U.S. Office of Personnel Management www.opm.gov - Recruiting, Retaining and Honoring a World-Class Workforce to Serve the American People

Federal Ballpark E$timate®

The Federal Ballpark E$timate (FBE) is a long-term retirement savings planning tool. The FBE is not an annuity calculator to determine your future retirement benefits. Federal employees within 3 years of retirement should contact their local servicing human resource (HR) office for an annuity estimate specific to their own service history and unique circumstances.

Who can use the Federal Ballpark E$timate? The Federal Ballpark E$timate can be used by employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), CSRS-Offset, or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) who plan to retire under the voluntary age and service rules. The current version does not perform estimates for employees planning to retire under the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) + 10 rules, or those who are covered by special computation rules such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, or former Federal employees who may be entitled to a deferred retirement.

Can I use the Federal Ballpark E$timate if I elected FERS or have a service computation date (SCD) before 1/1/1987? While FERS began on January 1, 1987, it is possible for a FERS employee to have an SCD (for retirement purposes) prior to that date. Examples of when a FERS employee may have an SCD prior to 1/1/1987 include:

1. employees with prior CSRS service who elected FERS,
2. employees who paid military deposits and
3. Federal employees first hired during the "Interim period" between 1/1/1984 and 12/31/1986, can have SCD’s earlier than 1987.

I'm getting close to retirement...where do I go to get information concerning my retirement? The Federal Ballpark E$timate is a retirement savings planning tool. It is not an annuity estimate. If you are within 3 years of your planned retirement date you should contact your human resource (HR) office for an annuity estimate. It’s very important to contact your human resource (HR) office well in advance of your retirement for several reasons, including, ensuring that all your service is accounted for and creditable towards retirement and that you are in the correct retirement system; i.e., CSRS, CSRS Offset, or FERS. The Federal Ballpark E$timate can be used as a guideline for your retirement needs. There are other things to consider when getting close to retirement for which your HR office is the place to discuss all of YOUR options. If you don’t know who your agency HR office is or have had a difficult time contacting that office, you may contact the lead agency benefits officer at your employing agency. The list of lead agency benefits officers can be found at: http://apps.opm.gov/abo.

It's early in my Federal career, will the Federal Ballpark E$timate help me? Yes! The FBE is a long term planning tool which can be very beneficial to persons with only a couple of years of Federal service. This is because the FBE will get you thinking about how the way you save can be beneficial to you down the road to retirement. It’s never too early!

Before I begin using the Federal Ballpark E$timate, is there a list of assumptions that is used in this tool? Yes, we have collected all assumptions used in the FBE and provide them to you via this link: Assumptions used in FBE.

Questions or comments about the Federal Ballpark E$timate? Email questions or comments to benefits@opm.gov. This link will open your default email program in a new window.

Select the Start Now text below to begin.

START the Federal Ballpark E$timate NOW

The Federal Ballpark E$timate® was developed by the Employee Benefit Research Institute® and its American Savings Education Council® (ASEC®) program . It is based upon the interactive version of the Ballpark E$timate® worksheet developed by EBRI and ASEC.

Ballpark E$timate® is a registered trademark of the Employee Benefit Research Institute®. All Rights Reserved. Used With Permission.