Understanding Military Retirement Laws
Understanding Military Retirement Laws
Military retirement laws have gotten complicated with all the system changes, UCMJ provisions, and legislative updates flying around. As someone who navigated these laws through my own retirement and helped junior service members understand their legal rights, I learned everything there is to know about the legal framework governing military retirement. Today, I will share it all with you.
Types of Military Retirement
Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Your retirement system is determined by your entry date into service, and it’s locked in unless you explicitly opted into BRS during the 2018 window. Each system has different multipliers and benefits.
- Final Pay System (pre-Sept 1980)
- High-36 Month Average System (Sept 1980 – Dec 2017)
- REDUX System (optional for 1986-2018 cohort)
- Blended Retirement System (BRS) (Jan 2018+)
Final Pay System
Final Pay is the simplest: 2.5% per year of service times your final month’s base pay. Serve 20 years, retire at E-7 with $4,000 base pay, and you get $2,000/month for life (50% of $4,000). No averaging, no complexity—just straight calculation based on what you were making when you retired.
High-36 Month Average System
High-36 (also called High-3) uses your highest 36 consecutive months of base pay averaged together, then applies the 2.5% multiplier. For most people, that’s the final three years at peak rank. The averaging smooths out any pay fluctuations and usually results in slightly less than Final Pay, but it’s fairer for people who got promoted late in their careers.
REDUX System
REDUX was a terrible deal that almost nobody took. You got a $30,000 Career Status Bonus at 15 years, but your retirement multiplier dropped to 2.0% (40% at 20 years instead of 50%). Unless you invested that $30,000 perfectly, you lost money over a 30-year retirement. Congress eventually recognized this and stopped offering it.
Blended Retirement System (BRS)
BRS drops the pension multiplier to 2.0% but adds TSP matching and continuation pay. That’s what makes BRS endearing to us younger service members—you get something even if you leave before 20 years, which the old systems never provided. The TSP matching can make up for the lower pension if you contribute wisely.
Legal Rights Under the UCMJ
Your retirement is protected under federal law. The DoD can’t arbitrarily take away your pension, though certain actions can forfeit it. Court-martial convictions for serious offenses, dishonorable discharge, or conviction of crimes against the United States can result in forfeiture of retirement pay. Legal protections exist for contested cases, and you have appeal rights through the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) and federal courts if needed.
