Everything you need to know, and what you'll collect in retirement.
Tier 3 means you were appointed on or after July 1, 2009. Unofficial tool. Not affiliated with the FDNY or the NYC Fire Pension Fund. Your actual numbers may vary.
This is a work in progress and I'm happy to add what people want. Send your questions or suggestions.
How your Tier 3 pension works, in plain English. Tap any question to open it.
Yes, if you were appointed to the FDNY as a uniformed member on or after July 1, 2009.
If you were appointed before that, you're most likely in Tier 2. Tier 2 has different rules, so the numbers on this site won't match your pension.
Once you have 20 years on the job, you can retire and collect 50% of your final average salary for the rest of your life. That comes from S4727, signed into law as Chapter 692 of the Laws of 2025.
The 50% doesn't go up if you stay longer. Staying can still raise your pension in three ways: your final average salary is usually higher, your pension can grow with inflation (escalation), and you bank extra VSF payments.
FDNY members must retire by age 62.
It's the average of your best 3 calendar years in a row, overtime included.
There's one limit: a year only counts up to 10% more than the average of the 2 years before it. Anything above that is cut.
Example: you made $100,000 and then $110,000. Their average is $105,000, so the next year counts only up to $115,500. If you made $130,000 that year, $14,500 of it doesn't count.
It depends on how many years you have when you retire:
This changed in the 2026 state budget, signed May 27, 2026. Before that, full escalation took 25 years. Another bill (S9203) would move it to 20 years; it hasn't passed. See Bills in Albany.
23 years gets you full escalation. Your pension grows every year and each raise builds on the last.
Example: a $90,000 pension that grows 3% a year is about $162,500 after 20 years. Without escalation, the same pension stays close to $90,000.
25 years starts the longevity bonus, which raises the salary your pension is figured on.
If you retire with 25 years or more, part of your rank's top pay is added to your final average salary: 5% at 25 years, plus 1% for each year after, up to 15% at 35. It became law in the 2026 state budget, signed May 27, 2026, and it applies to any uniformed rank.
Example: a firefighter retiring at 28 years gets 8% of the top firefighter pay ($109,352), which is $8,748. That's added to their final average salary, so their pension goes up about $4,374 a year.
It doesn't apply to a 3/4s disability pension in these calculators.
The VSF (Variable Supplements Fund) pays $12,000 a year to members who retire for service with 20 or more years. It's paid around December 15 for UFA members and around January 31 for UFOA members.
The banked variable: for each full year you work past 20, one $12,000 payment is banked. You get it as a lump sum when you retire. For example, 5 extra years means $60,000.
Until you turn 62, any COLA you get is taken out of your VSF.
At 62, your pension goes down by half of your Social Security benefit. This is called the Social Security offset. Only your earnings from public service in New York count toward it.
Example: if your Social Security is $2,400 a month, your pension drops by $1,200 a month at 62.
Social Security itself is paid separately, by the federal government.
An accident disability retirement (a "three-quarters") pays 75% of your final average salary, at any length of service, and it's generally not taxed.
It must be approved by the Pension Fund's Medical Board and Board of Trustees.
A service pension is subject to federal income tax but not New York State or New York City income tax.
An accident disability (3/4s) pension is generally not taxed. If you move out of state, check that state's rules or ask a tax professional.
Health benefits come with collecting a pension, and they're only available while you're actually collecting one. Accident disability retirees get health insurance regardless of years of service.
For details, call Employee Health Benefits at the NYC Office of Labor Relations: 212-306-7390.
From the NYC Fire Pension Fund: 929-436-0099. This site is an unofficial planning tool. It isn't affiliated with the FDNY or the Pension Fund, and your actual numbers may vary. Confirm with the Fund before you make retirement decisions.
Your numbers are saved only on your own phone or computer, so they're still there next time. They're never sent anywhere. To erase them, tap "Clear my numbers" at the bottom of the personal calculator.
The only thing that ever leaves your device is a question or suggestion you choose to send from the home page.
Pension: 50% of final average salary at 20+ years of service, under S4727 (Chapter 692 of the Laws of 2025, signed Dec. 19, 2025). Tier 3 is capped at 50%.
Final average salary: the highest average of 3 consecutive calendar years. Any year more than 10% above the average of the 2 years before it counts only up to that line. The personal calculator uses full calendar years before the year you retire. Unpaid leave (for example, a suspension) inside the period is swapped for earlier time; the calculator doesn't model that.
Your earnings: imported numbers come from the Medicare Wages column of your NYCAPS Tax Summary: all taxable pay, overtime included, without the Social Security cap. That's close to what the Pension Fund counts, but not exact; it can include pay the Fund leaves out, such as uniform allowance. Future years repeat your last known year unless you choose a yearly raise.
Escalation: the lesser of inflation or 3%, applied to the whole pension each year and compounding. Full escalation requires retiring at 23 years or more (FY2027 state budget, signed May 27, 2026; before that it was 25). The rate is cut by 1/36 for each month short of 23 years, so 20 years gets none. The calculators assume payments start when you retire.
COLA: without full escalation, the pension gets the greater of escalation or the COLA: half of inflation (1% to 3%) on the first $18,000 only, starting at age 62 after 5 years retired, or age 55 after 10 years retired. The COLA reduces the VSF until 62.
VSF and banked variable: service retirees with 20+ years get the VSF, $12,000 a year. Each year worked past 20 banks one VSF payment, paid as a lump sum at retirement.
Social Security offset: at 62 the pension drops by 50% of your primary Social Security benefit.
3/4s disability: 75% of final average salary with no minimum service, generally not taxable, with no escalation, VSF, banked variable, longevity bonus or Social Security offset. The COLA starts after 5 years retired, regardless of age. Source: the Fire Pension Fund's Tier 3 Enhanced Summary Plan Description.
Longevity bonus: at 25+ years of service, part of the top base pay for your rank is added to final average salary: 5% at 25 years plus 1% for each year after, up to 15% at 35 (FY2027 state budget, signed May 27, 2026; originally S9202/A10392). It is added straight to final average salary, as the bill's fiscal note does for Tier 3. Rank pay is the top-step annual base salary from the UFA schedule effective Aug. 1, 2024 (firefighter) and the UFOA schedule effective July 31, 2025 (lieutenant, captain, battalion chief), with no longevity, night differential or overtime. The law says "highest grade of pay" without defining it, so the figure used could end up higher than base salary.
Proposed bills: S9203/A10254 would move full escalation to 20 years. You can switch it on to see what it would mean "if it passes".
Not included: retirement options that reduce the pension for a survivor, taxes, ordinary (non-line-of-duty) disability, and Tier 2 rules.
Changes to Tier 3 pensions that are being proposed, voted on, or recently passed. A bill becomes law only after the Senate and the Assembly pass it and the governor signs it.
Status last checked Oct. 4, 2026.
Unofficial summaries. Read the full bills on nysenate.gov, and confirm anything that affects your retirement with the Pension Fund.
Enter your final average salary and your years on the job. That's it.
Use your real earnings to see what you'll collect, when, and how it grows. Your numbers stay on this device.
Your final average salary comes from what you earn each year. Pick one way to give us your numbers.
Take a screenshot of the whole table. If the Medicare Wages column is cut off, turn your phone sideways first. The picture is read on your phone and never uploaded anywhere.
These are the Medicare Wages for each year. Fix anything that's off, then lock them in. Once locked, they can't be changed.
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Swipe the table to see your plan →
Yearly pension plus VSF by age. Tap the chart to compare. The dip at 62 is the Social Security offset.