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.