Eligibility

• You become eligible to collect Reserve Retirement Benefits when you reach age 60. Of course, you can retire after 20 years of service regardless of your age, but you cannot apply for retirement pay until you're nearing your 60th birthday. If you choose to continue working after 20 years of service, your retirement pay will be higher, but not infinitely --- your retirement pay will be capped at 75 percent of your working salary.
  
  

Types

• Members of the Reserve who worked 20 years or more will be eligible for either Final Pay or High 3 Benefits. Your date of entry into the service determines which plan applies to you. If you entered before September 8, 1980, you'll receive Final Pay benefits. If you entered on or after September 8, 1980, you'll receive High 3.
  
  

Retirement Pay

• For both types of benefits, you'll first need to determine your retirement multiplier (the percentage of your salary you'll receive in retirement). Find this percentage by multiplying years of service by 2.5 percent. For example, 25 years of service would give you a multiplier of about 63 percent. Next, multiply your retirement multiplier percentage by your salary to find your retirement salary. For Final Pay, use your monthly salary at the end of service for the calculation. For High 3, use your average pay through your highest three years of pay for the calculation. To find average pay, add up your income during your highest paid three years (36 months) of work, then divide that number by 36.
  
  

COLAs

• If you've done the calculations on your own, keep in mind that your calculation may be slightly inaccurate because of cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). All Reserve Retirement benefits factor in COLAs, so if you're near retirement and you worked long ago, your retirement pay may be significantly higher than you think.
  
  

Exceptions

• You'll need to apply for retirement pay before your 60th birthday in order to receive benefits. You should receive information about retirement before you turn 60, but if you don't, contact your branch of the military immediately. If you wait beyond age 66 to apply for benefits, your benefit amount will be reduced by one day's pay for every day you wait.
  
  

Social Security

• After applying for Reserve Retirement benefits, remember to apply for Social Security Retirement as well. You become eligible for these benefits at age 62, but you may want to wait to apply until your full retirement age (currently 65, 66 or 67 depending on your birth year) in order to receive maximum benefits. You can apply for SSA Retirement online or at your local Social Security Office (see "Resources").