Article Title: FERS: High-3 Average Salary
OPM describes your “high-3” average pay as follows: Your “high-3” average pay is the highest average basic pay you earned during any 3 consecutive years of service. These three years are usually your final three years of service, but can be an earlier period, if your basic pay was higher during that period. Your basic pay is the basic salary you earn for your position. It includes increases to your salary for which retirement deductions are withheld, such as shift rates. It does not include payments for overtime, bonuses, etc. (If your total service was less than 3 years, your average salary was figured by averaging your basic pay during all of your periods of creditable Federal service).
Source: OPM
* This information accurate on 2/28/2015 as per www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/computation/
