First of all, you should take into consideration that generally there are two things on the basis of which a person’s retired military pay is computed, namely the length of military service and the percentage of disability.

But now I want to refer to the computation of the retired military pay on the basis of one’s length of service in the military force. In this context, there are military retirement calculators that determine the amount of the retired military pay. There a three calculators and each of them have a specific formula.

So, if you are retiring from the military based on the length of service you may elect to have your retired pay computed by either the Final Pay Military Retirement Calculator, the High-36 Retirement Calculator or the CSB/REDUX Retirement Calculator.

The logical question is which one suits you better? Well, you have to keep in mind that your choice regarding the military retirement calculator first of all will be determined by the date you actually started your military service.

Final Pay Military Retirement Calculator may be used in order to compute the retired military pay for those entering military service before September, 8, 1980. This military retirement calculator computes the retirement pay under the Final Pay retirement system.

Also this military retirement calculator gives you the possibility to create different tables and charts that would reflect your personal situation. The main elements used by this retirement system are the length of the military service, retirement grade and age. However, this military retirement calculator takes into account for example the inflation rate.

High-36 Military Retirement Calculator may be used in order to compute the retired military pay for those who entered service between September 8, 1980 and July 31, 1986.

The High-36 Month Average retirement system is the system which belongs to this military retirement calculator. As the first military retirement calculator this one also gives you the possibility to draw up some tables and charts that would reflect your own situation. The elements included into the system represent the length of service, age and the retirement grade. And it also takes into consideration the economic changes such as for example inflation.

And finally, CSB/REDUX Calculator may be used in order to compute the retired military pay only for members who entered military service after July 31, 1986.

The CSB/REDUX retirement system represents the system through which your military retired pay is determined. This military retirement calculator is for those persons who have elected CSB/REDUX.

As the previous two this calculator gives you the possibility to create charts and tables that would reflect your personal situation. The elements of this system comprise except the length of service, age and the retirement grade also the value of the CSB (Career Status Bonus), which represents $ 30,000. The economic changes are taken into account as well.

Actually, if you are still confused you can do a little bit more research on the comparison of these three military retirement calculators.

If you are thinking of retiring from the military service and becoming a civilian again you should know that this will be a big change for you. So, before it happens you should do your homework. Make sure that you clearly know which are the benefits that you are entitled to receive once you hand up your military uniform. It takes some time to work towards a secure military retirement.

Do you know which type of military retirement calculator you should choose? There are three types of military retirement calculators. Each of them depends on the date the person entered the military service. The most important thing is to remember that all three types of military retirement calculators request a minimum of 20 years of creditable military service in order to retire from the military force. Another common thing which all three types of calculator have is that the retired pay is calculated using the base pay.

If you retired the military service from September 8 1980 onwards the most common used type of military retirement calculator is High-3.

The retired pay is calculated by using a 2.5% multiplier which is applied against the average basic pay for the highest three years of service. Usually these are the last three years, unless there was a reduction in grade due to some circumstances. A Cost-of-Living Allowance is given annually. Make sure for which COLA you qualify and make sure you find out the changes that you know the changes that the recession brought in the realm of COLA. In addition, the Cost-of Living Allowance is based on the Consumer price Index.
In case you entered the active duty before September 8 1980, then you can use the Final Pay military retirement calculator. For each year of your military service you get 2.5% towards the retirement multiplier up to a maximum of 75%. A Cost-of Living Allowance is given annually. It is based upon the Consumer Price Index.

And finally if you entered the military force from August 1 1986 onwards you may elect to use the REDUX military retirement calculator. In this case the retirement multiplier varies. So, for each year of the first 20 years of your military service you get 2% towards the retirement multiplier, and each year after 20 years of your service worth 3.5%. Then the retirement multiplier is applied against the average basic pay for the highest three years of your service. A Cost-of-Living Allowance is given annually, however it is 1% below the Consumer Price Index. Actually this military retirement calculator is less favorable from the three existent.

The general rule is that if you are a reserve serviceman and you have accumulated a minimum of 20 credible years of service you qualify for the military retirement payment once you reach the age of 60 years. However, there is an exception introduced back in 2008 that allows those persons, who were either involved in national emergency or were deployed for war, to collect military retirement payments before the age of 60 with the condition that the deployment period started after January 28 2008.

Now how to calculate how many of so called credible years of service you accumulated? Let me remind you that only after this you will be able to know for sure if you qualify for the benefits and use the reserve military retirement calculator to find out actually the amount of those benefits. This can get confusing. What you have to remember is that one credible year of service is a year in which you accumulate at least 50 points during your retirement year. Now you can calculate the years, but do not forget also about the inactive points.

Now you can use the reserve military retirement calculator in order to estimate how much you can get per month as retired pay after you reach the age of 60 (do not forget about the exception).

The reserve military retirement calculator is based on two reserve retirement systems for those who were on active duty. These systems are the Final Basic Pay System and the High-Three System. The main difference in these two systems represents the date a person was first enrolled and became a member of the military service.

There are also several formulas through which the reserve military retirement calculator can estimate a retired pay.

So as I said above, the most important thing in determining which calculating system applies to you is your first day of enrollment. If you were enrolled and became a member of the military service before 8 September 1980 then you have to compute your pay by doing the following: multiply the amount of pay per month according to your grade at the time of your retirement by the “qualifying” years of active military service at the rate of 2.5% for each year from the whole year of service. This represents the Final Pay system. You will get 50 to 75% for 20 years of service.

If you started your service on 8 of September 1980 and 31 of July 1986 then do the following: do the same as described above but instead use the average basic pay that you have got for your highest paid 36 months.

An estimation of a retired pay per month can be done by multiplying the retirement points that you accumulated by the approximate value of a point.

So once you determined if you qualify for a retired pay and used the reserve military retirement calculator to see the amount you are entitled to, do not forget to apply for it.