Will Medical retirement be worth doing?

2015-10-15T22:13:40-04:00

Since only about 20% actually make it to retirement at 20 years, what should a senior NCO do if he is up against a possible medical retirement when he is only at 12 years of active service?

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 15 at 2015 10:31 PM

2015-10-15T22:31:05-04:00

Medical retirement may make sense SFC Private RallyPoint Member. Have you crunched the numbers? If you are 100% disabled per Army standards then medical retirement makes perfect sense. I recommend confirming whether or not you could collect Social Security disability on top of military medical retirement with out any penalties.
Are you presenting a hypothetical case or are you referring to your own situation?

Response by CW5 Sam R. Baker made Oct 15 at 2015 10:33 PM

2015-10-15T22:33:34-04:00

SFC Private RallyPoint Member, medically retired has many benefits and one should seriously consider it if they are non-deployable and cannot serve in a capacity that the service requires. In the Army there are efforts to cut the force, however medical retirements have been somewhat abused by some who seek them in their first term of service. If you or the NCO truly is diagnosed by the medical field as qualified for the retirement, then it is the best option.

Response by LTC Mo Vanderslice made Oct 15 at 2015 11:00 PM

2015-10-15T23:00:35-04:00

I'm medically retired, but with 28 years of service. My retirement at 90% disability is pretty good. However, for guys with less than 20 years in, the benefits don't last very long - except for combat related injuries . You really need some professional Army advice. Find out where the retired CSM/SGMs hang out on Carson (every post has a place) and talk with those guys - they KNOW the whole system soup-to-nuts. The ones at Bliss were very helpful to me. Also, don't be afraid to challenge you board's initial assessment and the disability rating they assign you. The JAG office at the hospital can be a big help in getting you everything that you're entitled to. Good Luck - Mo

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2015 11:44 PM

2015-10-16T23:44:11-04:00

Interesting question and what comes to mind at least for me is would it be worth actually reaching 15 years so that you could apply for TERA which would allow you to draw a pension and have a check from the VA coming in for disability whatever they might find through that system. Just pondering and would actually appreciate why's and why nots to this option?

Response by SSgt Jim Gilmore made Apr 24 at 2016 9:09 PM

2016-04-24T21:09:40-04:00

There are too many factors to consider to just make a generic answer. What % of disability, how are you affected personally, medically, treatment options, among other things. In the end, anything is better than nothing but if it is worth doing....=need to be more specific and that would be TMI ~ too much information.