Retirement Eligibility
When you can go, and when you must go, to the day
Your eligibility dates
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Enter your date of birth and entry-on-duty date to see your eligibility dates.
Your retirement window: between your earliest date and mandatory separation.
Your 20-year mark sets both your earliest and mandatory dates, so your retirement window is only weeks wide.
These dates assume ATC-covered service from your Entry on Duty date, adjusted for any non-covered time you enter above; a break in service can shift them further. Unused sick leave and bought-back military time add to your pension computation, not to the ATC service that establishes these dates. Verify your official eligibility with your servicing HR specialist.
How ATC eligibility works
Two dates define your retirement window: the earliest you can leave and the latest you can stay.
When you can go: the earlier of two paths
25 years of service, any age
Reach 25 years of covered ATC good time and you can retire at any age. It's the earlier path if you entered duty before 25.
Age 50 with 20 years
The most common ATC milestone: retire at age 50 (or older) with at least 20 years of good time.
When you must go: mandatory separation
By law (5 U.S.C. § 8425(a)), you must separate on the later of the last day of the month you turn 56, or the last day of the month you complete 20 years of covered service. The Secretary of Transportation (through the FAA) may grant an exemption to age 61, but these are discretionary and rare.