Military retirement pay (reserve, National Guard, enlistment, ROTC)

[Mybucs99]

Question....when I retire with 20 active years (2022) I will have a total of 26 years (6 years FL guard)......will my retirement pay be for an E8 with 20 or 26 years?? i couldn't find a definitive answer in the regulation- and the difference in pay is significantly higher! Thanks in advance!

Kevin.

[WestCobb]

Originally Posted by Mybucs99

Question....when I retire with 20 active years (2022) I will have a total of 26 years (6 years FL guard)......will my retirement pay be for an E8 with 20 or 26 years?? i couldn't find a definitive answer in the regulation- and the difference in pay is significantly higher! Thanks in advance!

Kevin.

I'm not exactly sure, but I think your guard time will be converted to active duty time. Your pay will be a lot closer to the 22 years of service rate than it will be to the 26 years rate.

[Poncho_NM]

This might help:

Military Reserve and National Guard Retirement Calculators: Military Reserve and National Guard Retirement Calculators - Military Guide

[johnsonkk]

You're under the high three rule so your last 36 month's of pay which is calculated by the 26 years of service. Let's say that is around $5k per month. The percentage is based on your months of service so after 20 full years, the remaining six years roughly add another six months so your total percentage of the high three would be around 51% of your base salary. If $5k is correct, about half of that would be $2500.

So reserve time helps you get higher monthly pay on the years of service scale but don't add a lot to the end percentage that you'll get once you retire. If your using online calculators, I'd add six months extra to calculate more accurate figures.

[ArtyGuy]

Originally Posted by Mybucs99

Question....when I retire with 20 active years (2022) I will have a total of 26 years (6 years FL guard)......will my retirement pay be for an E8 with 20 or 26 years?? i couldn't find a definitive answer in the regulation- and the difference in pay is significantly higher! Thanks in advance!

Kevin.

Your Guard time will not count 1 for 1 when it comes to your retirement pay with respect to active duty federal service. On the plus side, your Guard time does count 1 for 1 for pay so that'll positively impact your high three.

I just went through this when I submitted my retirement paperwork in October. I spent 5 years in the Guard before I was commissioned and went on active duty. As part of your retirement packet, you have to provide documentation that lays out your Guard time- original enlistment contract, NGB 22, DD214 from basic/AIT, and any forms that calculate your points. HRC will then use that to figure out your active federal service time.

My recommendation is to inquire sooner rather than later to see what your unit and HRC will want. I was shocked at some of the documents I had to submit- my ROTC contract was one document I never thought they would ask for. The reason I say that is if you need to hunt it down, it's better to do it now versus later. Once you submit your paperwork, you might have to wait several weeks before someone tells you that you're missing something. I submitted my packet correctly the first time and it still took two months to get my orders.

Thanks for your service and good luck!

[Pyramidsurf]

Your 6 years will count for years of service for pay purposes but you will only get 50% based on your 20 years of active service.

Look at the pay chart, rank, and years of service.