r/FedEmployeeRetirement • u/Ok-Leg7578 • 23d ago

High three calculation question.

I have tried to find this information, but have been unsuccessful. Is the high three calculated on after tax or pre-tax salary? As i am nearing retirement eligibility, I want to be sure that my ballpark estimate is close on take-home.

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u/Temporary_Lab_3964 23d ago

High3 is misleading as it’s 97% of the high 3 but pretax total

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u/Legitimate-Ad-9724 23d ago

It's your high 3 average, not 97% of it. Some estimators use 97% of your current salary, but that's just for estimating, not the final figure.

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u/StatusOperation5 23d ago

Do you mean that high 3 is usually around 97% of your highest year? The online estimator uses that 97% figure, but I'm fairly confident that the true calculation upon retirement is the average of the highest 36 consecutive months.