Enter the date you took charge and the date your service ends, or leave the end blank for today. The calculator counts both days and gives your service in years, months and days. From 1 March 1999 to 30 September 2026 is 27 years and 7 months.
Open the breaks section to take off periods that do not count, such as a break in service or extraordinary leave without pay. The result also shows the whole years that count for pension, where a part year of six months or more counts as a full year.
How service is counted
Service runs from the date you took charge of the post to the last day of service, and both days count. Someone appointed on 1 January 2000 who retires on 31 December 2029 has exactly 30 years of service.
Breaks are added up in days, both days counted, and turned into months of 30 days and years of 12 months. That is taken off the total service, borrowing 30 days for a month and 12 months for a year, the way service books are worked. The totals in days are shown too.
Worked example
Appointed 1 March 1999, service counted to 30 September 2026, with a break from 1 June to 30 November 2008.
| Years | Months | Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total service | 27 | 7 | 0 |
| Less the break (183 days) | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Net service | 27 | 0 | 27 |
The break of 183 days is 6 months of 30 days plus 3 days. Borrowing a month of 30 days gives 27 years and 27 days. In days that is 10,076 days of total service less 183 days of break.
Qualifying service for pension
For government pension, net service is turned into whole years:
- Six months or more rounds up. A shortfall of up to six months is condoned, so 28 years and 7 months counts as 29 years. Less than six months is dropped: 28 years and 5 months counts as 28.
- 30 years at most count for pension, however long you served.
- 10 years is the minimum for a pension. With 5 to 10 years a gratuity is paid instead.
- 25 years of qualifying service lets you ask for voluntary retirement.
Periods that do not qualify, such as extraordinary leave without pay, are taken off before the rounding. Your accounts office makes the final count. Take the counted years to the pension calculator to see your pension.
Experience letters and private jobs
The same count works for an experience certificate or a private job. For gratuity under the Standing Orders, each completed year of service counts, and a part year of more than six months is usually treated as a full year; see the gratuity calculator. For a plain count of days between two dates, use the days calculator.
Service length questions
How do I calculate my length of service?
Count from your date of appointment to your last day, both days included, in years, months and days. Then take off any breaks and leave without pay. From 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2029 is exactly 30 years. The calculator does the subtraction for you.
Does a part year count for pension?
Yes, if it is six months or more. Up to six months is condoned, so 28 years and 7 months counts as 29 years. A part year of less than six months is dropped. No more than 30 years count, and you need at least 10 years for a pension.
Which periods are not counted as service?
Extraordinary leave without pay and breaks in service are usually taken off. Leave on full pay counts as service. Your accounts office decides your case from the service book.
How do I calculate years of service in Excel?
With the start date in A1 and end date in B1, use =DATEDIF(A1,B1+1,"y") for years, "ym" for the months left and "md" for the days left. Adding 1 to the end date counts both the first and last days, the way service is counted.
Related tools
Last reviewed 30 September 2026. Results are estimates; official notices always take precedence.