You may look at the current US Reserve Forces Retirement System as a fragmented house of cards rife with inequities. Or you may feel it’s run exactly as it should be. But of a certainty, if you are a retirement planner, actuary or a lawyer representing a client who is under the system, or the spouse of a member under the system, you better dig deep to understand the strange and somewhat bizarre workings of the system.
- First we should define what I mean by Reserve Forces: The generally accepted definition is a member of the Reserves of one of the military departments … Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines or US Coast Guard Reserve. The Reserve Componet also includes members of any of the US state’s National Guards plus the National Guard’s of Guam and Puerto Rico.
- Basic Reserve Retirement: An individual enlists or is appointed to a Reserve Forces position. There are many ways for that individual to participate … more than I want to go into here, but the results are the same. The individual participates in authorized activities and earns “points”. “Points” are very much the crux of our discussion here because, in general terms a “point” is the equivalent of a day’s active duty pay. A given number of points accumulated within a 12 month period counts for a “good year”. After a sufficient number of good years the individual is entitled to Reserve Retirement.
- Points: A “point” for reserve retirement is equivalent to a day of active reserve duty. A ‘day” normally means 24 hours of duty, as a day of active duty for a regular military member is defined. However, from long reserve forces tradition certain activities, such as weekly, bi-weekly or monthly training meetings (Unit Training Assemblies or UTA’s) count a 4 hour training sessions as a day of duty … so reserve forces in many categories of participation may earn two points for a nominally eight hour training day, four points for a complete weekend of training. There are a few other ways a reserve forces participant may earn points as well.
- Good Year: Normally, any points earned by a reserve forces member count toward his or her retirement. However, there are cases where some points don’t count. To have a year that counts toward reserve retirement a member must meet minimum participation standards. Some definitions:
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Fiscal Year (FY) is between 01 October and 30 September. It is during FY that funding is provided to pay for the member’s training requirements.
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Anniversary Year (AY) is defined as the date the member entered into active service or into active status in a Reserve component. This date changes only if the member has a break-in-service.
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“Good Year†– A year of satisfactory federal service is any anniversary year during which a reservist earned a minimum of 50 retirement points. The accumulation of 20 such years is required for retirement with pay.
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FY Participation Standards – Members are required to complete 90% of scheduled IDT drills (usually equaling 43) and 12 days of ADT every FY.
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AY Participation Standards – Members are required to earn 50 retirement points.
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Possible Retirement Point Totals based on FY (100% Completion):
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IDT
ADT
Membership
Total
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48
12
15
75
- Note that a reserve forces member who completes normal retirement earns 75 points, but needs only 50 for a good year. The 15 “Membership Points” (also called “Gratuitous Points”) available are essentially a “fudge factor”. If a member does all his or her drills and active duty s/he will earn 60 points. The Gratuitous Points are thrown away … only the points accumulated for active participation activities are counted toward retirement. But the membership Points can be used to fill-in for a certain amount of active duty participation missed.
- A member who earns 49 or less points in a given AY, however, is a member who just participated significantly but doesn’t get a year closer to retirement.
- A last comment on this (sometimes very complicated subject), a member can earn much more than 75 points in an AY. In fact, if he or she is performing active duty functions the whole year, s/he can earn up to 360 points. (the formulas all still use the antiquated banking convention of calculating years as consisting of 12 30 day months). It’s clear that anyone trying to calculate income or retirement eligibility for a reserve forces member had better know a lot of arcane and almost conflicting rules.
- Reserve retirement: Ahh, we got here at last. But don’t worry, it’s still not simple. A reserve forces member is authorized retirement upon the date that he or she completes 20 “Good Years”. His or her retirement annuity will then be based on two factors .,.. highest grade held and points accumulated.
- Highest Grade: In general the member will retire at the highest grade satisfactorily held. In many cases this means that perhaps amid-level NCO who held a commission in the past might retire as say a major or lieutenant colonel. There are a number of ‘twists and traps” inherent in that statement “highest grade satisfactorily held” but never let it escape your consciousness if what a member makes as an annuity is important to you … a retiring member’s grade may not always be as it seems.
- Accumulate Points: Once you know with certainty a retiree’s grade, calculating pay becomes an exercise in multiplying points times grade times the numerical quarter of the moon’s current phase plus Brittany Spear’s hat size …. no, wait, I think I got part of that wrong. Instead, use this claculator:
Now we’ve almost reached the end of the process of understanding. However there’s still one large factor that must be figured in. A reserve forces member who has his or her 20 (or more) years “in the bank” for retirement must also reach his or her 60th birthday before pay will begin. Since many persons have their 20 good years completed when they are in their late thirties or early forties, they might have to “sit” for 20 years or more before retired pay comes along. This creates a significant challenge in correctly determining their net present Value (NPV) and future annuity values. These guardsmen and reservists are commonly referred to as “Gray Area” reservists and some of the ins and outs of the “Gray Area” are complex enough to call for a separate, future treatment here at RetiredPay.com
Can you tell me if I did a 4 year active duty enlistment which was from 89-93 then in 1994 I spent 38 days on ADSW orders ( when I was in the IRR)- would that give me 5 good years towards a reserve retirement or would it just be added to my active duty time. I was under the impression that I had 5 good years towards a reserve retirement but was told recently that it all just counts towards active duty time. Thanks for your help.
@mark: Hello and thanks for dropping by. I really can’t answer your question with authority without knowing dates. A “good year” for reserve retirement revolves around your “anniversary’ or “Points” year. This can be completely different for each reservist. Most members who entered active duty and then went direct to the IRR have an “anniversary year” that starts the same day as the day they originally entered active duty. If your 38 days active plus the 15 gratuitous point you earned for IRR membership were all within you annivesary year you may indeed have a ‘good year’. But no way I can say you do or don’t. You chould have been receiving a point summary each and every year from the reserve personnel center. What did “they” say you earned in 1994?
The answer will be there in their records. If you don’t have credit for that year and you feel the qualifying points were all in your anniversary year, petition for a correctuon. If the points were earned ‘across’ the anniversary date, such that you didn’t earn at least 50 within your anniversary year then who ever told you they just count toward you total ponts but not a retirement year is correct.
I did exactly the same thing myself … had a break in reserve service, went back in the reserve and didn’t think about the now revised anniversary year. Erarned only 49 points within my first anniversary year … bingo … no good year for you, just like the Soup Nazi. Didn’t make _that_ mistake again.
Hope this will help you unravel the answer. Memo to _all_ reservisrts reading this … _know_ your anniversary date and watch your annual reports like a hawk. Mistake get made. It’s much easier to correct them as you go along than 14 years later. And be very sure you understand you don’t earn points for a retirement year in a January to December calendar year, or an October to September fiscal year … you earn them in your very own anniversary year … no reason for it. it’s just our rules
I have 19yr and 6mo at the end of my last anniversary year due to AD, reserve, and a break in service. Am I eligible to retire in 6 months or at the end of another “good year”?
@lisa: Thanks for reading and for your comment. Since retirement is alife changing event you for sure need to confirm this, with your reserve personnel center … sometimes local units don’t always have it right. But from my personal expereinces and the way I read the reg, you need “20 good years”, full years. This happened to me, when I was first in the reserve … due to chnaging units, moves, etc. I would up with an anniversary year short of 50 points … so when I was authorized to retire, I had 20 years plus almost 11 months by the ‘normal’ calendar, but still just the 20 good years needed.
The up side is, you get credit for each and every point, so your rserve paycheck would be higher than someone of equal grade who was able to reture with exactly 20 years … but when you are tat close, you really don’t want to hear ’six more months’ I am sure. At the end, I sure feel it’s been worth it though. Best of luck to you.
My wife was a reserve officer for 8 good years and is now on active duty, If she stays on active duty for 12 years can she then qualify for a 20 year reserve retirement and leave the service, or can they not be combined, I was told that in the past you had to go back on reserves for 5 years at end of 20 years to qualify for reserve retirement, but that has been changed so that you only have to go back on reserves for a day or not at all. Is their a system for this type of 20 year continuious but split reserve than active duty retirement or is it all active duty only if you move from reserve to active Duty?
@Ken: Thanks for your question, Ken. Unfortunately I don’t have an definitive answer for this one … you need to go back to the person or office that told you the final years in the Reserve requirement has been changed. Here’s what’s on the Army’s current Reserve Retirement site about eligibility for Reserve Retirement pay:
…
— be at least 60 years of age; and
— have performed at least 20 years of qualifying service computed under Section 12732, Title 10, United States Code; and
— have performed the last six years of qualifying service while a member of the Active Reserve; and
— not be entitled, under any other provision of law, to retired pay from an armed force or retainer pay as a member of the Fleet Reserve or the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve; ….
If this has been changed, I can’t find an official source to cite. However, when you say ‘My wife was a reserve officer” you cover a lot of ground. Almost all officers begin their service with a Reserve commission and then get a Regular commission. They also perform service under at least 6 or 8 different programs, covered by different Federal laws. So I can’t be sure that there is not a ‘loophole’ that might let her retire earlier.
I know for the enlisted side, when I was serving, the six year rule was hard and fast. As a reserve airman, I had the opportunity to go back on active duty as a regular active duty airman and seriously considered it … then turned it down, because I would have had to serve 10 more years as a regular, to qualify for normal active duty retirement, or return to the Reserve after my four year active enlistment was up and then serve six more years with the Reserve forces. So I chose to simply finish my 20 good years with the Reserve and then wait until age 60.
Obviously, many rules are different for officers, especially since they often don’t serve fixed periods like enlistments. She should definitely check directly with the reserve forces component of her service’s HR/personnel command, you likely won’t get good answers for a question like this from local base personnel offices, in my view. Best of luck, and hats off to her for her service, no matter how the retirement works out.
Question RP….. I did 13 yrs & 8 mos active Navy starting 9/79. Left Active (honorably) at EOAS Sep 93 as a CPO, E-7. Joined Navy Reserves 11 years later 11/2004 as E-5 (the only option as I was out so long). Have now completed 5 years 3 months in Reserves. Couple questions:
1. Do I get to retire at my highest rank? E-7?
2. I will hit HYT with 20 years total service in Feb 2011. I understand that the 8 months active don’t count toward the reserves – so need to go through Nov of 2011 to give me 7 years in reserves. Would I have to go to VTU for the last months?
3. Shouldn’t my HYT be calculated at CPO since I did get there once?
4. Do have to do 6 or 8 years in the reserves?
4. What docs could I look up to check this out?
Thanks for any advice….
Steve
I have 21 years of reserve service (NG, Reserves, AD). Only 18 are “good” years because for 3 of them I was on the IRR and did not earn enough points. I am being released from the NG in a couple of months to the US Army Control Group. For this year, I will have about 18 IDT points plus 15 membership points for 33 total points.
As a member of the Control Group can I still earn a “good” year by completing correspondence course or other activities for points? I am confused by the statement “have performed the last six years of qualifying service while a member of the Active Reserve”.
@Dominick: I’m not qualified to answer this. But the requirement to complete the last 6 years of service as a member of the reserve forces is a real one. Why are you being ‘released’ so close to having a retirement completed? If you have any choice, I would fight to stay in the Guard, you already have part of the points for a good year and then two more will certainly make it worth your while. I’m not familiar with the Army Control Group, I would contact them direct with your question before I just let the move happen … only you can look out for your own career best.
@Steve: First of all, so far as I know, any enlisted service member retires at the highest grade held. In some cases the member has to wait until s/he reaches the 30 year anniversary of service date before being advanced to the highest grade held, buts as long as you held E0- satisfactorily and were not removed for ’cause’, you should definitely followup on this.
In trying to figure out your time in service HYT questions I got confused. You state you were on active duty 9 of 79 through 9 of 93 … that’s 14 years … was there a break in service to account for the missing 4 months you mentioned? If you joined the reserves in 11 of 04, you need 6 years as a reservist to qualify for retirement which comes out to 11 of 2010.
This may be of help, I’d start calling: HIGH-YEAR-TENURE POLICY QUESTIONS: CNO (N132C3A), AT
(703) 614-6864/DSN 224 OR EMAIL AT DOUGLAS.DEVAULT@NAVY.MIL, OR
CNO (N132C3), AT (703) 695-3815/DSN 224 OR EMAIL AT
MATTHEW.WAESCHE@NAVY.MIL.
You also might find some interesting information here:
http://www.ausn.org/Portals/0/pdfs/magazine/february-2010/are-you-on-the-list.pdf
according to what I read, you are due to meet or may request a board. Also you may request a HYT waiver in order to complete the months you need for retirement.
If worst comes to worst, you cna earn points in VTU status. There’s a lot of info on:
https://wwwa.nko.navy.mil/portal/home/
“Don’t give up the ship” as some navy dude once said … you can sneak through to those magic ‘good years’, and don’t forget, in addition to getting back your E-7 pay grade, you time in service/time in grade keeps counting up while you wait for the magic 60th birthday to come along. Worked for me, make it work for you too.
According to my records an dthose of teh reserves official points count, I have 27 years on the Reserves and 20 active duty years because of constant active duty service since 2000. My AD points read 7340. For what kind of retirement do I qualify? active duty? reserves ? if it is active duty would that be 27 years? can you help me clarify this?
Bill
I failed to clarify I had 9 years active duty when I separated and joined the reserves, then actived uty tours through the 90s equalling 2 active duty years, and since 2000 I have been on active duty therefore I have 7340 points total in my points printout. Ergo, 20 years active duty with 27 years total reserve and active dutytime. What retirement do I qualify for?
Thanks
I am being transferred from the selected reserves, to IRR, due to a hardship issue (cannot do AT due to a disabled family member who requires my presence, unless they fly to live with family) I have six years prior active service and two on IRR before joining the active reserves. My first year in the selected reserves, I made the mistake of not getting quite 50 points, so it is a bad year, and I can only imagine that it will be the same for this year, since I am transferring to the IRR with no AT under my belt.
If my understanding of the system is correct, I only have 6 good years, since I did not earn 50 points in any of the four IRR/SelRes years.
My question is, is it possible to qualify for reserve retirement, i.e., get 14 more good years,while on IRR? Or is it a fool’s errand, and I should let my IRR enlistment expire and bid the Navy a fond, if reluctant, adieu? Strange as it may seem, although an annual training is out of the question, a long mobilization is -not-, although once we pull out of the middle east, I doubt I will have that option anymore.
@Will: Hi Will, it is certainly possible to complete a retirement in the IRR, but in your current situation, as you already have found, it will be hard. You are correct that the years you didn’t earn enough points are lost as ‘good years’. You still have those points in your account and they would be used to compute your final pay … but the years are lost.
I don’t have much in the way of good advice to offer, I never served in the IRR. But I provided a ‘roosting place’ for many IRR folks over the years … guys and galls who pretty much designed their own schedule and got a selected reserve unit to let them participate on an irregular basis. How the Navy works this specifically, I can’t advise on. It’s a long haul do do 14 years and only you can calculate the long term benefit … at your present rate, you won’t have many points at the 20 year mark …
I have received my 20 year letter. Am I correct in stating that, now that I have that document, I should no longer concern myself over “bad years” but instead try to gather as many points as I can before I submit my retirement papers? Of course, gathering those points will lead to “good years”, but it’s all about the points now, right?
What is Sanctuary in reference to a reservist. How does one calculate sanctuary years. Any informatiuon that you can provide in this subject will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
DS
I’m ar reservist w/ 21 yrs as a commissioned officer. Because I spent 7. 5yrs in IRR, I only have13 good years, and a MRD of 2/28/2017. At the end of my MRD I’ll be a couple of days short of meeting the requirements for the 20 yr retirement. What are my options?
@Paul: Congrats on the letter, Paul … it’s a valuable hunk of paper and evidence of a job well done. I guess the answer to your question is yes, “good years” no longer govern. In most cases, if you do things to maximize points you are going to get ‘good years’ as a consequence, but no, they essentially don’t mean anyhting. Points you acquire from now until age 60 always mean something, so things like taking an activation this year and earning 200 points and not doing anyhting the following year make perfect sense. Also, a point many don’t take note of … if you transfer to the Retired Rolls after you have received your “20 year letter”, then time and service and time in grade continue until age 60 …in other words, say an E-7 transfers to retired status after earning his/her 20 year letter. His or her pay would then be at the 20 to 22 year rate (over 20, les than 22 years service … but by the time she or he is age 60, their pay will be calculated on the over 24 rate (max pay for any E-7) .. one of the few “freebies” left in Reserve Forces retirement. Enjoy the rest of your career, and especially your retirement, mine has been great so far, just got to make it last another 40 or 50 years …not that I am greedy or anything
@Darren Stennis: Darren, thanks for writing in. Wow, good question. The start of your answer is here:
2. Background. Per references (a) through (c), a member of the
RC who is on active duty (other than for training) and is within
2 years of becoming eligible for retired pay or retainer pay
under a purely military retirement system (other than the
retirement system under reference (a), chapter 1223), may not be
involuntarily released from that duty before they become
eligible for that pay, unless the release is approved by the
Secretary of the Navy. This period, attaining 18 years of
cumulative active duty, is commonly known as entering
“sanctuary.” Navy and Marine Corps policies have established RC
member eligibility…
More at: http://doni.daps.dla.mil/Directives/01000%20Military%20Personnel%20Support/01-800%20Millitary%20Retirement%20Services%20and%20Support/1800.2.pdf
Hope this will help a little. I never got into this aspect of Reserve service, so I have no expertise here at all. See the headquarters info unit address for your particular military branch in the sidebar of each page … many time it is best to go direct to the manager of particular programs than to any other local source … best of luck.
@Mary: Thanks for writing in Ma’am. One of the marks of an expert (or some guy who wants to be seen as an expert
) is, he knows when he is outside his area of expertise. I am way outside my comfort zone with your question. I did spend a lot of time earlier today learning about calculation of MRC, different rules for different pay grasdes, etc., but damn little about waivers to the program or other avenues of ‘escape’ for someone who seems to be adversely affected by the program .. but nolck on this one. Contact the Reserve Forces specific office for your particular military department … I have a starting point listed for all services in the right-hand side bar of this site, and best of luck. Also, these folks seem to be the real POC for the MRD program in the ASrmy, perhaps they can help:
Commander, U.S. Army Human Resources Command
ATTN: AHRC-PAP-T
1 Reserve Way
St. Louis, MO 63132-5200