How many years in active duty is reserve points?

2019-06-25T13:00:57-04:00

I will have 3 1/2 years in active duty and want to switch to reserve after my ets date. how many years will i need to retire in the reserves if I just do the 20 years and get retirement at 60 years old

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2019 1:34 PM

2019-06-25T13:34:51-04:00

I am not an expert when it comes to understanding the complete in and outs of army retirement. It sounds like you are just asking how many years would you have to do in the reserves to make 20 years? Simple answer, If you are active duty for 4 years you would need that additional 16 years reserve. Unless, I am completely misreading your post.

Response by SGT Javier Silva made Jun 25 at 2019 4:13 PM

2019-06-25T16:13:44-04:00

SPC Private RallyPoint Member A year in the Reserves is based on points, and it is not reflected the same way as active duty. You could have 4 years in the Reserve and still need to do 18 years to retire on Active Duty. It boils down to having a good year.

A year in the Reserves consists of the following:
1. Inactive Drill Training (IDT) or Multiple Unit Training Assembly (MUTA) or Drill (these are all the same). Attending drill one weekend a month. Typically arrive Friday, drill Saturday and Sunday, leave Sunday night. Some months will include Th-Su. (48 points) one point per drill - four drills per weekend.
2. Annual Training (AT). Attend Annual Training, at station or whenever the orders are to, e.g. Ft. McCoy, Ft. Hunter-Liggett. (15 points)
3. Annual Participation. That's right for every year your in, the Army will give you points. (15 points)

You can only earn up to 365 (366 in a leap year) points towards retirement. The maximum points is equal to having been on active duty every day for a year. You can earn extra points throughout the year by completing extra correspondence courses. You need at least 50 points for the Army to consider it a good year. So, depending on what you do, retirement can change. You can do the 16.5 years and get a 20-year letter but that wouldn't entitle you to a paycheck sooner or higher.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 25 at 2019 4:57 PM

2019-06-25T16:57:02-04:00

Make sure you nail down the good year thing. Your year starts the day after you ETS. Back in my day, you either had a good year towards retirement or not. There wasn't such a thing as a 1/2 good year. So in my case I had 10.5 years total AD. I had to do 10 full good years to qualify for retirement. Wound up doing 30 total. Make sure you're doing a good TSP thing if you want more real money.