Posted on Oct 25, 2015
Reserve obligation after 20 good years but still under contract, can you still retire?
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A scenario has come up that I'm not quite sure what would be the right answer based on different interpretations of definitions within regulations. A Soldier reaches 20 good years for reserve retirement eligibility. There is still contractual obligation remaining for the Soldier. Can the Soldier request retirement cutting short that contract or, can he switch to IRR status for the remainder of his contract?
Posted in these groups: 
IRR
Retirement
IRR Retirement
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 21
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Once the Soldier reaches 20 yrs and has his/her 20 tr letter they can request to go Retired Reserves regardless if any time is still on their current contract.
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Please, do not assume you have 20 years, but wait till you actually have the 20 year letter in hand! You may have some missing points or some other glitch that is much easier to fix while there and not after the fact.
After that you can request to go to Retired Reserve. BIG WORD "REQUEST!" 9 times out of 10 it will be granted.
Congradulations if reaching that goal!
After that you can request to go to Retired Reserve. BIG WORD "REQUEST!" 9 times out of 10 it will be granted.
Congradulations if reaching that goal!
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MSG William Wold
SFC (Join to see) - Well you don't know the score of the ball game till it's over, you don't stop 1 foot from the finish line and get a completion. You have to go past the 20 years. Reason is because they don't just blatantly issue a 20 year letter because of the calendar, there is a review once you go past the 20 years, to insure all points/time was good time. I'm sure it's faster now, but still...
Personally I spent 22 of my last 34 years in the Reserves and National Guard. Some of the record keeping was a little lax in the past, and so after I actually had 23 years I started asking, hey where is my 20 year letter? Well their records showed I wasn't there yet which is why it wasn't mentioned. So I gathered into my paperwork (you know then thing that is drummed into you keep every scrap of paper and orders they ever give you) and was able to recover those missing points and then I got the letter. Right after getting the 20 year letter we were required then to sign up for survivor benefits, and if you didn't we were told we couldn't later.
Also our state military department, right after you received your official 20 year letter, you were boarded to see if your worthy to stay even if you want to or not. At that time I was working at a civilian civil service job requiring National Guard membership, so I wasn't in too much of a hurry to loose my job because the military board deeming me not good enough to continue and no sweat off of them because I was vested in the retirement they were responsible for, but would have lost my civilian job. I wasn't in the "good old boy" club.
Personally I spent 22 of my last 34 years in the Reserves and National Guard. Some of the record keeping was a little lax in the past, and so after I actually had 23 years I started asking, hey where is my 20 year letter? Well their records showed I wasn't there yet which is why it wasn't mentioned. So I gathered into my paperwork (you know then thing that is drummed into you keep every scrap of paper and orders they ever give you) and was able to recover those missing points and then I got the letter. Right after getting the 20 year letter we were required then to sign up for survivor benefits, and if you didn't we were told we couldn't later.
Also our state military department, right after you received your official 20 year letter, you were boarded to see if your worthy to stay even if you want to or not. At that time I was working at a civilian civil service job requiring National Guard membership, so I wasn't in too much of a hurry to loose my job because the military board deeming me not good enough to continue and no sweat off of them because I was vested in the retirement they were responsible for, but would have lost my civilian job. I wasn't in the "good old boy" club.
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SFC (Join to see)
That is incorrect MSG. That is why I asked for regulation. Different States do different things I'm finding out. Some are getting their letters in advance.
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SGT (Join to see)
I got my letter in May and I'm pretty sure that, that was the month that I earned my 20.
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MSG William Wold
SFC (Join to see) this was my experience. I’m at a loss how you can get a 20 year letter before your actually verified that you have 20 good years. I left in 2004, I’m sure with “modern technology”15 years later, records can be kept in a tighter rein than the semi manual input. But info in, info out. If it isn’t entered correctly then it just isn’t correct and won’t correct itself.
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Good info here. You can punch out and transfer to the Army (Retired Reserves?) equivalent of the Navy "Fleet Reserve". DO NOT RESIGN!!! You don't get money until you turn 60 (interesting history there) but you want to be connected on paper so your retired pay gets based on your grade and years pay scale when you turn 60, not now. Also make sure your health record is up to snuff, have a full copy of it, and file a VA disability claim as soon as you get your letter. Don't wait until real retirement. If you are partially disabled (surprised if anyone with 20 isn't), it's money in your pocket including money for kids education, etc. Check it out. Also consider the financial payouts of another 4 good years and see if it is worth it.
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