Posted on Jan 1, 2024
What are some differences between in-service benefits and retirement benefits between serving 20 years versus 30 years in the Army?
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To clarify what benefits can one expect by serving 20 years versus 25 years versus 30 years? Is there a max age to serve in the Army? Career tracker for enlisted only goes up to 30 years but online I read one can serve until age 66 if approved by SECDEF (68 if approved by the president).
Posted in these groups: 
Benefits
Retirement
Benefits Retirement
Posted 12 mo ago
Responses: 7
*chuckle* - I applaud your future planning and confidence at this stage of your career.
There are a number of different things that come into play when determining the maximum amount of time you can serve in the military before you're forced to separate and it will largely depend on your rank (there are a few other factors that will impact, but rank is the primary one). For the vast majority of individuals, it's going to be less than 30 years.
For enlisted, the biggest item is going to be your Retention Control Point* and the breakdown is the following: E1-E3 : 5 years; E4 : 8 years (10 for promotable E4s); E5 : 14 years; E6 : 20 years; E7 : 24 years; E8 : 26 years (28 for those scheduled for or graduates of the SGM Course); E9 : 30 years
You mentioned age, and that's another limiting factor - regardless of your RCP, if you hit your age limit, you'll be pointedly invited to leave. There was a time the Army was enlisting people up to age 42 (back in 2006), but in 2011 they lowered the maximum enlisted age to 35, so without an age waiver, the oldest a new recruit would be when they are shown the door is 65.
On the officer side it's very similar with one caveat - it's based on commissioned time, so if you were enlisted for a number of years and then became an officer, you could go beyond 30 years (with is the max an O6 or promotable O5 can go to).
As to benefits ... well, it's pretty much all the same - you'll accrue retirement at the same rate .. UNLESS you were part of the REDUX crowd in which case they start getting a higher pension percentage each year when they hit 20.
There is a significant attrition of the force when they reach 20 years - you leave, start pulling a military pension immediately (for a regular army retirement) and start in on a second career where if you just earn equal to what you were making equates to a 50% gross income increase for many. Those that love being in the military usually are the ones that stay until your Uncle Sam tosses you out.
Does that clear it up?
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* Army Retention Program Procedures - https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2023/09/29/2befbd52/da-pam [login to see] 1001-c.pdf
There are a number of different things that come into play when determining the maximum amount of time you can serve in the military before you're forced to separate and it will largely depend on your rank (there are a few other factors that will impact, but rank is the primary one). For the vast majority of individuals, it's going to be less than 30 years.
For enlisted, the biggest item is going to be your Retention Control Point* and the breakdown is the following: E1-E3 : 5 years; E4 : 8 years (10 for promotable E4s); E5 : 14 years; E6 : 20 years; E7 : 24 years; E8 : 26 years (28 for those scheduled for or graduates of the SGM Course); E9 : 30 years
You mentioned age, and that's another limiting factor - regardless of your RCP, if you hit your age limit, you'll be pointedly invited to leave. There was a time the Army was enlisting people up to age 42 (back in 2006), but in 2011 they lowered the maximum enlisted age to 35, so without an age waiver, the oldest a new recruit would be when they are shown the door is 65.
On the officer side it's very similar with one caveat - it's based on commissioned time, so if you were enlisted for a number of years and then became an officer, you could go beyond 30 years (with is the max an O6 or promotable O5 can go to).
As to benefits ... well, it's pretty much all the same - you'll accrue retirement at the same rate .. UNLESS you were part of the REDUX crowd in which case they start getting a higher pension percentage each year when they hit 20.
There is a significant attrition of the force when they reach 20 years - you leave, start pulling a military pension immediately (for a regular army retirement) and start in on a second career where if you just earn equal to what you were making equates to a 50% gross income increase for many. Those that love being in the military usually are the ones that stay until your Uncle Sam tosses you out.
Does that clear it up?
-----------------------------------------------------------
* Army Retention Program Procedures - https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2023/09/29/2befbd52/da-pam [login to see] 1001-c.pdf
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SGT (Join to see)
Thank you sir for the information. I'm aware of what you mention about RCP and for the most part you answered half of the question...Maybe I'm just not comprehending. Here's what I'm thinking.
My goal is to serve 25 years. Start of enlisted and end as a CW3/4. I believe I would make CW4 by year 22, knock out 3 years to obtain my high-3 towards retirement that will lead me to year 25. My old PSG told me you can only serve until 60 years old or 30 TIS. Whichever comes first. I ask myself what retirement benefits would I get if I retire after 25 years and is it any different if I retire at 30 years?(more money, better medical coverage, benefits for dependents, etc)
My goal is to serve 25 years. Start of enlisted and end as a CW3/4. I believe I would make CW4 by year 22, knock out 3 years to obtain my high-3 towards retirement that will lead me to year 25. My old PSG told me you can only serve until 60 years old or 30 TIS. Whichever comes first. I ask myself what retirement benefits would I get if I retire after 25 years and is it any different if I retire at 30 years?(more money, better medical coverage, benefits for dependents, etc)
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COL Randall C.
SGT (Join to see) - I'm making an educated guess that you're under the Blended Retirement System, so the military pension side is going to be 2% per year you serve. This isn't going to change if you serve 20, 25 or 30 years - it will still be 2% per year.
On the other side is your TSP contributions. THAT is going to depend on how much you put into it (see my side-note discussion about that below*), but again, it's not going to change each year (except the IRS limits will probably keep increasing).
From a retirement benefits point of view, as I mentioned above, it's pretty much all the same, except for "more of it" (specifically, the money you'll get from your military pension).
Your medical coverage eligibility won't change, there isn't anything more you get for your dependants, etc. Having a regular retirement is a "yes or no" answer as there are no "are you retired with more than 24 years of service" type of benefits. It's remotely possible there is some arcane benefit out there that you could be eligible for if you do 30 years and retire, but I'm unaware of any (if there is, someone please let me know .. I'm missing out).
Without knowing exactly what your old PSG was referring to, I'll make a SWAG that he was referring to "life as an enlisted" - For enlisted 30 years TIS and 60 years of age is correct (when you reenlist, you cannot be more than 60 years old at the new ETS).
For Officers and Warrants, the time is counted from when you became one, so if you became a warrant and had 8 years TIS as an enlisted, you'll be able to go to 38 years for the most part (30 years is the max allowed under law* for a Regular Army warrant unless some caveat applies) - unless you hit your age limit first, which is also 60 for the most part if you are a warrant officer (there are some exceptions that allow you to go to 62 though).
If you want to read the various details about the maximum age and service limitations for officers and warrant officers, you can find them in AR 600-8-24*
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* AR 600-8-24 - https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN3140_AR600-8-24_FINAL.pdf
* 10 USC Chapter 65 - Retirement of Warrant Officers for Length of Service - https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title10/subtitleA/part2/chapter65&edition=prelim
* I'll take a detour and discuss your TSP contributions. You should absolutely contribute AT LEAST 5% as that would max the government's contributions. You SHOULD have a goal of maximizing your contributions each year because it WILL pay off for you down the road.
I embraced a philosophy of "pay me now, pay me later" when I was a new 2LT. Every time I got a pay increase (annual increase, longevity increase, rank increase, etc.) I would take half of it and enjoy it as a "pay me now" increase and the other half I would put into future savings ("pay me later"). It doesn't matter if you're enlisted or an officer, serving in the military or are a civilian ... it's a great strategy because you won't miss spending money that you never started relying on the in the first place.
On the other side is your TSP contributions. THAT is going to depend on how much you put into it (see my side-note discussion about that below*), but again, it's not going to change each year (except the IRS limits will probably keep increasing).
From a retirement benefits point of view, as I mentioned above, it's pretty much all the same, except for "more of it" (specifically, the money you'll get from your military pension).
Your medical coverage eligibility won't change, there isn't anything more you get for your dependants, etc. Having a regular retirement is a "yes or no" answer as there are no "are you retired with more than 24 years of service" type of benefits. It's remotely possible there is some arcane benefit out there that you could be eligible for if you do 30 years and retire, but I'm unaware of any (if there is, someone please let me know .. I'm missing out).
Without knowing exactly what your old PSG was referring to, I'll make a SWAG that he was referring to "life as an enlisted" - For enlisted 30 years TIS and 60 years of age is correct (when you reenlist, you cannot be more than 60 years old at the new ETS).
For Officers and Warrants, the time is counted from when you became one, so if you became a warrant and had 8 years TIS as an enlisted, you'll be able to go to 38 years for the most part (30 years is the max allowed under law* for a Regular Army warrant unless some caveat applies) - unless you hit your age limit first, which is also 60 for the most part if you are a warrant officer (there are some exceptions that allow you to go to 62 though).
If you want to read the various details about the maximum age and service limitations for officers and warrant officers, you can find them in AR 600-8-24*
----------------------------------------
* AR 600-8-24 - https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN3140_AR600-8-24_FINAL.pdf
* 10 USC Chapter 65 - Retirement of Warrant Officers for Length of Service - https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title10/subtitleA/part2/chapter65&edition=prelim
* I'll take a detour and discuss your TSP contributions. You should absolutely contribute AT LEAST 5% as that would max the government's contributions. You SHOULD have a goal of maximizing your contributions each year because it WILL pay off for you down the road.
I embraced a philosophy of "pay me now, pay me later" when I was a new 2LT. Every time I got a pay increase (annual increase, longevity increase, rank increase, etc.) I would take half of it and enjoy it as a "pay me now" increase and the other half I would put into future savings ("pay me later"). It doesn't matter if you're enlisted or an officer, serving in the military or are a civilian ... it's a great strategy because you won't miss spending money that you never started relying on the in the first place.
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CPT (Join to see)
SGT (Join to see) - I think you'll only get more money as a function of the time in service formula. As for the "perks" all those will remain the same once you hit 20. I'm pretty sure WO's are the grade category that can go till age 62 without waivers.
Age waivers generally need to be the top of the food chain across the entirety of the army. So unless one is a general with a career trajectory with strong upward momentum one isn't getting a waiver.
I'm such a financial nerd I've also (in the past) calculated out the inflection point one is better off financially retiring than continuing. In the reserves this is a no brainer (I'd get paid more based on my accumulated retirement points than I would for working the weekend). In active duty it was best described to me that at 20 years one is working for half a paycheck. The other half would otherwise be giving without having to work anymore anyway. One would be better off as a Walmart greeter and collecting a retirement check.
At 20 you get all the perks. Past that the benefit is marginally better based on your time in service and pay grade. Regardless, since you LOCK IN the perks at 20 you taking that package with that retirement check, if you take on a civilian career that additional income will dwarf continuing in the military.
So if you get out in your 40's with 15-20 years you can give the civilian market then you could basically double your retirement earnings if you added an equivalent amount to a 401K plan and retired fully in your mid 60's (all while pulling in your military retirement check). The key is DO NOT TAKE A FEDERAL JOB.
Age waivers generally need to be the top of the food chain across the entirety of the army. So unless one is a general with a career trajectory with strong upward momentum one isn't getting a waiver.
I'm such a financial nerd I've also (in the past) calculated out the inflection point one is better off financially retiring than continuing. In the reserves this is a no brainer (I'd get paid more based on my accumulated retirement points than I would for working the weekend). In active duty it was best described to me that at 20 years one is working for half a paycheck. The other half would otherwise be giving without having to work anymore anyway. One would be better off as a Walmart greeter and collecting a retirement check.
At 20 you get all the perks. Past that the benefit is marginally better based on your time in service and pay grade. Regardless, since you LOCK IN the perks at 20 you taking that package with that retirement check, if you take on a civilian career that additional income will dwarf continuing in the military.
So if you get out in your 40's with 15-20 years you can give the civilian market then you could basically double your retirement earnings if you added an equivalent amount to a 401K plan and retired fully in your mid 60's (all while pulling in your military retirement check). The key is DO NOT TAKE A FEDERAL JOB.
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My apologies, I did not answer the root question. There is only one difference in benefits year to year beyond 20, that is the amount that your pension increases by based on the years of service. That in itself is a formula depending upon when you served.
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A lot of great responses. One additional point is that and E9 can serve over 30 if they are selected for assignment as a Senior Enlisted for a General Officer. The age limit still applies. There are more minute details but the gist of it all is there.
Now that you know, let go and focus on the heart and now. For anyone to stay beyond 29 requires motivation, drive, the willingness to lead, the ability to lead and follow. So for now just get through your first time period. Hoooah.
Now that you know, let go and focus on the heart and now. For anyone to stay beyond 29 requires motivation, drive, the willingness to lead, the ability to lead and follow. So for now just get through your first time period. Hoooah.
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