Pension Calculator

The classic formula is years of service × accrual rate × final average salary. So 30 years at a 2% accrual rate on an $80,000 final salary gives 30 × 0.02 × $80,000 = $48,000 a year. Your actual plan may average a different number of salary years, cap the benefit, or reduce it for early retirement, so always confirm with your plan administrator.

Accrual rates commonly fall between 1.5% and 2.5% per year of service. Public-sector and union plans are often near the higher end; private plans tend to be lower. A higher accrual rate means each year you work adds more to your eventual pension.

The replacement ratio is your annual pension divided by your final salary, expressed as a percent. It tells you what fraction of your working income the pension alone replaces. Financial planners often target 70%–85% of pre-retirement income from all sources combined — pension, Social Security, and personal savings.

The lump sum is the present value of the stream of pension payments, discounted back at the chosen rate: annual pension × (1 − (1 + r)^−n) ÷ r, where r is the discount rate and n is the years in retirement. A higher discount rate produces a smaller lump sum. Real plan lump-sum offers use mandated interest and mortality assumptions, so treat this as an approximation.

It depends on your health, other income, risk tolerance, the plan's funding health, and the interest rate used to size the offer. A lifetime pension protects against outliving your money; a lump sum gives control and can be inherited. This calculator only estimates the math — it is not financial advice, so check your specific plan and consult an advisor before deciding.

Just type your numbers. The answer shows up right away — there is no button to press. Change anything and it updates by itself.

Yes to both. It is free with no sign-up, and once the page has loaded it keeps working even with no internet.

Nowhere — every calculation runs on your own device. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or stored.