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Military Retirement

Discussion in 'Prayer Requests & Praise' started by JonC, Aug 28, 2013.

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  1. JonC

    JonC Moderator
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    I’m thinking about retiring from the military, and would appreciate any prayers (as long as they’re good ones :smilewinkgrin: ). I’m almost 45 and will have 22 yrs in, and it seems a good age to start another career.

    The service has been great: made a lot of friends, seen a lot of places, finished my education goals, and made a good living. I know that I will not be able to make the same pay, and will have to tighten the budget – but I feel it’s time to go - been praying about this for some time now.
     
    #1 JonC, Aug 28, 2013
  2. SolaSaint

    SolaSaint Well-Known Member

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    Congrats, I hate that it is such a hard time to retire with the jobs in America being the way they are. I also hate it for you that Obama will be signing your retirement certificate.:wavey:
     
    #2 SolaSaint, Aug 28, 2013
  3. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    Jon,
    Just curious - what Branch are you in, you MOS - do you have any tenative plans.

    One possibility would be to assist a church planter.

    Salty
     
    #3 Salty, Aug 28, 2013
  4. JonC

    JonC Moderator
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    I am currently National Guard (AGR). My time is split - about 11 yrs Army and 11 yrs AGR. I started out as a psychiatric specialist at Walter Reed, then for some reason decided to change to combat engineer (actually liked it better anyway). I've been recruiting for the Guard the past decade.

    I'm exploring opportunities in the ministry (most likely volunteering my time). I graduated seminary, but attend a large church where opportunities are not very plentiful. Probably go back to working HVAC with a friend of mine.
     
    #4 JonC, Aug 28, 2013
  5. JonC

    JonC Moderator
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    Thanks. I don't think he "really" signs them, so I'm OK. :)
     
    #5 JonC, Aug 28, 2013
  6. Sapper Woody

    Sapper Woody Well-Known Member

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    I fixed it for you, Brother. Sappers lead the way!
     
    #6 Sapper Woody, Aug 28, 2013
  7. JonC

    JonC Moderator
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    :thumbsup: You are so much better at words than I - but yep, that's what I ws trying to say.
     
    #7 JonC, Aug 28, 2013
  8. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    Jon,
    Your profile doesnt give info, but if you are SBC, talk to your DOM. You would be in a great position to help a church planter. ( I know of Ronnie up here in the Salt city!)
     
    #8 Salty, Aug 28, 2013
  9. JonC

    JonC Moderator
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    Thanks.

    I am SBC and appreciate the advice.
     
    #9 JonC, Aug 28, 2013
  10. Don

    Don Well-Known Member
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    Jon-I retired last year. What I'm about to write, you probably already know, so forgive me if I'm wasting your time.

    First, ya gotta go to a transition assistance program class. I went about two years before I got serious about retiring, and then again when I made the decision to retire. Lots of info, especially about retirement and disability benefits.

    If you haven't done so already, go see the doctor about ANYTHING. You need to get it in your records NOW rather than try to get a determination of "service-related" later.

    Talk to DAV or VFW about helping you with your disability assessment/claim. You don't have to go it alone, and you shouldn't. A retired Marine helped me with my stuff, and I got a pretty decent result out of it.

    Disability rating math is WEIRD. If you need help figuring it out, holler.

    They'll probably recommend that you transfer your SGLI to VGLI. Your choice; but look at the pay tables carefully. For me, I compared VGLI to Term Life over a 25-year period; VGLI was going to cost me about $900/month for years 23-25.

    Consider Survivor Benefit Plan. It gets deducted before taxes, meaning that your retirement check is taxed a little less. And you stop paying on it around age 77 or when you die; and your spouse or other beneficiary receives a monthly check upon your passing. Couple that with a life insurance policy, and you've made sure that your spouse can pay off any debts and take care of the bills.

    Consider Tricare for medical insurance. Be aware that they just enacted a law that says if we're not within 50 miles of a military treatment facility, we can't get Tricare Prime. BTW: while you can use VA for your medical, you can't use them for dental, so you'll need to look for dental insurance. And your family can't use VA for medical, so you'll need to consider Tricare or something else for them.

    Praying for you.
     
    #10 Don, Aug 28, 2013
  11. JonC

    JonC Moderator
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    Thanks, Don. I've really gota get started working through this. Is tricare for retirees the same as tricare standard (I don't live within 50 miles of a military base).
     
    #11 JonC, Aug 29, 2013
  12. Don

    Don Well-Known Member
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    Yes. Technically, you get two options: tricare standard or tricare extra. Not sure i'm remembering this correctly; i think Extra costs a little less per year, but you have higher co-pays. But this is one of the things they'll talk about in TAP.
     
    #12 Don, Aug 29, 2013
  13. SaggyWoman

    SaggyWoman Active Member

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    Will be praying for you....
     
    #13 SaggyWoman, Aug 30, 2013
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