Pensions

[viperdriver]

With all the pension turmoil in the airline industry and the govt picking up the tab, and the social security underfunding, you guys feel secure that a military pension will be there for our lifetimes? I am currently seperating at 13 yrs and my family is harping on the military pension and how I am a fool to leave. Any thoughts?

ViperD

 

[semperfido]

With all the pension turmoil in the airline industry and the govt picking up the tab, and the social security underfunding, you guys feel secure that a military pension will be there for our lifetimes? I am currently seperating at 13 yrs and my family is harping on the military pension and how I am a fool to leave. Any thoughts?

ViperD

seems to me they have a valid point. a 20 yr pension from the mil would be a nice fallback/ supplement. unless of course you have a slot at Fedex or Ups, then perhaps you would be covered.

 

[Tweetdrvr]

Join the ANG/RES, your 13 years of points are too valuable to lose completely. Your pension check at age 60 would be worth about $1200ish per month at todays dollar value, and that is if you did no more active duty days ever, which is highly unlikely.

Reserve affiliation keeps you from having a break in service which can make going back on active duty or finding an AGR tour a little easier, if you decide to pursue a full 20 year active duty retirement.

Who knows what is going to happen in the future. It seems the trend in America for both civil and military sectors is reducing benefits and breaking promises. You just have to make the best decision you can given the info available at the time, and hope it was correct.

I still play powerball and mega millions and hope for those six ping pong balls to reward me with the big bucks.

Good Luck

 

[psysicx]

How much does someone make a month off or retirement after 20 years AD?I heard around 4 to 5 thousand is this true?

 

[spanky2]

20 yr pension is very nice buffer against the real world. Take it from someone who has the pension and got furloughed in 2002. A 20 yr retirement is 50% of BASE pay ... REPEAT ... BASE pay of the rank you retire at, so it is less than you think...but still worth about $3k a month for an O-5 with 20 years. You add another 2.5% for every year after 20. If you came in after 1980 (might be wrong year) that has changed as well, someting about HI-3 ??

 

[135NAV]

Hello All:

To echo what spanky said,

The military retirement (pension) has been a "safety net" for a great deal of people, including myself. It provides an income while you make that transition from the military. After a 20 year career and retiring as a Major, it equates to about $31000 per year, plus 200,000 of life insurance at $38.00 per month, if you so choose.

Viper...if you do separate...make sure you pursue the Guard/Reserve options so that your AD time will count in the long run.

Good Luck and Fly Safe!

 

[Huggyu2]

At the 13 year point, you are probably about 36 years old. Don't sell yourself short: there's a lot you can do other than be an airline pilot, if you are so inclined. Get a career specialist to work with you and see what is out there. Sure, the retirement is a given, but are you willing to put up with what will inevitably be mandatory PCS's, TDY's, staff jobs,etc... to get it? What's best for your relationship with your kids? Your decision. Not your mom's decision. Not your father-in-law's decision. Tell them to back off, or ignore them (which is what I had to do).
There are a lot of jobs out there that pay well, have good benefits, and offer good job security. It's arguably easier to get them if you're 36, not 43 years old. The question is "are you willing to do them?" You can't be a military jet pilot forever.

 

[psysicx]

So he must have been expanding the truth a tad.Thanks for the info.

 

[Mu2Driver]

What do you guys think the chances are of Uncle Sam starting to do a % match to the TSP? If so what % do you expect they will match?

Do you think if the TSP gets matched, they will start reducing the monthly benefits from the AD retirement check to say like 40% instead of 50% for 20 years?

-Soon to be LT

 

[Huggyu2]

Slim to none, and slim left town. There is no money. DoD is broke: the AF and Navy are paying for the Army's deficit. The Army is worse than broke. The AF has to come up with $3B. Last week, many units lost a bunch of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year (I hear 60% cuts were the standard). How will this play out? Don't know. But there is no way the Gov't is going to throw extra money into a savings program. That takes Congressional action, I believe.

 

[Mud Eagle]

How deep in debt will the DoD have to get before they start to not honor military retirements?

 

[F18-FDX]

I think DoD as well as the U.S. Government would have to be in pretty bad shape to not honor retirements. The problem I see is that they may cut into it. My Dad is retired career military and a bad rumor he's heard recently in the retired circles is that they want to reduce retirement checks in the amount of social security. This is, of course, total BS - penalizing folks who have served their country honorably because the Gov't is in a pinch. I'm not sure this could actually happen or there would be a total uproar, however the thought of it is bad enough. Who knows, it may happen to all of us, I for one fully expect to get nothing from social security. If it is still solvent when I retire I'm sure the age to start getting payments will have risen to 85 or so. Anyway, I'm rambling...

I left at 14 years and 7 months of Active Duty and decided prior to leaving that I would stay through 20 in the Reserve, just not smart to throw away all that time. I'm very happy with my decision...hopefully I'll be even happier in 20 years. It could be a crapshoot today though - need to get on with a good company that hopefully has a solid future ahead. If you leave, plan to do whatever it takes to get a Reserve/Guard retirement. I've talked to a lot of Captains who did the Reserve/Guard thing for years - to a man they all say it sucked at times but boy are they happy about that check that will start coming in the next couple of years. It will either be a nice bonus at retirement from your second career job, or maybe a life-saver if things don't go as planned. In the airline business (or any for that matter) you just never know what's around the next corner.

 

[Andy Neill]

How much does someone make a month off or retirement after 20 years AD?I heard around 4 to 5 thousand is this true?

Those who entered service after '86 will have retirement pay equal to years served times 2 1/2% * highest 36 months average monthly pay. For a full colonel with 20 years of service, this is between $3500 and $3600 a month. For a Lietenant Colonel, it would be between $3100 and $3200/month.

 

[YeOldeProp]

Hey Andy...I think the High-3 came into affect as far back as September of 1980. For the rest of the folks, the way I read it is that High-3 takes your last 3 years of BASIC pay and averages it. Since there's a pay increase in there and an annual pay raise, it's definitely to the military's advantage math-wise. Then that number is put to the calculations of 2.5% times the number of years served (min 20) and all that stuff. Someone did the math a while ago and I thing the High-3 trims off a $150+ per month from retirement pay versus the old 50% basic pay deal. Put that savings over all the folks who retire and all the years they receive retirement pay and it's a pretty significant number of $$$'s.

Back in 80's there was a bit of an underground movement to put 50% of the max Flight Pay (also known as Aviation Incentive Pay...never an "allowance") you earned into the equation. Would be significant nowadays ($400+ a month more in the retirement paycheck). Would rather see this suggestion come back versus the rolling bonus programs that have gotten the hook into so many of the youngsters these days. Might have some affect on retention and the former "good thoughts" about 20 in the military.
Good flying all...

 

[dabandermac]

If you separate from AD before 20 yrs, and then join the guard/reserve for the remaining years (to reach 20)... how is retirement pay calculated? 50% of base pay of the rank when you left AD?

Thanks in advance,
CV

 

[kingairip]

CV,
The reserve retirement is really confusing...here is a short explanation. Once you leave AD and join the guard, your retirement becomes based on the number of "points" you amass. The way "points" are earned and calculated can really be confusing, but for the most part one day of drilling in the reserves equals one point. 365 points equals one active duty year. Of course, you'll receive 365 points for each year you served on AD and one point per day for each day on AD above a year.

So, hopefully you continue to promote while in the reserves all the while drilling away earning more and more points. When you finally retire after 20 good years or more, you can take the total number of points you have divide by 365 and multiply that by 2.5%. The number you get will be the percentage of base pay that you will receive once you reach age 60. There's the catch...you may retire from the reserves at age 42, but you won't receive a thin dime in retirement pay until you reach 60.

There are other ways to earn points besides drilling (ie - correspondence courses, CAP, etc). If you're a flyer, you can earn two points for one flight by getting off deck and getting the gear up. Anyway, you could earn a master's degree trying to figure out how reserve pay and points are determined.

Hope this helps (at least a little!)
kingairip

 

[stonewall]

My two cents.

My old man flew for FDX for about 15 yrs. He had 24 yrs AD. Between the two, he pulls in about 90K/yr retirement. Pretty nice deal if you ask me.

I had a Capt (still military, ALO for USAFA) tell me the other night that if I bagged an extra trip or two on draft or something like that each month, I'd come out way ahead in the long term on that pay vs mil retirement. He's right, but I still really, really enjoy flying fighters. I guess the bottom line is that I'll fly for as long as I enjoy it and still feel safe in a fighter. After that, I'll do the non-fly/ALO gig for USAFA. The 20 yr gig is very attractive, and I guess my advice is to serve as long as you feel comfy. If you're young and sandbag extra trips, you'll come out ahead. However, if (god forbid), FDX has the "troubles," and isn't around in 20 yrs, then f*** yeah the Mil retirement looks good!

 

[Purpledog]

The Navy's BUPERs website has a reserve retirement calculator that accounts for inflation etc... I'm sitting at 5000 points which equates to $4500-5500mo depending on my final rank.
http://staynavytools.bol.navy.mil/RetCalc/Default.aspx

 

[psysicx]

How come the navy is higher then the AF?And can't you go 30 years in the reserves/guard and make more then 20 years AD?

 

[BMD]

military

Recently made the decision to stick around for the 20. Spent the last couple of years working with reservists who were furloughed from the majors and decided I didn't want to take a chance on it. Having said that, the navy's BS can be difficult to stomach sometimes. The prospect of another 8 years on AD with deployments and all that stuff doesn't particularly thrill me. Fortunately, the 6 figure paycheck (including bonus) does. My .02. BMD