This website gets better every day. Click to see the latest updates.
  • Upload your W-2s and the calculator reads your earnings, LODI pay and one-time bonuses straight from them.
  • Fixed: Box 5 on your W-2 and ESS leaves out LODI pay, which counts toward your pension, and includes the COVID healthcare worker bonus, which doesn't. You can now add LODI back and take the bonus out.
  • Fixed: your date of birth and appointment date now stay saved when you close the site and come back.
  • Equated dates, for bought-back military, prior EMS or a retroactive hire date.
  • Fixed: Tier 2 final average salary now uses the higher of your last 12 months or your best 3 years, with the 20% limit on both (Chapter 540 of 2021).

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For FDNY Tier 2 members

Learn about your pension.

Everything you need to know, and what you'll collect in retirement.

Tier 2 means you were appointed between July 1, 1973 and June 30, 2009.

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HomePension basics

Pension basics

How your Tier 2 pension works, in plain English. Tap any question to open it.

50%of your final average salary once you have 20 years
Best 3 or last yearof pay, whichever is higher, sets your final average salary
1/60thof everything you earn after 20 years is added on top
$12,000a year from the VSF, on top of your pension
Am I in Tier 2?

Yes, if you became a member of the Fire Pension Fund between July 1, 1973 and June 30, 2009. For almost everyone, that's your appointment date.

Appointed on or after July 1, 2009? You're in Tier 3, which has different rules: use the Tier 3 calculator. Members from before July 1, 1973 are Tier 1, whose benefits are generally the same as Tier 2.

When can I retire, and how much do I get?

Once you have 20 years on the job, you can retire at any age. Your pension is made of a few pieces added together:

  • 50% of your final average salary.
  • 1/60th of everything you earn after your 20th anniversary.
  • A pension from the City's ITHP money paid in after 20 years, with interest.
  • An annuity from any extra contributions left in your account, if you choose that instead of taking them as a lump sum.

Unlike Tier 3, there's no 50% cap: every year past 20 adds to your pension.

What is an equated date?

It’s the date the Pension Fund counts your service from, and for some members it’s earlier than their appointment date. You can buy up to 3 years of military service once you have 5 years in (Chapter 548 of the Laws of 2000). Uniformed service right before the FDNY, like EMS, police or Correction, can count too, and it can be much longer than 3 years. And if you were legally entitled to be hired earlier than you were, you may have been given an earlier date. Any of these gives you an earlier equated date, which moves your 20-year date, when the 1/60th and ITHP start, the banked variable and the 25-year longevity bonus.

Appointed in May 2004 with 3 years of military bought back? Your equated date is May 2001, so you hit 20 years in May 2021, and the 1/60th starts counting your pay from then, at 17 years on the job instead of 20.

On the personal numbers page, check “Do you have a different equated date?” in step 1 and enter your equated date. Your pay still counts from your appointment. Confirm your equated date with the Pension Fund.

What is my final average salary?

It's the higher of two numbers, overtime, holiday pay and night differential included:

  • what you earned in the 12 months before you retire, or
  • the average of your best 3 years in a row.

There's a 20% limit. Your last 12 months count only up to 20% more than the 12 months before them. For the best 3 years, each year counts only up to 20% more than the average of the 2 years before it. Anything above that is cut. (Tier 3's limit is 10%.)

The 3-year periods line up with your retirement date. Retiring Oct. 1, for example, the years run Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Example: you made $130,000 in your second-to-last year. Your last 12 months count only up to $156,000, so if you made $170,000, $14,000 of it doesn't count.

We're still confirming the exact rule with the Pension Fund, so treat these numbers as estimates and check your official estimate before you decide.

What is the longevity bonus?

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.

The law covers any member "under the plan in which they are enrolled" with the Fire Pension Fund, so it applies to Tier 2 as well as Tier 3. Its cost estimate even uses a Tier 2 firefighter as the example.

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.

Does longevity pay count?

Yes, but only up to a set level:

  • 20 to just under 25 years: your pension counts the 10-year longevity amount.
  • 25 years or more: it counts the 20-year longevity amount.

So if you retire with, say, 22 years while getting 20-year longevity, the extra above the 10-year amount doesn’t count toward your pension. A vested pension counts no longevity at all.

The calculators use your full pay from your W-2, so between 20 and 25 years their numbers can run a little high. Your Fund estimate will show the exact figure.

I was out on LODI. Does that pay count?

Yes. Pay while you're out on a line-of-duty injury counts toward your pension: payroll takes your pension contribution out of it like any other pay. You don't earn overtime or night differential while you're out, though, so a long LODI can still lower that year.

But LODI pay is tax-free, so it's left out of box 5 (Medicare wages) on your W-2, and out of the NYCAPS Tax Summary the calculators import. The easiest fix: on the personal numbers page, choose Upload your W-2s in step 2, and the page reads LODI from box 14 for you. If you type in your years instead, find LODI in box 14 of each year's W-2 and add it to that year's amount.

The opposite goes for one-time bonuses, like the 2023 healthcare worker bonus (HWB in box 14): it's in box 5 but doesn't count toward your pension. Upload your W-2s and the page takes it out for you; if you type in your years, subtract it from that year.

This works with imported numbers too; you don't need to start over. Your Fund estimate will show the exact figure.

I was on unpaid leave (LWOP). Does that time count?

No. Time on leave without pay, like the LWOP during the 2021–22 COVID vaccine mandate, doesn't count as service. If you were out 3 months, you reach 20, 23 and 25 years 3 months later than your appointment date says.

The calculators count from your appointment date and don't know about the leave, so move the slider ahead by the time you were out.

Confirm your service dates with the Pension Fund.

What is the 1/60th?

Add up everything you earn after your 20th anniversary and divide by 60. That amount is added to your yearly pension.

Example: you stay 5 years past 20 and earn $150,000 each year. That's $750,000, and 1/60th of it is $12,500 a year more pension, about $1,040 a month.

A bill in Albany, S5058A, would make it 1/40th instead. It hasn’t passed. See Bills in Albany.

What is ITHP, and the annuity?

ITHP (Increased-Take-Home-Pay) is money the City pays into your pension account for you, currently 5% of your pay, so less comes out of your check. What the City pays in after 20 years, with interest, becomes an extra pension when you retire.

If you've paid in more than the required amount, for example by keeping your contributions going after 20 years, the extra can be paid as an annuity or taken as a lump sum. Withdrawals can be taxed, and there can be a 10% penalty if you're under 50.

The calculators give a rough estimate of the ITHP piece. For the excess, type the taxable and non-taxable amounts from ESS, and they show both the lump sum and an estimated monthly annuity.

What is the 50% indicator?

It's a setting that puts extra money into your pension account, on top of what's required: an additional 50% of your required contribution, taken from each paycheck. It's voluntary.

  • The extra money is taxed right away (federal, state and city). It isn't tax-deferred like your regular contributions.
  • It earns interest at the Fund's rate, currently 8.25% a year.
  • When you retire for service or 3/4s, you can take it as a lump sum or as an extra annuity added to your pension. On an ordinary disability it has to be a lump sum.

Example: if your required contribution is 2.5% of your pay, the 50% indicator adds about 1.25% more.

It's part of the excess ESS shows you (the non-taxable part); type it in the excess boxes in either calculator. Ask the Fund or a tax professional before taking a lump sum, especially if you're under 50.

Does my pension go up after I retire?

Only a little. Tier 2 has no escalation. You get the COLA: half of inflation (between 1% and 3%) on the first $18,000 of your pension, about $270 a year when inflation is 3%.

It starts at age 62 once you've been retired 5 years, or at 55 once you've been retired 10 years.

What are the VSF and the banked variable?

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.

Does Social Security lower my pension?

No. The Social Security offset at 62 is a Tier 3 rule. Your Tier 2 pension isn't reduced when you start Social Security.

What if I'm hurt on the job? (3/4s)

An accident disability retirement (a "three-quarters") pays 75% of your final average salary, at any length of service, plus 1/60th of your earnings after 20 years, plus pensions from your ITHP account and your own contributions.

  • The 75% is free of federal tax. The 1/60th, the ITHP after 20 years and the annuity from tax-deferred contributions are federally taxed. None of it has New York State or City tax.
  • No VSF or banked variable.
  • After 5 years retired, at any age, you get the COLA on the first $18,000.
  • You keep health insurance no matter how many years you have.

It must be approved by the Pension Fund's Medical Board and Board of Trustees.

What is the “death gamble”?

It's what your family gets if you die while still on the job with 20 or more years, from something that isn't line of duty. The Fund figures your pension as if you had retired the day before, and your beneficiary gets its reserve: the lump sum it would take to pay that pension for the rest of your life. They can take it as a lump sum or as an annuity.

  • Under 20 years: it's the ordinary death benefit instead: 3 times your last 12 months' pay (rounded up to the next $1,000), plus your contributions back with interest.
  • After you retire: the coverage lasts until your first full pension check. After that, what your family gets depends on the option you picked when you retired. With the maximum pension (no option), payments stop when you die.
  • Line of duty: a separate benefit: a pension for your spouse of 50% of your salary, plus a state benefit that brings the total, with Social Security, up to your last year's pay.
  • Life insurance: $8,500, tax-free, from the Fire Department Life Insurance Fund.

That's the "gamble": past 20, staying on the job keeps this protection for your family, and retiring on the maximum pension gives it up. The Fund can tell you what your reserve is worth and what each option would cost you.

Do I pay taxes on my pension?

A service pension is subject to federal income tax but not New York State or New York City income tax.

For a 3/4s, see the answer above. If you move out of state, check that state's rules or ask a tax professional.

Do I keep my health insurance?

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.

Where do I get my official numbers?

From the NYC Fire Pension Fund: 929-436-0099. On e-UPS, from any firehouse computer, you can download your Annual Pension Statement and get a current estimate of your pension.

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.

Is anything I type saved or sent anywhere?

Your numbers are saved only on your own phone or computer, so they're still there next time. To erase them, tap "Clear my numbers" at the bottom of the personal numbers page. It clears both the Tier 2 and Tier 3 calculators.

The fine print: how the calculators work

Pension: 50% of final average salary at 20+ years of uniformed service, plus 1/60th of total earnings after the 20th anniversary, plus a pension from ITHP contributions made after 20 years with interest, plus an annuity from any contributions above the required amount. Source: the Fire Pension Fund's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal 2025 (summary of Tier I and II benefits).

Equated date: if you bought back military time, have prior uniformed service that counts, or were given an earlier date because you were entitled to be hired sooner, the personal numbers page counts years of service from the equated date you enter, which moves the 20-year date, the 1/60th, ITHP, the banked variable and the longevity bonus. Earnings still count from your appointment date. The quick calculator's years are years of service, so count bought-back time there. Source: the Fund’s Tiers 1 & 2 Summary Plan Description (Sept. 2014).

Final average salary: the higher of earnings in the 12 months before retirement or the average of the best 3 consecutive calendar years, overtime included. A 20% limit applies: the last 12 months count only up to 120% of the 12 months before them, and each year of a 3-year period counts only up to 120% of the average of the 2 years before it. The 3-year periods end on the retirement month and day. Source: the Fund's Tiers 1 & 2 Summary Plan Description (Sept. 2014) and Chapter 372 of the Laws of 2000. The plan description gives the best-3 option only to members appointed before July 1, 2000; Chapter 540 of the Laws of 2021 (S6405/A7640, effective Oct. 29, 2021) gave all Tier 2 members the same calculation. The personal numbers page splits calendar-year earnings evenly by month to estimate each 12-month period. The quick calculator uses the final average salary exactly as you type it.

1/60th: the personal numbers page adds up your earnings from your 20th anniversary to retirement, splitting calendar years evenly by month. The quick calculator assumes you earn about your final average salary in each year past 20.

ITHP in the quick calculator: the same rough estimate, figured on your final average salary and assuming you were appointed at 25.

ITHP estimate: the City's 5% of pay after your 20th anniversary, credited 8.25% interest a year until you retire, then paid out evenly to age 85 assuming 7% interest. On a 3/4s it uses your whole career in the table. The Fund's real conversion uses its own tables, so this is rough.

Excess contributions: type the taxable and non-taxable excess from ESS. The personal numbers page grows it at the Fund's 8.25% a year until your retirement date (new contributions aren't added); the quick calculator uses it as typed. It's shown both as a lump sum and as an estimated annuity, paid out evenly to age 85 at 7% like the ITHP estimate; the Fund converts with its own tables, so the monthly figure is rough. Taxability doesn't change the amount: the non-taxable part comes back tax-free, and the taxable part is federally taxed when paid (a lump sum of it can carry a 10% penalty under age 50).

Longevity: with 20 to under 25 years, the pension counts longevity pay only at the 10-year level; at 25 or more years, at the 20-year level (the Fund’s Tiers 1 & 2 Summary Plan Description). The calculators don’t adjust for this yet; they use full W-2 pay, so results between 20 and 25 years can be a little high.

Your earnings: imported numbers come from the Medicare Wages column of your NYCAPS Tax Summary: all taxable pay, overtime included. That's close to what the Pension Fund counts, with two exceptions: it leaves out pay while on LODI (tax-free, but pensionable: payroll takes the pension contribution from it, and box 14 of the W-2 shows it as LODI), and it includes one-time bonuses the Fund doesn't count, such as the 2023 healthcare worker bonus (HWB). The personal numbers page fixes both: upload your W-2s and it reads box 5 and box 14 for you (the PDF or picture is read on your device; box 5 is found by checking it against the Medicare tax in box 6), or, if you type in your years, add LODI and subtract one-time bonuses yourself. Uniform allowance is in neither. Future years repeat your last known year unless you choose a yearly raise.

COLA: no escalation. 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: no offset. The Fund's summary lists the offset only for Tier 3.

3/4s disability: 75% of final average salary with no minimum service, plus 1/60th of earnings after 20 years, plus a pension from the ITHP reserve and an annuity from your accumulated contributions. No VSF or banked variable. The COLA starts after 5 years retired, regardless of age. The calculators estimate the ITHP piece only; type your Fund estimate to include your contributions.

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: S9008-C/A10008-C, Part AAA, adding Administrative Code § 15-110.1; originally S9202/A10392). The law covers members of any plan in the Fire Pension Fund, and its fiscal note gives a Tier 2 example. 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 be higher. Not applied to 3/4s.

Proposed bills: S5058A would change the 1/60th to 1/40th for service and 3/4s pensions. You can switch it on in either calculator to see what it would mean "if it passes".

Taxes: the “Don’t forget about taxes” box is a rough 2026 federal figure on the first-year pension plus VSF, for a married couple filing jointly with no other income (single shown as a percent). It leaves out the banked variable lump sum and isn’t tax advice.

Not included: retirement options that reduce the pension for a survivor, loans and account shortages, other credited service (1/80th), ordinary (non-line-of-duty) disability, vested retirement, and Tier 1 rules.

Your personal numbers

Your real earnings, your real numbers.

Quick calculator

Your monthly pension in seconds.
HomeBills in Albany

Bills in Albany

Changes to Tier 2 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 from the bill texts; the pending bill was last amended in spring 2026.

Being considered

Signed into law

Unofficial summaries. Read the full bills on nysenate.gov, and confirm anything that affects your retirement with the Pension Fund.

HomeQuick calculator

Quick calculator

Enter your final average salary and your years on the job. That's it.

$
The higher of your last 12 months or your best 3 years in a row, overtime included. Not sure? A guess is fine, or use the personal numbers page.
Your excess contributions (optional) ESS shows your pension excess split into taxable and non-taxable. Leave blank if you have none.
$
$
HomeYour personal numbers

Your personal numbers

Use your real earnings to see what you'll collect, and what working longer gets you. Your numbers stay on this device.

1

About you

Date of birth
Appointment date
Current rank Your rank at retirement starts out the same. Change it if you expect a promotion.
2

Your earnings

Your pension comes from your best years of pay and what you earn after your 20th anniversary. Pick one way to give us your numbers.

Type what you earned in each year below. Your W-2 (box 5, Medicare wages) is a good place to look. If you were out on LODI, that pay isn’t in box 5, so add it to that year’s amount. You’ll find it as LODI in box 14 of your W-2.
YearEarningsCounts toward
Your excess contributions (optional) ESS shows your pension excess split into taxable and non-taxable. Leave blank if you have none.
$
$
3

Your retirement

More options
%
Used for the COLA. 3% is a common assumption.

Retire soon or work longer?

Retiring later means fewer years collecting, so the total through 85 can come out lower even when each check is bigger. It doesn’t count the pay you earn while you keep working.