How We Verify Data

Every number on this site has to trace back to a document published by the body that sets it. This page explains the rules we follow so you can judge how far to trust a figure.

Primary documents only

Salary figures come from OPM salary tables and the annual pay Executive Order. Retirement rules come from OPM's retirement pages and handbooks, Title 5 of the U.S. Code and 5 CFR. Social Security limits come from ssa.gov. News articles and other calculators can tell us a change is coming, but we never copy a figure from them. If no primary document exists yet, the page says so and shows nothing in its place.

A source and a date on every row

Each data file records, on every row, the document it came from, the document's web address, the date the rule took effect, and the date we last checked it. Calculator results print the document and effective date they used.

Tests every calculator must pass

Before a page is published, each calculator must reproduce at least ten known answers. For salaries, the known answers are cells copied from OPM's published locality tables, including rates held at the pay cap. For retirement formulas, they are worked examples whose arithmetic is shown step by step. If any answer drifts, the site does not build.

Proposals stay proposals

Pay raises, COLAs and rule changes are labeled "proposed" until the document that makes them final is published. When it is, we update the data, the page date and the change log together.

Dates you can trust

A page's "last updated" date changes only when something on it changes, and every change is listed on the sources and change log page with its reason.

Corrections

If you find an error, write to contact@knowyourpension.org with the page, your inputs and the figure you expected. Confirmed corrections are published with the date and a short description in the change log.

Who writes the pages

Pages are written and checked by the site's editor, Martin Rowe. Drafting tools, including AI assistants, may be used to prepare text and code; no page is published until its figures pass the tests above and the editor has checked it against the source documents. We do not invent case studies, personal stories or expert credentials.

Printed from https://knowyourpension.org/editorial-policy/ · Last updated October 29, 2026 · Independent reference. Not affiliated with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or any federal agency. Estimates only — your official figures come from your agency, your SF-50 and OPM.