Will a break in service of one month between active duty and reserve contracts force me to do an extra "good year" to retire?

2019-02-12T14:12:36-05:00

I am a current army reservist with prior active duty service. There was a 28 day gap between my active duty ETS and the beginning of my reserve contract, so my Statement of Retirement Points only credits me with 11 months and two days of service qualifying for retirement for my first year in the reserves. If I stay in for 20 years, will I need to do an extra "good year" in the reserves to get those 28 days and retire? If yes, and I happen to be separated for some reason during that 21st year, will my service until the separation count toward retirement?

Response by COL Bart Butler made Feb 12 at 2019 2:16 PM

2019-02-12T14:16:33-05:00

Reserve “Good Years” are calculated on the point system. If you have only been out 19-20 days, you should still be able to complete enough battle assembly and annual training points to have a good year. I would ask the reserve unit administrator at you unit to be on the safe side. Something could have changed since my days?

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Feb 12 at 2019 2:45 PM

2019-02-12T14:45:25-05:00

Does your statement of retirement points say that you have more than 50 points? If so, you have a good year. You get 15 points for membership and 1 point for every Unit Training Assembly and there are either 4 or 5 UTAS on most drill weekends. You should have at least 59 points if you drilled every month and then at a point for every active day at AT.

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Feb 12 at 2019 3:30 PM

2019-02-12T15:30:50-05:00

The short answer is no. You need 50 points to get a “good year.” Since you get one point for each day of active duty, you should already have enough points to get a good year.

If not, there are always waivers that you can get. As soon as you sign into the unit, confirm with your command (Orderly Room) that you won’t get dinged because of the transition period.

Response by SFC Patrick Mulhill made Feb 13 at 2019 6:05 PM

2019-02-13T18:05:33-05:00

You need to talk to your Unit Admin and have him explain how retirement points work.