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Your pension is not just a monthly check. It is a guaranteed, COLA-adjusted income for life, and that is worth a small fortune in nest-egg terms. This shows the lump-sum a civilian would need invested to match it, what it pays over a full retirement, and the 20-year cliff that decides whether you get any of it.
Sources: DoD — Military retired pay (High-3 / BRS), DFAS — Retired pay, TSP.gov — Blended Retirement System
A 20-year High-3 pension at E-7 is worth about
$930,000
That is the nest egg a civilian would need invested to safely match your $3,100/mo pension, and yours is guaranteed and COLA-adjusted for life.
Monthly pension
$3,100
50% of High-3
Every year
$37,200
before COLA raises
Paid over 30 yrs
$1,633,181
with 2.5% COLA
Nest-egg equivalent
$930,000
at 4.0% draw
The military pension is cliff-vested at 20 years. There is no partial pension. Separate at 14 years, 6 years short, and the pension annuity is worth $0. Cross 20 and it is worth about $930,000. That swing is the single biggest number in the stay-or-separate decision.
Under the legacy High-3 / Final Pay / REDUX systems there is no government TSP match, so separating before 20 years means leaving with no military retirement annuity at all.
How the value is built: your pension is the system multiplier (BRS 2.0%/yr, High-3 and Final Pay 2.5%/yr) times your High-3 average base pay, in today's dollars. The nest-egg figure is that annual pension divided by your chosen safe withdrawal rate, which is the portfolio a civilian would need to draw the same income. Because your pension is guaranteed for life and rises with COLA, a real portfolio would arguably need to be larger to match it, so treat the nest egg as a floor, not a ceiling.
Not included here: the SBP premium, VA disability, your TSP, CRDP/CRSC, and the REDUX age-62 recomputation. For the full monthly-income picture with TSP and VA netted, use the retirement projector linked below. This tool isolates the pension so its standalone value is clear.
Active Duty 20-year retirement. Guard/Reserve non-regular retirement (points-based, begins at age 60) is valued differently and is not modeled here. Estimate only, not financial advice. Confirm with a personal financial counselor (free on base / Military OneSource) and DFAS.
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Want the full picture with TSP and VA disability netted for taxes? Use the military retirement projector. Compare the two pension systems in the retirement systems calculator, or see how a civilian salary stacks up with the military-to-civilian pay calculator.