The military pension.
How your military retired pay is calculated and how it stacks with other retirement income — High-3 vs BRS, the service buyback decision, Social Security coordination, and the veteran’s triple-dip.
Every guide in this cluster
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.
Back to the full pillar
This is one cluster of the Military Retirement pillar. Explore disability & concurrent receipt, survivor & family benefits, health, and taxes in the full pillar.
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