Retired pay, maximized.
New to this? Read these first.
How Military Retired Pay Is Calculated: High-3, BRS, REDUX & Final Pay (2026)
The 2.5% vs 2.0% multiplier, the four systems set by your DIEMS, the 20-year cliff, and Reserve/Guard at 60 — with a retired-pay estimator.
Legacy High-3 vs BRS: The Real Military Pension Math
The 2.5% pension vs the 2.0% pension plus a TSP match. Which is worth more, who’s in which system, and the honest lifetime math — with a side-by-side calculator.
Is SBP Worth It? The 6.5% Survivor Benefit Decision
The premium, the 55% annuity, the paid-up rule, and the eliminated SBP-DIC offset. A worth-it analyzer for the most expensive election most retirees never revisit.
The pension
How Military Retired Pay Is Calculated: High-3, BRS, REDUX & Final Pay (2026)
The 2.5% vs 2.0% multiplier, the four systems set by your DIEMS, the 20-year cliff, and Reserve/Guard at 60 — with a retired-pay estimator.
Legacy High-3 vs BRS: The Real Military Pension Math
The 2.5% pension vs the 2.0% pension plus a TSP match. Which is worth more, who’s in which system, and the honest lifetime math — with a side-by-side calculator.
Guard and Reserve Retirement at 60: Points and Pay
How points become a pension, the gray-area years, and the 90-day rule that pulls your start age below 60 — with a Reserve retirement estimator.
Chapter 61 Military Medical Retirement: The Pay Math
The 30% threshold, the greater-of-two-methods pay formula, TDRL vs permanent, and the VA-offset and CRSC interaction — with a disability-retirement pay calculator.
Triple-Dipping: Military Retired Pay + VA Disability + a FERS Pension
Three lifelong income streams can stack — but the military buyback forces a choice. Reserve retirees win cleanly; active-duty retirees must weigh a waiver. Full rules and a calculator.
CSB/REDUX: The $30,000 Career Status Bonus and Its Lifetime Cost
The bonus paid $30K at 15 years for a smaller pension (40% at 20 yrs) and a CPI-minus-1% COLA that compounds for life. The age-62 catch-up and a REDUX-vs-High-3 calculator.
The 2027 Military Pay Raise vs. Your Retiree COLA
Two different numbers: a proposed 5–7% tiered raise for those still serving vs. a ~2.8% COLA for retirees. Which is yours, how the raise lifts your High-3, and a dual-mode calculator.
Disability & concurrent receipt
The VA Waiver: Why Military Retired Pay Is Offset by Disability Pay (2026)
VA disability pay offsets military retired pay dollar-for-dollar via the VA waiver. Why it happens, how CRDP and CRSC restore it, plus a calculator to see it.
CRDP vs CRSC: Concurrent Receipt Explained
Taxable CRDP or tax-free CRSC? The combat-related test, the breakeven math, and why you can only hold one — with an after-tax comparison tool.
Military Pension and Social Security: Stacking
Your pension and Social Security stack in full — no WEP, no GPO. The real interaction is taxation — with a taxable-Social-Security estimator.
Chapter 61 Under 20 Years: Concurrent Receipt & Recoupment
Medically retired under 20 years? You can’t get CRDP, and CRSC applies only if combat-related — capped by the Special Rule. How the VA offset and recoupment work, with a calculator.
Survivor & family
Is SBP Worth It? The 6.5% Survivor Benefit Decision
The premium, the 55% annuity, the paid-up rule, and the eliminated SBP-DIC offset. A worth-it analyzer for the most expensive election most retirees never revisit.
The Military SBP Opt-Out
Retired pay stops at death. The 55% survivor benefit, the 6.5% premium, the notarized-consent rule, and why declining SBP is nearly permanent — with a calculator.
Military Divorce and the USFSPA: Dividing Your Pension
The coverture formula, the Frozen Benefit Rule, the truth about 10/10 and 20/20/20, and how a VA waiver reshapes the split — with a former-spouse share estimator.
VA Disability in Divorce: What’s Divisible and What’s Not
VA disability can’t be split as property (USFSPA, Howell) but counts as income for support. The waiver’s effect, the 2026 apportionment change, and a divisible-vs-protected calculator.
The 20/20/20 Rule: Military Benefits for Divorced Spouses
Lifetime TRICARE, commissary, and exchange for an unremarried former spouse who clears three 20-year tests. The 20/20/15 fallback, how remarriage ends it, and why pension division is separate — with an eligibility checker.
Health & taxes
TRICARE Prime vs Select vs For Life
The retiree health-coverage choice across your lifecycle, the 2026 costs, and the Part B move that protects you at 65 — with a Prime-vs-Select cost comparison.
State Taxes on Military Retirement Pay: The 2026 Map
37 states don't tax military retirement pay at all; only California and DC fully tax it. The no-tax nine, partial-exemption states, and a state lookup.
Gray-Area Reserve Retiree Healthcare: Bridging to Age 60
Retired from the Guard/Reserve but under 60? Reserve Select ends and standard TRICARE waits until 60. TRICARE Retired Reserve, the FEHB trap, 2026 premiums, and a gap-cost calculator.
The high-leverage decisions
- SBP election — 6.5% of retired pay for life, in exchange for spouse 55% of base. Most retirees should elect; some shouldn't. The math depends on your spouse's age, your health, and your other survivor benefits.
- Concurrent receipt — if you're rated 50%+ by the VA, you can receive both retired pay and VA disability. Below 50%, the offset cuts your retired pay dollar-for-dollar.
- Military service deposit — buying back military time for FERS counts that service toward your federal civilian pension. Almost always worth it.
- Reserve/Guard retirement — reservists with 20+ qualifying years get a pension starting at age 60 (or earlier for post-2008 active duty time).