What determines a Central Government employee's retirement date?
Under Fundamental Rule (FR) 56, the normal age of superannuation for most Central Government employees is 60 years. An employee is deemed to retire on the afternoon of the last day of the month in which they attain the age of superannuation — meaning the employee works the full day and retirement takes effect from the following day.
The first-day-of-month rule
There is one important exception. If an employee's date of birth is the first day of a month, they are treated as having attained the retirement age on the last day of the preceding month — and therefore retire on the afternoon of that preceding month's last day, one month earlier than a colleague born even a day later in the same month. This calculator applies this rule automatically.
| Date of birth | Age 60 attained on | Retirement date (afternoon of) |
|---|---|---|
| 15 March 1966 | 15 March 2026 | 31 March 2026 |
| 1 March 1966 | 1 March 2026 | 28/29 February 2026 |
| 28 February 1966 | 28 February 2026 | 28 February 2026 |
Different retirement ages for different posts
While 60 years is the general rule, some categories of Central Government posts have a different prescribed retirement age — for example, certain scientific, medical, and specialist posts may have superannuation ages of 62 or 65, as separately notified. If your post carries a non-standard retirement age, simply change the "Retirement age" field in the calculator above to match.
Voluntary retirement
Apart from superannuation, an employee may seek voluntary retirement under FR 56(k) / Rule 48 of the CCS (Pension) Rules after completing 20 years of qualifying service, by giving three months' notice to the appointing authority. Voluntary retirement takes effect on the date the notice period expires, not on the standard superannuation date — this calculator does not compute voluntary retirement dates, which depend on the notice date you choose.
Compulsory retirement (periodic review)
Under Rule 56(j) — the "periodic review" provision — the Government may retire an employee in public interest after they attain 50 years of age (or 55 years, or on completion of 30 years of qualifying service, depending on the category), typically by giving three months' notice or three months' pay in lieu. This is a separate administrative action and is not calculated by this tool.
Worked example
Retirement age: 60
Attains 60 on: 12 September 2026
Retirement date: 30 September 2026 (afternoon)