Military Retirement Systems
BRS vs High-3: Which Retirement System Actually Pays More?
Roughly 56.0% of the total force is on the Blended Retirement System (BRS) today, and DoD has acknowledged that early BRS messaging over-focused on the reduced 2.0% pension multiplier and under-explained the government TSP match that comes with it. Here is the actual math, side by side, with a worked example.
You probably don't get to choose
BRS has been mandatory for every service member who first entered uniformed service on or after January 1, 2018. The one-time window for earlier members to opt in voluntarily closed on December 31, 2018. If that describes you, this page's real decision is your TSP contribution level, not which system you're in — you don't get a choice between BRS and High-3 anymore.
Worked Example: E-7 Retiring at 20 Years
Assumptions, stated so you can check them: an E-7 retiring at exactly 20 years of service, using the current (2026) DFAS basic pay rate for E-7 at 20+ years — $6,245.00/mo — as an illustrative stand-in for a true "high-36" average (the mean of your highest 36 months of basic pay), which will differ slightly from a final single-month rate depending on your actual pay history.
| Line Item | Legacy High-3 | BRS |
|---|---|---|
| Pension multiplier | 2.5%/yr × 20 yrs = 50.0% | 2.0%/yr × 20 yrs = 40.0% |
| Monthly pension | 50.0% × $6,245.00 = $3,122.50/mo | 40.0% × $6,245.00 = $2,498.00/mo |
| Government TSP contribution | None | 1% automatic + up to 4% match = up to 5% of basic pay ($312.25/mo at this pay rate) |
| Continuation Pay (~12 YOS) | None | 2.5x-13x monthly basic pay, one time ($13,980.00-$72,696.00 at the current $5,592.00/mo E-7-at-12-years rate), for a 4-year service commitment |
| Portability if you leave before 20 years | Nothing — the pension is cliff-vested at 20 years of service. Leave at 19 years, get $0 pension. | Your own TSP contributions are always yours. The government's 1% automatic contribution vests after 2 years of service (forfeited if you separate earlier); matching contributions, which don't begin until after year 2, vest immediately once they start. |
| Who's enrolled | Members who entered service before Jan 1, 2018 and did not opt into BRS by Dec 31, 2018. | Mandatory for anyone entering service on or after Jan 1, 2018 — about 56% of the total force as of DoD's 2023 figures. |
The $6,245.00/mo basic pay figure is the actual 2026 DFAS rate for E-7 at 20+ years — used here as a stand-in for a true 36-month high average, which this page cannot compute for you without your full pay history. The pension multipliers, TSP match rate, and Continuation Pay band are current statutory/DoD policy, not estimates.
Why the "Smaller Multiplier" Framing Misled People
When BRS rolled out, the number everyone repeated was the multiplier: 2.0% instead of 2.5%, a 20% pension cut on paper. That framing is technically true and practically incomplete. It compares one line of BRS to the whole of High-3, leaving out the two things BRS added specifically because the multiplier was cut: the government TSP match and Continuation Pay. In the worked example above, the pension gap is $624.50/mo. The government's TSP contribution alone — up to 5% of basic pay, contributed every single pay period for an entire career, not just in the final year — compounds for decades before that E-7ever draws a pension check. Whether it closes the gap depends on contribution rate, investment choices, and time in the market, which is exactly the kind of career-long math a single multiplier percentage can't show.
High-3 only exists today for members who entered service before January 1, 2018 — it is a closed system with no new entrants. For anyone weighing it against BRS, the honest comparison is: High-3 pays a bigger guaranteed pension at 20 years but nothing if you separate earlier, and never matched a dollar of TSP contributions. BRS pays a smaller guaranteed pension but leaves you with your own TSP contributions — and, once the government's contributions vest, those too — even if you never reach 20 years, instead of walking away with nothing.
The real decision for today's force isn't "BRS or High-3" — that choice closed on December 31, 2018. The real decision is what percentage of your own pay you contribute to TSP. Contribute below 5% and you leave part of the government match unclaimed — money that was budgeted for you and that you simply didn't take.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the actual difference between BRS and High-3?
Legacy High-3 pays a pension multiplier of 2.5% per year of service, based on the average of your highest 36 months of basic pay, and has no government retirement-savings match. The Blended Retirement System (BRS) pays a lower 2.0%-per-year multiplier, but adds two things High-3 never had: automatic and matching government contributions to your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) — 1% automatic plus up to 4% match, for up to 5% of basic pay total — and a one-time mid-career Continuation Pay bonus, typically around 12 years of service, in exchange for agreeing to serve 4 more years.
Can I still choose High-3 instead of BRS?
No. BRS became mandatory for anyone who first entered uniformed service on or after January 1, 2018. Members who had fewer than 12 years of service as of December 31, 2017 had a one-time window to opt into BRS voluntarily; that opt-in window closed on December 31, 2018. If you entered service after that window closed, you are on BRS — there is no choice to make.
How many service members are actually on BRS?
According to DoD's compensation director in 2023, roughly 56% of the total force was covered by BRS. That share only grows every year, since every new accession since January 1, 2018 enters under BRS by default and the remaining Legacy High-3 population is retiring or separating.
Does BRS's lower multiplier mean it pays less overall?
Not automatically — it depends almost entirely on what you do with the TSP match, which is the part early BRS messaging underexplained. A BRS retiree's pension alone is smaller than a High-3 retiree's (in this page's worked E-7-at-20-years example, $624.50/mo smaller), but that gap is what the up-to-5%-of-basic-pay government TSP contribution and the Continuation Pay bonus are designed to offset over a career. Whether it fully closes the gap depends on your own contribution rate, investment choices, and years invested — the same is true in reverse: someone who never contributes enough to get the full match is leaving part of that offset on the table.