Anyone here retired military?

[reallyprettyhappy]

I have a question. A few actually. Was it worth it? Financially, of course, but family-wise as well. I mean, realistically, what does your financial land-scape look like? Are you able to live off of the pension that you get only, or did you have to go back to work in the private sector to supplement that income? My husband is still 15 years away from retirement eligability, but he keeps saying that he wants to get out as soon as he can after 20 and 'retire', which means not work. He will only be around 42 at that point. Logistically, I don't think I'd be able to sit around not working for 50 years. I would get bored. Him, not so much. Realistically though, would it even be doable on the retirement that he would get?

Family-wise, is the financial trade-off worth it? Is having that steady stream of income for the rest of your life worth the sacrifices that you and your family has made over the years? Deployments, moving, abandonment issues with the kids, etc. We'd like to stay in for the long haul, but not at the ultimate expense of our family. Any advice you have would help us.

[creditcardfree]

I don't have advice, but appreciate the question. My husband is also military. He's been in the Reserves for 18 years, but only full time for the last 3...so we probably have about 15 years left as well. My husband also says he can't wait to retire!!

We have always saved for retirement and have continued to contribute to our roths and tsp since he became active duty. We don't want to rely on only one income stream alone. So at retirement we expect to have the pension and income from investments. If social security is there...than that, too. I would encourage you to save for retirement in addition to the pension (okay...I did have advice!). The pension is only a fraction of the base pay, so it is possible that one would need to have another job after military retirement, unless you are going to change your standard of living at the same time.

[reallyprettyhappy]

Thanks for letting me know that there's someone else in my boat! We've always put 15% of each of our incomes into 401k/tsp, so we are saving regardless of the pension. I guess that is mainly to keep our options open, if things don't improve and we do decide to separate. I just don't know if I can keep up with the current deployment rate. Although those feelings are biased by the fact that he just returned home two months ago from his second six month deployment in four years and we are having a little trouble with the reintegration process. So from this vantage point, I just want to say, to heck with it, no amount of money is worth this strain. But then I look ahead and around and think, ok, so maybe that extra security in retirement might be worth it in the end. I guess I just want to hear it from someone who's been there, done that you know?

[creditcardfree]

((Hugs)) I completely understand. The deployments are stressful. We did one about five years ago. He was gone for a year. We are expecting another one soon, too.

I would definitely give yourselves some more time to heal and recover before making a decision.

I don't know that we have a retired military member of the forums, but if you are out there lurking we both would love to hear your point of view!

[GREENBACK]

My Dad and older brother both retired from the military. They both also worked for another 20 yrs.. They are both doing well with the military pension and pensions from civilian employers.

My dad had a stroke one year after retiring from his civilian job. He recovered pretty well from it. He said that he never wanted to retire but he wasn't physically able to do the work. Some people can't just retire young.

Even with his pension which is basically half of what you earned or used to be and his civilian job we weren't flush with money. My Mom had a good job with the federal goverment as well but, again, My dads income helped a lot with 5 mouths to feed. I'm sure we could have made it if my dad hadn't worked after the military but it sure helped. Hope that experience helps with your decision.

[terces]

DH retired after 22 years of the Navy back in 2006. Was it worth it? Now I look back and can say yes. We were fortunate to be able to stay in one area (So Calif) throughout his whole career....mainly San Diego. So the kids were given stability. We were also able to buy a house when prices were low and left CA before the bubble popped. With the Navy you always dealt with set deployments of 6 months so I think it was easier than those in the Army who are deploying more frequent and longer because of the war.

If we wanted we could survive on his pension and VA disability but we chose not to since he was only 41 when he retired. The pension is really nice especially in these economic times. If we were both to lose our jobs...we'd be okay. He started his second career as a city cop. Going for his second pension. Best benefit of all is our medical coverage we get as retired military. We pay around $500 for our family for the whole year. That's what most people pay per month.

Would I do it again... yes because I wouldn't know any different. Its definitely been adjustment these last couple of years of actually seeing each other everyday.

[creditcardfree]

Thanks terces for your insight! It is appreciated.

[BadSaver]

I retired from the Army after twenty years at age 41. Went through a couple of wars. Left my family many times for 6-12 months at a time. It was very hard on them. Was supposed to go to S. Korea (w/o family) for a year the day my son was born. After some work got that deferred for two months. When I showed up in Korea they didn't have a spot for me (excess). When i got sent back to the states they wouldn't allow me to go back to my original duty assignment so I could sell my house. Poor wife was left stranded with a baby for years... Family was fun to visit...

Got sent to Bosnia (and Kosovo, Hungary & Croatia) many times. My rank was high enough that I thought it wouldn't affect me. however, a friend of mine. The same rank. His wife wrote a ton of bad checks in Germany. She escaped by returning back to the US. He escaped by volunteering to go to Bosnia. That set a presidence for someone of my rank to be in Bosnia. Next they sent me. Once again, leaving my wife and baby but this time for only six months. Only because someone wrote bad checks a year before.

The second time I got sent to a Bosnia was as a First Sergeant. Another friend at another base had an incident where two of his soldiers decided to wife swap. Before he was to deploy, one of the wives went to him and confessed. Weird... He didn't take action on it. When the command found out about it they pulled him out of the position. I ended up leading his company in Bosnia. Six more months away from my family be someone was immoral.

Once the Army was exhausted the National guard took over. Thought I was out of it but the National Guard guys weren't trained to a level that would allow them to complete the mission. Spent the next three years on the road in and out of various war zones.

Every time it was a real challenge to our finances. We'd save up and then have to spend money because of a move or separation.

After retiring from the Military, went back to school and became a CPA. About a seven year struggle during ones forties is not fun. Family is counting on you in so many ways.

The Army is an affirmative action type place. Had i known this i wouldn't have joined (as enlisted). They PURPOSELY have no testing to tell who knows their job, etc (used to have SQT then SDT). Very easy to not get promoted because you are the wrong sex or color. I'm talking ranks E-7 to E-9 but applies to all enlisted. Unlike firefighters, soldiers aren't allowed to sue and have no recourse. I scored the highest in the Army on the SQT (for my job skill) when they tried it. They tossed the test and promoted a guy who scored 30% on it. Additionally, as you've read above. People not knowing their job can affect you in so many ways more than just promotion.

If you get killed in the military your wife or whoever you select gets paid insurance proceeds that you pay for. If you die slow, then your spouse can get a retirement for life plus the insurance. If you die in an Army hospital, the Army doctor may delay stamping your death certificate until the command can get the medical retirement approved.

For example, one guy on post with the same truck as mine. Friends thought it was me... He ran into a light pole one evening. This caused him to have brain injuries. I thought that the command believed his accident to have been caused by drinking and driving (based on rumors I was hearing). They didn't have any sympathy for him so they didn't rush to get a medical retirement done. He died the next day in a German Hospital - his wife was left without a retirement and only the insurance proceeds. He had many years of military service. His death was not service related. But, military law covers you 100% of the time. When you're in the military, your in... Don't count on any military support coming back to you. Best to keep a million bucks worth of insurance on yourself. Insurance is cheap at that age.

Once retired, if you die. Your spouse gets up to 55% of your retirement from the insurance you pay called SBP. Leaves one to worry about what if after retiring. Note that one social security goes away when one of two married people die as well. My wife's family all lived into their 90s. My family, no male has lived past 63.

If I could do it over again. I wouldn't go into the Army. Better to be a public servant in California.

Sorry, no time to word smith this.

[mrpaseo]

I am quickly approaching 18 years active duty Army, I have six deployments and countless field training exercises. When I retire at the age of 39, I will be able to live on my pension alone.

Early on, my wife and I got on a budget and started saving. As we approach retirement we purchased our retirement vehicle so it will be paid off before retirement (We actually paid it off in 18 months) and we are on track to have our house paid off by year 19. This will give us a years worth of saving before I get out, that is, if I get out at 20.

As for decisions? My wife and daughter fully support my service. It helps that my wife served for four years so she understands everything I go through. I do believe this was a good decision and would make the same decision if I had to do it again.

As for post Army, I do plan on working. At this point, I do not know exactly what, but I will keep active.


Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Ray