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
The BRS Lump Sum Option: What It Really Costs
Cash now for 25% or 50% of your pension until 67. Who can take it, why it’s smaller than it looks, and a calculator for your own estimate.
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
Separation Pay and VA Recoupment: Why VA Withholds Your Check
VA withholds disability compensation until separation pay is recouped. The after-tax rule, the combat exemption, and a calculator.
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
Fixing an SBP Election: Spouse Consent and the BCMR
Fix a military SBP election you never made: the spouse concurrence rule, the 1-year deadlines, and correcting it through the BCMR on DD Form 149.
TRICARE Young Adult When Your Child Turns 23
Regular TRICARE ends at 21, or 23 for students. TRICARE Young Adult costs, Prime vs Select, and why FEDVIP dental ends too.
When a Military Retiree Dies: Survivor Checklist
What to do when a military retiree dies: report the death to DFAS, claim the SBP annuity and final pay, and keep TRICARE.
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.
Money, health & taxes
Your TSP After You Leave the Military
Leave it, combine it or roll it over. What happens to tax-free combat-zone money, and what the 10% penalty costs, with a calculator.
The VA Home Loan for Military Retirees
Military retirees keep the VA home loan: no down payment, no funding fee with any VA rating, and reusable entitlement.
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).