The question was asked on the Facebook group “Military Spouse Retirement Information”: "Is there a date that is better to retire on than any other day of the year? It used to be the case that it was better to retire sometime after 1 January or 1 February. I believe it had something to do with COLA, but I don’t ...
This post gets personal. Let me give you the permission to think about these questions in your own career. A reader writes: I'm active duty and coming up on year #9 this May. I have owned your book for a few years and dig into the blog content on occasion. Love it! My question has to do specifically with one of ...
I really wanted to use the titles "Hidden Secrets Of The BRS!!" or "Shocking Urban Legends Of The BRS Revealed-- #4 Is Jaw-dropping!!" But this is a serious life-changing decision. I've had a ton of reader BRS questions and feedback. The good news is that a group of us military personal-finance bloggers have ...
A reader asks an outstanding question: Does it make sense to opt in to the military's new Blended Retirement System in 2018? One of our NCOs has a pessimistic view of the BRS, especially since they're over 12 years of service and don't see how the BRS will benefit them. In fact, they don't see how it will ...
In response to a question from a reader, Doug originally created and published this post in 2012. The sender was seeking a Reserve Retirement Calculator, specifically for the National Guard or Reserve. Instead of referring him to one of the many Military Retirement Calculators online, Doug dedicated the time, to write ...
A reader writes: There used to be a great National Guard Retirement Calculators the Army put out– you enter your years of service, total points and the multiplier and it gave you a projected pay per month for your Reserve retirement. This should be on your site– the Army has taken it down…Help the lazy folk! ...
A reader writes: I am an Air Force reservist with 18 good years of service. I have been trying to get back in for over four years, but to no avail. Per two recruiters, I have had to retake the ASVAB (which I passed), only to be told that they lost my results and have to take the ASVAB a third time. I was also told ...
Retiring from the Reserves or National Guard is more flexible than retiring from active duty. In the vast majority of cases, your retirement is based on at least 20 good years of service. (A "good year" requires a certain minimum number of points or days of drill or active duty as well as complying with other ...
I've written many posts about military retirement, and the system is hugely complicated. (See the related links at the end of this post.) Instead of trying to cover all of that in a humongous 20,000-word post, I've written a big-picture pillar post plus a bunch of shorter posts about specific reader questions. ...
A reader asks: I'm a Reservist who has about ten years of total active duty and who re-enlisted "indefinitely" in 2006. My ETS is currently 2027 (when I turn age 60). I have a total of 19 "good years" toward my Reserve retirement. I plan to enter the IRR as soon as I earn my 50 points for my 20th good year. My ...
Most of my e-mail this month has been about military retirement and disability compensation. Three different readers write: Reader #1: I am a Reserve member with 18 yrs 10 months of qualifying service. 12+ years are active duty time. I was just mobilized and was injured during training. The injury is listed as a ...
A reader writes: Thanks for your article, it is very informative! I enlisted in the active duty USMC in 1977, completing 3 years of honorable service in 1980. In 1985, I entered active duty USAF as an officer and served 7.5 years - again I was honorably discharged in 1992. In 2001, I joined the USAF Reserves, ...
We're military veterans, not financial advisors. We're trying to share what we've learned and to pay it forward – but you have to make your own decisions.
What worked for us will probably work for you, but unfortunately, we can’t guarantee it. Let us know if something’s not working for you, and we’ll try to figure out a better way... Continue Reading...
Doug Nordman