ATC Retirement Age and Enhanced Pension for Air Traffic Controllers in Supervisor Roles
For most in the air traffic controller (ATC) position, "good time" is defined as qualifying service years for which your FERS pension calculation uses a 1.7% multiplier instead of the normal 1.0 or 1.1 percent for regular federal occupations.
As stated in 5 U.S. Code § 8415(a), any ATC employee who served any time as a second level supervisor, or an ATC that served any time as a first level supervisor with some experience in a non-supervisor ATC job, can receive the 1.7 percent multiplier for all of their "good time" in an ATC position, even beyond 20 years, so long as they have at least 30 years of total service when they retire.
Federal Retirement Age Guide for Air Traffic Controllers
Due to the cognitive demands of managing airspace, the oldest air traffic controller retirement age attainable is 56, whereas other demanding occupations like federal firefighters and law enforcement officers (LEOs) have to retire at age 57.
Eligibility for FERS Retirement
Generally, ATCs can retire with full benefits if they meet one of the following criteria:
- Stay on the job for 20 years of service, you can retire starting at age 50
- Any age after completing at least 25 years of service
