National Guard Retirement Benefits

As Reserve Personnel with 20 years of qualifying service approach their 60th birthday, questions arise concerning military benefits. Reserve and National Guard Retirement Pay (Point) System .The retirement pay system for the Reserves and National Guard is different than that of active duty, because it has to take into account part-time service. Your National Guard Retirement Service Office is available to assist in your retirement process.

Jacobs Ladder: Is it time to change Reserve and National Guard retirement benefits. "System" or "system" means the National Guard Retirement System established pursuant to this chapter. This retirement system has the powers and privileges of a corporation and must be known as the National Guard Retirement System.

It is best to verify your point totals annually by comparing the points shown on your Army National Guard Retirement Points Statement, NGB Form 23A or NGB 23B, with your monthly Leave and Earnings Statement (LES). If there are separate provisions for National Guard retirement pay, I don't know where they would be. The more you serve, the more security and stability you get out of an Air National Guard retirement pan.

In response to a question from Representative Kroeber, committee counsel said members of the National Guard retirement plan are nonclassified employees and thus are eligible to participate in the defined compensation retirement plan. Representative Grande noted that the employer contribution for the National Guard retirement plan is set by the Public Employees Retirement System Board.

Guard

Guard/Reserve members may accumulate a total of 365 points per year (366 in a leap year) from inactive and active duty service (one point for each day of duty). Guard and Reserve members who separate or are discharged before age 60 will be credited for basic pay purposes only with the years up until their discharge.

Guardsmen may not earn more than two IDT retirement points a day, nor can they be credited with both IDT and active duty retirement points for the same day. Guard as well as by civilian employers. Guard Airmen can log on to the vPC-GR to begin the process and see other Guard-specific options.

Since 911, thousands of US Armed Forces Reserve and National Guard personnel have fought bravely, suffered serious injuries or have died in the defense of their nation. Reserve and Guard members are not subject to the same retirement benefits as the active duty military. Whereas active duty military members begin receiving retirement pay and health benefits on the day of retirement and for the rest of their lives, reserve and National Guard members do not collect retirement pay, nor do they receive their scaled-down medical benefits, until age 60. This means that a decorated combat veteran who entered the reserves or the Guard at age 18 and who retires with twenty-five years of distinguished service must wait 17 years from the date of retirement before he or she sees any retirement benefits.

Reserve retirement pay is generally a fraction of the pay earned by active duty military members and reserve health care begins at age 60 and ends at age 65 when the reserve or Guard retiree is forced either to finance their own health care insurance or switch to Medicare. Section 654 proposes that a member of the reserves or the Guard who was involuntarily recalled to active duty “under certain mobilization authorities” (such as the Presidential recall in response to the 911 attacks) would be eligible for retirement pay (not medical benefits) prior to age 60. Under this plan, retirement age would be reduced by one year for every 90 days of active duty served by the reserve or Guard member under this mobilization authority. Reserve and Guard members and their families vote too.