THINKING ABOUT RETIREMENT
Did you know…….
You can see your local ACAP Office up two years prior to your Retirement Date.
The Regulation that governs Retirement
For Enlisted AR 635-200 Chapter 12
For Officers AR 600-8-24 Chapter 6
Most CONUS Installations have a 12 month time on Station requirement.
When picking your Retirement date it MUST be the last day of the month you choose.
PHASE 1: PREPARATION
18- 13 Months Prior to Your Selected Date of Retirement
You will need to….
Gather ALL service documents (I.E. Enlistment Contracts, Prior DD Form 214’s, and Oath of Offices)
Request a LES History from your local Finance Office if you have had ANY breaks in service or service in multiple Branches.
Have a 1506 (Service Computation)done by a Records clerk if you have ANY breaks in service, service in multiple Branches, or question whether you have 20 years of ACTIVE federal service.
Update your ERB/ ORB to ensure all awards, education and deployments are up to date.
Attend a Transition/ Retirement Briefing. FY2014 Retirement Briefing Schedule
FY 2014 Retirement Briefing Schedule
PHASE 2: APPLICATION PROCESS
13-12 Months Prior to Your Selected Date of Retirement
It is important to start your retirement application 12 months prior to your projected Retirement date to ensure proper processing time for your Chain of Command and the Retirement Office.
Examples of the Applications are available at the Retirements Office, and on the Irwin Public Folders.
ENLISTED.pdf OFFICER.pdf
The Enlisted application consist of:
4187 Signed by the Unit Commander
4187-1-R Signed by the Battalion and the Brigade
Current LES
Current ERB
DD Form 1172 from DEERS/ ID Card Office
Approved DA Form 31
Retirement Worksheet (Ensure to provide good contact numbers)
The Officer application consist of:
One Memorandum from the Soldier requesting Retirement (Example of the Memorandum is available in AR 600-8-24 Chapter 6)
A Memorandum from the Senior rater concurring or not concurring with the Retirement election (Minimum requirement is a 0-6)
Current LES
Current ORB
DD Form 1172 from DEERS/ ID Card Office
Approved DA Form 31
Retirement Worksheet (Ensure to provide good contact numbers)
Once the Retirement application has been thru the Chain of Command either you or your S-1 will bring it to the Retirement Office.
The Application will be reviewed for accuracy and Sent to HRC for Approval for E-7 and above. E-6 and below will be reviewed and approved at the Retirements Office.
Phase 3: Pending Approval
Approval for Retirement can take anywhere from 2 weeks or 3 Months.
Phase 4: Approval/ Dis-Approval
Once approved, orders and a draft 214 will be published and sent to your AKO E-Mail.
For dis-approvals the Retirement Specialist will provide you the Memorandum from HRC stating why the Retirement was dis-approved.
Phase 5: Survivor Benefits Program (SBP)
6-2 Months Prior to the Start of PTDY/ Transition Leave
After receiving your approval for retirement it is time to start making decisions on insurance and other important life events that will change upon retirement. One of the things that you will need to decide on is the Survivor Benefits Program which provides the continuation of a portion of your retired pay to your designated beneficiary(ies).
Survivor Benefits is a mandatory briefing that every Soldier must attend and we prefer that the Spouse attends with you as this is a life decision that will require spouse concurrence and signature if you elect less than 100% or decline coverage. The briefings are done by appointment only, you should contact the Retirement Specialist as early as 6 months prior to the start of your PDTY/ Transition Leave to receive the briefing. If your spouse is not in the area or will be leaving prior to you, we encourage you to make the appointment sooner.
There is a wealth of information about the Survivor Benefits Program on the Army G1 website http://www.armyg1.army.mil/rso/sbp.asp which has all the latest information and the most up to date briefing slides. We encourage you to review these slides with your spouse prior to your appointment, if you are unable to access the website contact the Retirement Specialist and we will provide them to you.
Phase 6: The Road to Retirement
4-2 Months Prior to the Start of PTDY/ Transition Leave
Now that the Retirement has been approved you MUST remember to do the following:
Get a Retirement Physical no more that 4 months, No less than 1 month prior to the start of your PTDY/ Transition Leave.
Get copies of Medical and Dental records for you and your family.
Schedule appointments with the Transportation and the Housing Offices.
Finish any task from the Chain of Command.
Finalize Survivor Benefits Election WITH YOUR SPOUSE.
Attend an Installation Retirement Ceremony.
Review your DD Form 214 worksheet and begin gathering any documents needed to update your DD Form 214.
Sign Your DD Form 214
Phase 7: Out-Processing
1 Month Prior to start of PTDY/ Transition Leave
At this time you should have already:
Scheduled your Household Good pick up
Scheduled your Housing Inspections
Completed ACAP
Completed your Retirement Physical
Attended an Installation Retirement Ceremony
Cleaned all your CIF
Before you can leave the Installation you MUST clear the Installation. This is done 10 Business days prior to the start of your PTDY/ Transition Leave.
During the clear process you MUST be in Military Uniform at ALL TIMES.
You will be finalizing your DD Form 214 approximately 3 business days prior the start of your PTDY/ Transition Leave.
Phase 8: Final Out
1 Day Prior to the start of PTDY/ Transition Leave
On your final out date you will go to DEERS/ ID Cards at 0800, go to Finance at 1030, and then report to the Retirements Office to turn in your clearing papers and receive your DD Form 214’s.
You will then return to your unit to turn in a copy of your Installation Clearing paper and sign out on your leave.
Phase 9: Retirement
1 Month Prior to Retirement Date
Although you are Transition Leave you must remember the following:
Your last active duty paycheck will be held for approximately 2 weeks.
Submit any Finance form to DFAS.
Contact AKO to change your AKO to a retirement account.
Sign up for Tri-Care 1 Month prior to your Retirement date.
Your first retirement paycheck and be help up to 90 days after retirement.
Last but not least ENJOY RETIREMENT.
Although Fort Irwin is on the Retirement Services Office (RSO) Directory, we provide Pre-Retirement Services only. Presidio of Monterey, CA is the Retirement Service Office, for the States of California and Nevada.
HQDA retirement information site