Reserve retirement calculator
National Guard and Reserve retired pay is your High-3 average times 2.5% for each year of service, where a year is 360 retirement points. Under the Blended Retirement System it's 2.0%. Pay usually starts at age 60.
- Who qualifies: 20 qualifying years, each with at least 50 points (10 U.S.C. 12731, 12732).
- Points: your total from your retirement points statement.
- Active-duty (20-year) retirement: use the military retirement calculator.
How reserve retired pay is figured
Retired pay = High-3 average × 2.5% × (retirement points ÷ 360), rounded down to the whole dollar (10 U.S.C. 12739). Under BRS, use 2.0% instead of 2.5%.
- Years from points: your total retirement points divided by 360 (10 U.S.C. 12733). 3,000 points count as 8⅓ years. These aren't your years for pay, which count all your time as a member.
- High-3 average: your highest 36 months of basic pay, counted as if you had served on active duty in those months (10 U.S.C. 1407(d)). If you stay in the Retired Reserve until pay starts, these are usually the 36 months before it starts, at the pay rates and years for pay of that time.
- Limit: 75% of the High-3 (60% under BRS), reached at 10,800 points (30 years). More counts only under conditions the Secretary of Defense sets (10 U.S.C. 12739(c)), so the calculator holds the result at the limit.
Worked example: E-7 with 3,000 points and 30 years for pay
| Years from points | 3,000 ÷ 360 = 8⅓ |
|---|---|
| High-3 (E-7 with 30 years for pay: 36 months at the over-26 and over-28 rate, 2026) | $7,067.40 |
| High-3: 8⅓ × 2.5% = 20.83% | $1,472.38 → $1,472 a month |
| BRS: 8⅓ × 2.0% = 16.67% | $1,177.90 → $1,177 a month |
The High-3 here uses the 2026 pay table (Executive Order 14368). Basic pay usually rises every January, so the High-3 when your pay actually starts will likely be higher.
When reserve retired pay starts
- Age 60 is the standard eligibility age (10 U.S.C. 12731(f)(1)).
- Earlier with qualifying service: for Ready Reserve members, each 90 days of certain active duty, or certain emergency active service under 32 U.S.C. 502(f), after January 28, 2008, in one fiscal year (or two fiscal years in a row after September 30, 2014), lowers the age by 3 months, but not below 50 (10 U.S.C. 12731(f)(2)).
- You apply for it: retired pay under these rules is paid "upon application" (10 U.S.C. 12731(a)).
Which system you're under
BRS (2.0%) applies if you first joined any part of the military, active or reserve, on or after January 1, 2018, or opted in; most who could opt in had fewer than 12 years and did it in 2018 (10 U.S.C. 12739(f)). Otherwise it's High-3 (2.5%), except for members who joined before September 8, 1980, whose retired pay uses their final basic pay instead (10 U.S.C. 12739(a)). BRS members can also take part of their retired pay as a lump sum when it starts, with lower monthly pay until Social Security retirement age (10 U.S.C. 1415).
Questions people ask
How is National Guard retirement pay calculated?
Your High-3 average times 2.5% times your retirement points divided by 360 (10 U.S.C. 12739 and 12733), or 2.0% under the Blended Retirement System. For example, 3,000 points and a High-3 of $7,067.40 give $1,472 a month under High-3.
How many points do I need to retire from the Reserve?
You need 20 qualifying years, and a year qualifies when you earn at least 50 points in it (10 U.S.C. 12732), so anyone who qualifies has at least 1,000 points. Your total points then set the amount.
When does reserve retired pay start?
At age 60, or earlier for Ready Reserve members who served certain active duty or emergency active service after January 28, 2008: 3 months earlier for each 90 days in a fiscal year (or in two fiscal years in a row after September 30, 2014), but not before age 50 (10 U.S.C. 12731(f)).
What High-3 is used for reserve retirement?
Your highest 36 months of basic pay, counted as if you were on active duty in those months (10 U.S.C. 1407(d)). If you stay in the Retired Reserve, it's usually the 36 months before your pay starts, so it uses the pay rates and years for pay of that time, not the ones when you stopped drilling.
Updated November 7, 2026. Sources: 10 U.S.C. 12731; 10 U.S.C. 12732; 10 U.S.C. 12733; 10 U.S.C. 12739; 10 U.S.C. 1407; 10 U.S.C. 1415; 37 U.S.C. 205; Executive Order 14368, "Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay," 90 FR 60521, December 23, 2025, Schedule 8. Not affiliated with the Department of Defense or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.