Army Offering Early Retirement to Soldiers

"...Soldiers with at least 15 but less than 20 years of service may be eligible for early retirement.

According to Army Directive 281/2012, titled "Temporary Early Retirement Authority," or TERA, officers and warrant officers who have twice failed selection for promotion to the next grade and noncommissioned officers denied continued service as a result of an approved qualitative service program centralized selection board are eligible for the program.

"Soldiers who elect to retire under TERA and are approved, will receive full retirement benefits at a slightly reduced annuity," said Gerald Purcell, the enlisted personnel policy integrator with Army G-1..."

Read more at The United States Army

Is 15 Year Retirement Right For Me?

"...Fifteen-year retirement isn't here for everyone, but it could be soon. What does it mean for servicemembers?

In exchange for retiring early, officers and noncommissioned officers receive lowered retirement benefits. The formula is fiendishly complex, but this is the upshot: While someone retiring after 20 years will receive half their annual service pay, after 15 years it's only slightly more than 35%.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:..."

Read more at Military.com

Lawmaker to Navy: Offer more 15-year retirements

"...A key lawmaker is seeking 15-year retirements for 172 sailors cut by last year’s Enlisted Retention Boards who would otherwise be forced to leave the Navy by Sept. 1. Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., who represents part of the Navy-heavy Hampton Roads area and serves on the committee that sets defense policy, asked Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk to extend Temporary Early Retirement Authority to sailors selected for separation who hit the 15-year mark by Sept. 30, 2013. “Allowing this exception will provide additional ERB sailors in fiscal year 2013 the opportunity to apply for the maximum benefits allowable by law, which is consistent with the Navy’s objectives and equitable for those who have served this nation with distinction and honor,” Rigell wrote in the June 11 letter, a copy of which was provided to Navy Times..."

Read more at navytimes.com

15 Year Retirement Calculator

"...Congress has authorized the services to use Temporary Early Retirement Authority to reduce active-duty strength if that becomes necessary. Under that program, last used during the 1990s post-Cold War drawdown, troops can retire with as few as 15 years of service with a proportionately lesser lifetime annuity. Find out how much you would earn if you retired from a specific paygrade with less than 20 years of service — should the military offer you this option..."

Read more at Military Times

Air Force Early Retirement Announced

"...Staff sergeants, technical sergeants and master sergeants with 15-19 years of service and currently in selected overmanned career fields may be eligible for early retirements this fiscal year, the Air Force announced today.

The application window for these “15-year retirements” under the Temporary Early Retirement Authority is Apr. 10-30, according to Col. Kenneth Sersun, chief of the Military Force Policy Division of the Air Force Personnel Center. Those approved under the program must retire by Sept. 1..."

Read more at Delaware Defense

Some ERB sailors will get 15-year retirements

"...Roughly 300 sailors who were cut through the fleet’s enlisted retention boards will receive the new, early 15-year retirement option recently approved by Congress, the Navy’s top officer announced Thursday while visiting sailors in Hawaii.The new policy affects only those sailors who will have completed 15 years of active service by Sept. 1. Anyone who will not reach that milestone by that time will receive involuntary separation pay, provided they meet all the eligibility requirements, according to a story posted on the Navy’s official website...."

Read more at navytimes.com

Early Retirement Bad for Troops?

"...Servicemembers who accept a 15-year retirement incentive approved by Congress this month stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over the lifetime of their retirement payments, according to early estimates.

This realization, combined with poor national economic factors that are expected to compel many servicemembers to stay in uniform, could make it even tougher for service officials to entice troops to leave on their own to meet the services' goals of reduced end strength..."

Read more at military.com