BRS vs High-36: how much smaller is the pension, and what you get

The Blended Retirement System (BRS) changed the deal for everyone who joined from 2018 on, and for the members who opted in before that. In exchange for a smaller pension, BRS adds government contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The question every service member eventually asks is simple: how much smaller is the pension, and what do I get for it?

I am on active duty in the Air Force, and this is the comparison that comes up whenever retirement does. This guide puts dollar figures on it using two official sources: the Department of Defense's description of the retirement plans and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service's 2026 basic pay table, both listed at the end. No market returns are assumed anywhere; where growth matters, the guide says so and points you to a calculator.

The two formulas

• High-36 (legacy): 2.5% times years of service times the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay. Twenty years is 50%.
• BRS: 2% times years of service times the same High-36 average, so twenty years is 40%. Plus a Government contribution of 1% of basic pay to the TSP after 60 days of service, and matching of up to another 4% from after your second year through your 26th year.

The pension difference is 0.5 percentage points for every year of service: 10 points at 20 years, 15 at 30. The TSP side depends on what you contribute; DoD's Reserve Component Retirement Guide spells out that the full Service contribution of 4% total comes when you put in at least 5% yourself.

What the pension difference is in dollars

Using the 2026 basic pay table, and assuming the same grade for the last three years, here is the monthly pension under each plan for a few common retirement grades:

For an E-7 retiring at 20 years, the BRS pension is about $611.85 a month lower, or about $7,342 a year. Because military retired pay gets a yearly cost-of-living adjustment under both plans, that gap grows in dollar terms over a long retirement, and someone who retires in their early forties may collect for four decades or more.

What BRS gives back during your career

The government side of BRS is up to 5% of basic pay going into your TSP each month once matching starts: the automatic 1% plus up to 4% matching. On basic pay of $5,000 a month, that is $250 a month, or $3,000 a year, before any investment growth. Over a career, those contributions, and what they earn in the TSP, are what is meant to make up for the smaller pension.

Whether they do depends on things no table can promise: how much you contribute, how the money is invested, what the markets do, and whether you leave it invested until retirement. Our compound interest calculator lets you test the government contributions at a return you choose, and the contribution limits page shows the 2027 TSP limit.

Who comes out ahead

If you leave before 20 years

High-36 pays a pension only to members who qualify for a retirement based on longevity of service. Leave at year 8 or year 12 under High-36 and, apart from a disability retirement, there is no pension at all. Under BRS, the government contributions made during those years are in your TSP account. For anyone who is not sure they will stay 20 years, that is the main argument for BRS.

If you serve 20 years or more

At 20 years and beyond, the High-36 pension is larger by 10 or more percentage points, paid for life and adjusted for inflation every year. The BRS member has a smaller lifetime pension plus whatever their TSP account has grown to, including the government's 1% and matching contributions. Which is worth more depends on contributions, investment returns and how long you collect.

If you serve longer

The gap widens with every year: at 24 years, the E-7 example is $3,839.22 a month under High-36 against $3,071.38 under BRS. But BRS matching runs only through the 26th year of service, so the TSP side stops growing from new government contributions after that.

The gap at 24 and 30 years

The longer you serve, the larger the difference in percentage points, and the larger the High-36 average it applies to:

At 30 years the multipliers are 75% and 60%. For an O-5 that is a difference of about $1,859.22 a month in these estimates. Each grade's page on the retirement pay by rank table shows every year from 20 to 40.

Guard and Reserve members

The same trade applies to the Reserve Components, but on equivalent years instead of calendar years. DoD's Reserve Component Retirement Guide gives the formulas: High-3 average basic pay times 2.5% times equivalent years under the legacy plan, or times 2.0% under BRS, where equivalent years are total career retirement points divided by 360. A member with 4,000 points (about 11.1 equivalent years) gives up roughly 5.6 percentage points of multiplier under BRS. The Guard and Reserve points calculator shows both figures for your points, and the guide notes that Guard and Reserve members with civilian jobs share one IRS contribution limit between the TSP and a civilian 401(k).

The choice is mostly behind us

For most people this is no longer a decision but a fact. Everyone who first entered service on or after January 1, 2018 is in BRS automatically. The opt-in was offered to members who, as of December 31, 2017, had fewer than 12 years of active service, or fewer than 4,320 retirement points in a Reserve Component, and it has closed. What remains a choice is how you use BRS: how much you put into the TSP, how you invest it, and whether you take the lump sum at retirement.

Two more BRS features

• Continuation pay: a one-time, mid-career incentive available in exchange for agreeing to perform additional obligated service.
• The lump sum option: at retirement, eligible members can take a discounted, upfront payment of 25% or 50% of their estimated retired pay in exchange for reduced monthly retired pay until they reach full Social Security retirement age. DoD publishes the discount rate each year.

Neither appears in the pension figures above. The lump sum in particular trades part of the monthly pension for cash now, which can make sense for some situations and cost a lot in others, so read DoD's lump sum course before choosing it.

For members who chose: REDUX is a different trade

Some older members are in neither plan but in CSB/REDUX, which paired a $30,000 Career Status Bonus with a multiplier cut of one point for each year short of 30 until age 62, and a COLA one point lower. The guide to how military retired pay is calculated covers it, and the retirement pay calculator compares all four plans for the same High-36 and years.

A checklist

1. Confirm which plan you are in, from your DIEMS and any opt-in or REDUX election.
2. If you are in BRS, contribute at least 5% to the TSP so you receive the full government match.
3. Look up your grade on the retirement pay by rank table to see the pension at 20, 24 and 30 years.
4. Estimate your TSP balance with your own contribution rate and a return you consider realistic.
5. Before retirement, compare the lump sum option against keeping the full monthly pension.
6. Remember the pension is gross: Survivor Benefit Plan premiums and taxes come out of it.

DoD offers BRS courses and free personal financial counselors through installation financial readiness offices. Use them, and DoD's comparison calculator, for your own numbers.