• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Military Guide Logo

Military Guide

The Military Guide To Financial Independence

  • Start Here!
    • About The Military Guide
    • Interviews & Podcasts
    • About the Book – The Military Guide To Financial Independence & Retirement
    • About the Book – Raising Your Money-Savvy Family
  • Military & Veterans Benefits
    • Military Pay
    • VA Disability Benefits
    • VA Loans
  • Career
    • Education
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Federal Civil Service
    • Military Career
  • Military Life
    • Military Family – Spouses & Dependents
    • Sea Stories
  • Insurance
    • Auto
    • Dental
    • SGLI & Life Insurance
    • Tricare & Health Insurance
  • Money
    • Military Discounts
    • Credit & Debt
    • Mortgage & Real Estate
    • USAA
  • Retirement
    • Blended Retirement System
    • Guard & Reserve Retirement
    • Retirement Calculators
You are here: Home / Military Retirement / Military Reserve Retirement Points and “Good Years”

Military Reserve Retirement Points and “Good Years”

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 11, 2019 4 Comments

Advertiser Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any other entity. This site may be compensated through the advertiser Affiliate Program. For more information, please see our Advertising Policy.

Can you readers help another reader? I’m stumped on this military retirement question:

“So I have gotten conflicting information. I commissioned in 1994. My Leave and Earnings Statement has 31 October 1994 as my Pay Entry Base Date. I spent three years in the Chaplain Candidate program with Reserve designation 1305. All three years were 50-point years. (My point count is probably correct, give or take a few points. It has correctly given me more than 50 points for each of the three years that I was a chaplain candidate.) In April 1998, I had to raise my hand again and I served 4.5 years on active duty. I left active duty, had one bad year in the reserve, and have since had all good years. I am over 18 for seniority and pay. One person says that my three years as a chaplain candidate count towards pay and seniority, but not towards retirement. Another says that a good year is a good year. Both know policy inside and out. Both are very senior reservists.

Your thoughts? Chapter and verse would be helpful.”

My biggest obstacles to answering this question are ignorance and inexperience– the Navy Reserve Chaplain Corps is legislated from additional sections of federal law that are different from the Reserve line communities. I’m pretty familiar with programs & instructions for surface warriors and submariners but I’m on shaky ground in the restricted line & staff communities.

First I’d verify that your LES indicates you’re over 18 for pay/seniority (from 1994). Or does it show over 14 (from 1998)?

Next, I’d check your Reserve online point count summary for your number of good years.

If you haven’t done so already, you could buy a year’s membership in the Association of the U.S. Navy and e-mail your question to one of their staff. My spouse is a life member of AUSN. We’ve spent a lot of hours researching other questions on their website (and in their magazine), and they’ve probably seen yours before.

You could also ask your local Reserve Center’s personnel office or AUSN when you should expect to receive your retirement Notice of Eligibility. Your NOE should come in 2015 but if they think it’s 2018 then they’d be able to show you the reference.

Are any of you other readers familiar with the Reserve Chaplain program, or have a reference that we could consult online?

Related articles:
Calculating a Reserve retirement
Military retirement from the Individual Ready Reserve
Should you join the Reserves or National Guard?

sa-captivate-placeholder

Related posts:

TERA Early Military Retirement Or A Reserve Retirement?
When Should You Stop Working? - Determining the Best Time to Retire
One More Year Syndrome
Why You Should Strongly Consider Not Participating in the Survivor Benefit Plan

Filed Under: Military Retirement

About Doug Nordman

WHAT I DO: I help you reach financial independence. For free.

I retired in 2002 after 20 years in the Navy's submarine force. I wrote "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement" to share the stories of over 50 other financially independent servicemembers, veterans, and families. All of my writing revenue is donated to military-friendly charities.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Denise says

    August 14, 2013 at 12:17 AM

    You should have your personnel center do an audit of your years, then you will know for sure.

    Reply
    • Doug Nordman says

      August 14, 2013 at 8:26 PM

      Thanks, Denise! Excellent point.

      Reply
  2. leftbucket says

    August 6, 2013 at 7:45 AM

    I have 1.8 years in the Air Force chaplain candidate program.
    Similar to what Nords says, look at your points history: next to
    PTS HIST RETIRE should be a column “SATSVC” which should read
    010000 or 10000 for every year you were in the chaplain candidate
    program. They should be good years (mine are, and already show up on the points history). Your second commenter is correct.

    Where the other commenter may be misleading or have gotten slightly confused I can speculate, but not document: During a briefing, we had an O-6 who told us the chaplain candidate years cannot be held against you for limits on maximum time in the service (Again, I cannot document this, sorry). Other than that, they should be good/good years.

    Let us know what you see on your paperwork.
    All the best,
    R/
    LB

    Reply
    • Doug Nordman says

      August 7, 2013 at 5:51 AM

      Thanks, LB! We’re also looking at the Title 10 legislation for more clarification.

      Reply

Comment? Question? What's on your mind? Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

About The Site

We're military veterans, not financial advisors. We're sharing what we've learned and paying 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...

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

The Military Guide

Site Topics by Category

Recent Posts

  • Home Depot Military Discounts – How to Save 10% on Purchases at Home Depot
  • Reader story: “How I Bumbled Into Financial Independence” (part 2)
  • Reader story: “How I Bumbled Into Financial Independence”
  • 2021 VA Disability Compensation Rates – Updated Veterans Compensation Benefits Rate Tables
  • Financial Caregiving: Are You Ready?

Footer

Important Links

  • About The Site
  • About the Book
  • Interviews & Book Reviews
  • Contact me
  • Advertise With Us
  • How We Make Money
  • FTC Mandatory Disclosures
  • Privacy Policy
  • Archives

About The Military Guide

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…

Buy the Book!

the-military-guide-financial-independence-early-retirement

Copyright © 2021 The Military Guide. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: This is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with the U.S. government, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, or any other government agency. The content on this website is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional financial advice.