Guest Post by Lauren Oliver
The Army National Guard and Army Reserves service members are on duty at state and federal levels. If there’s a problem, they are called in. While we have the benefit of some type of security, these service members also have benefits.
While most civilians will work upwards of around forty years until retirement, military service members are able to retire after just twenty years. With the service member’s retirement, the retiree is also able to receive some adequate retirement benefits. There are many Army National Guard retirement benefits, and I have included the top 5 in today’s post.
Top 5 Army National Guard Retirement Benefits:
# 1 Medical and dental benefits are available to retirees when they turn age 60 and an allowance for prescription medications is also provided. Not to mention the fact that any dependents such as a spouse and children are also granted medical benefits and a primary care physician is assigned.
# 2 Home Loans are also more attainable to retirees once they have applied to the VA (Veteran’s Administration) and are granted a certificate of eligibility. Once the retiree receives their certificate they are able to apply for a home loan through a VA- approved private lender. The loans are pretty much guaranteed and the interest rates for this type of home loan are usually at a considerably lower rate than that of a typical loan’s rate. The retiree will have the option to build a new home, repair/renovate their current home or improve the land it’s on, and they have the same option of improvement for manufactured homes as well. The real kicker is that they are guaranteed a one-year warranty from the construction/manufacturing company they use!
# 3 Veterans’ Preference is also available to retirees, and wounded or honorably discharged service members which enables them to get ahead of the competition when applying for employment to federal and other government jobs. Take that, economy!
# 4 Of course retirement pay is also available to the retiree upon retirement. Retirees can enjoy a percentage of their total monthly pay (percentage of what their pay was prior to retirement) as their pension. This area is a broad topic, but the general idea is that a service member earns points toward their retirement pay. These points are what determine the percentage that the retiree is paid.
# 5 Life insurance is available to service members, their spouses, and their children. Retirees can keep receiving their life insurance coverage that they should have automatically received when joining as an active service member. As long as the policy holder remains a member of the Army National Guard they remain eligible. And service members’ children are covered at no cost.
Once again, there are other benefits, and I have included the top 5 Army National Guard retirement benefits as I see them in rank. Other benefits that are not limited to these five include free hunting and fishing licenses (although these are now available to all senior citizens over the age of 65), discounts on shopping and traveling, and legal services. For more information there are great resources out there. If any of my information is missing something, please feel free to leave feedback in the comments section.
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About the Author: Lauren is a stay at home mom currently working from home as a freelance writer. She is certified in Education with a background in education, writing, and tutoring to help students develop their educational skills. She comes from a military family and writes articles about education, military life, and personal development.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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This was a great post. I would have to say with medical and dental costs where they are, the greatest benefit is the insurance plans that are offered after retirement from the Army National Guard. As Chuck stated, there are also many other great benefits too. Shopping at the PX can be a great privilidge that can save a person quite a bit of money too. There are tons of great things you can get by retiring from the Guard. Thank you for listing these few.
These sound like some great retirement benefits to me, especially considering the work is just one weekend a month. Most employers nowadays don’t offer any type of pension. And finding a part-time job that offered a pension would be even more difficult.
After reading this article, I want to research how Army National Guard members earn points. Second, many may not realize all the discounts available to military who have a military ID card. Examples of places that offer discounts include The Limited (15 % off), Aeropostale (20 % off), and Nike stores in store only (10 % off). So the benefits start even before retirement. The Army National Guard offers soldier potential to augment one’s golden ages whether that is age 40 or up to 70. It’s called rights and responsibilities! Love to see more writing on financial topics for military, too.
With the ever rising cost of healthcare, including prescriptions, surgeries and mental health counseling, and the worries over Medicare’s future, I think the medical benefits for Veterans are some of the most important benefits they receive. This is especially true for Veterans who suffer from permanent injuries or medical conditions such as PTSD.
I love seeing a simplified list like this. So often I wonder what the main benefits are yet I’m directed to a lot of different places in search of answers. Here I have everything I’m looking for as far as benefits go.
I would say that all of these are very good benefits. The health and life insurance, and even the retirement pay might be perks in the private sector (though that is on the decline), but your point number 3 about employment preference with the government employers is crucial in today’s economy. Makes me want to sign up! (Or at least be young enough to!)
Faye,
There are many other great Army National Guard Retirement Benefits such as travel, access to the PX and Commissary, access to inexpensive resorts and hotels, and much more. I always told my Soldiers who were about to retire to “find out what they were eligible for” so they could take advantage of each benefit.
When you retire, you go through a briefing where they explain the benefits in greater detail. I think that is a good idea.
Thanks for your comment.
Chuck