Originally Posted by
1stindoor
Tanker4lyfe,
Because this is part of my “day job,” and something I’m very passionate about I decided to retype my earlier response. This is a long post…but well worth your time. Like I said in my earlier post, I work for USSOCOM’s Warrior Care Program, we have helped thousands of Soldiers over the last 8 years I’ve been with them transition off of AD either through a normal retirement, through IDES (Med Board), or just an ETS because it’s time for them to do something different with their life.
First, and truly most importantly, thank you for stepping up and volunteering, not once, but multiple times over the years to get you to where you are today. 17 years is no small feat…making it to 20 or further is many times easier to plan for than to actually accomplish. You’re actually in the perfect position (time wise) to start planning your transition/retirement. We routinely tell SMs that you want to be start being very pro-active in the last 24-36 months of AD. Especially the last 12-18 months. What I’ll try and type out is just common-sense type stuff…but almost every single thing gets overlooked or under appreciated until the last minute when panic sets in. So let’s dive in and start with a calendar and begin some basic backwards planning:
1. Pin the date of when you want to retire. For example, 1 Mar 2025 (little less than 3 years from now).
2. Plug in when you want to start your transition leave, your PTDY, etc. i.e. 1 Jan 2025, start leave, PTDY, etc.
3. Six months (no earlier than that) before your retirement date, get with a VSO on post and make your VA Claim. There’s a program called BDD (Benefits Delivery at Discharge) that allows the VA to start working your claim while you’re still on AD. You cannot submit it before the 180 day mark. Getting that done before you transition will greatly (GREATLY) affect when your VA Compensation begins. Currently the VA has about 600,000 cases backlogged (about 6 months). First priority goes to the Soldier getting out…but if they get the packet a month before you get out…you go to back of the line. If done properly, it’s not uncommon to have your VA pay start within 2 months of your retirement, for example 1 May 2025 (for the month of April). The VA (and DFAS) always pay on the first…for the month past).
4. Twelve months earlier (1 Mar 2024) drop your retirement packet. If your S1 is squared away they have “shell packet” already done for your specific installation to help you out. If they do not, now’s a good time to recommend they do something like that to avoid packets getting kicked back at their level, the higher BDE, DIV, etc level and finally by your post’s Retirement Services section. Nothing sucks more than finally dropping your packet and starting your planning only to find out 6 or 8 weeks later your packet was screwed up and you have to resubmit…do you keep the original date? Make a new date? Does that throw off the kid’s school? The new job? The move across the country, etc.?
5. 24-12 months earlier sign up for the SFL-TAP online stuff. It’s painful, but necessary. You don’t have to have an approved retirement date to get the process going. As soon as you can, coordinate to knock out the in-person portion on post. It’s a necessary evil, and there’s usually a chance to meet the folks you’ll need to coordinate with in the last 90-180 days, Finance, Personnel, VA, etc. Be nice to the gub’ment drones…they control how smooth and painless it is at the end when you’re trying to get your DD214, Leave approved, CIF appointments, Retirement ID cards, etc.
6. Now until you retire, start making sure your medical records are accurate and all your bumps and bruises over the years are documented. We tell Soldiers to make a head to toe list of everything they think is service connected. Then compare that list to what’s in their Med Records. If something isn’t in there, make an appt with your PCM and get it annotated. It doesn’t have to be in there in chronological order…but it needs to be in there. Here’s an example we see all too often in my (previous) career field: Guy hurts his leg, ankle, knee, back, etc. on a jump. Takes motrin, ices, elevates, skips PT for a week or two, and let’s his Team Medic manage the injury….then goes back to work a few weeks later and gets on with his life. Fast forward about 10 years and he gets ready to retire and makes a claim for that injury…unfortunately it’s not in his medical records…so no service connection. That guy owns that injury for the rest of his life. Also, if you have off-post medical stuff, typically BH and ortho PT/OT…many times those records don’t get into your military records unless you get copies yourself and take them to get scanned in to AHLTA. Your PCM’s nurse, or possibly your unit’s Care Coordinator can do that for you many times.
Now here’s some other “gems” that often get overlooked.
1. You need to do a really good deep-dive on your budget. Take a hard look at what your income will be when you retire and how much you’ll need to cover the loss of the other 50% of your pay, pro-pays, housing, etc. Don’t count on your VA pay, until you start getting it. Everyone thinks they’ll automatically get 100%...many do not. Huge difference. Also is your retirement pay going to be taxed? Some states do…some do not.
A. Tricare has been free…now you have to pay for it. Very affordable, but still it’s an added cost. There’s also Dental and Vision to consider.
B. Life Insurance. SGLI has been an auto withdrawal since you were a private…you need to start looking at civilian insurance. If you have USAA, Progressive, State Farm, whatever for your home/auto…bundling is a thing. VGLI is very affordable…the first time…then the rates go up exponentially until you’re old and can’t afford the payments and can’t afford other insurance either. Start thinking about how much you really need and for what. When I retired I took out a 250k (30 yr Term) and 50k whole life policy. But the kids were almost out of the house and the house is almost paid off…so we didn’t need as much. It’s a very personal decision but you can’t make it without deep-diving the budget.
2. Look at VA benefits for the state you plan on retiring in. Every state has bennies that often get overlooked. For example, lifetime fishing/hunting licenses, lowered tax rates on your house depending on your VA rating, reduced costs for license plates, free entry into parks, scholarships for spouses and children, etc.
3. Start thinking about what you want to do/be when you grow up…do you need a civilian resume or a federal resume…big difference. If you’re thinking about a GS job, start learning the ins and outs of USAjobs.gov now.
4. Survival Benefit Plan. Mandatory to either take it…or the wife has to formally deny it and sign paperwork. This is very much a decision based on many, many factors. Here’s two great examples:
A. My boss, a retired E9, took the SBP option because his wife didn’t work and he knew she would need a monthly income or else she would have a great month of shopping, eating, buying a new car…then go hungry (I’m exaggerating…mostly).
B. Me, also a retired E9, did not take it. My wife works, has her own retirement plan, 401K, BCBS insurance, etc. If I pass, she’s not destitute. So we took the amount we would have lost via SBP and put it towards a term and whole life policy. The problem with SBP is that if my wife would pass first…that money is just gone…the program is only for the spouse, it doesn’t transfer. If we both die at the same time (because she was driving)…again the money is just gone, it’s not like my children will see any benefit. With an insurance policy there’s a benefit for wife, then the kids. This worked for us…may not be the right fit for your family.
Okay, I guess I’ve rambled on enough. Again, I’m willing to talk to you about any of this anytime. If you send me a PM, I’ll shoot you my number and email address.
Just have to vent.
. Then I will be "aged out".
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