions by both you and the government
• BRS pension payments once you retire
• The projected TSP payouts when you turn 67 years old
• Your total annual retirement payments