Can I really retire after 20 years of service in the U.s. Air Force?

NWIP

You can still serve and be in the military while you are pregnant. There is lots of women who are AD and have had children then returned back to doing their job with the military including deployments without any issue at all. It is no more difficult in the military than it is in many other jobs that are out there as well such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, airline attendents, airline pilots, etc...

My sister in law is a prime example of that she is AD Air Force and my nephew is 8 months old. She did her job right up until she had the baby and then returned to her regular schedule within 6 weeks of birth. She hasn't been deployed yet but it is possible within the next year.

yes you can do 20 years in the military, have a marriage, have children and then retire if you want to with a 50% pension of your Basic Pay for the last 3 years of service. If you serve longer than 20 years then it is 2.5% for each year you serve.

wmayers99

The catch is that after only 20 years, your pension will only amount to half your highest pay rate. If you go for thirty, you'll get 78 per cent.
It is no longer the case that married women with children are barred from the service. As long as your children are adequately cared for, you can serve and even be deployed to a combat zone.

Monty S

yes you can retired after 20 years in the air force ,i retired after 33 years in the army .

WhatBrain?

If you invest about 10% of your wages from the get go and they pan out, yes. Otherwise, no. The current pay tables are published (http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/militarypaytables/2010WebPayTable34.pdf) - cut that in half. Assume retiring as a Tech Sergeant or a Master Sergeant (you'll be separated prior to retirement if you don't make rank on time) - currently $1742.25/month. Most people have debts related to their pay and they carry over after the more then 50% pay cut - no housing allowance, etc). I'm not sure about higher enlisted ranks but for officers, you must make at least Lt Col to retire (unless prior enlisted) and a Lt Col is forced out at 26 years if Col rank is not made. A Col must retire at 30 years. A General serves for as long as a President wishes him/her to serve. I suppose if one scrimps but people generally find that difficult once becoming used to a life style and at 38 years old, the Congress expects one to work after "retirement". It isn't even retirement pay although it is called that - it is reduced pay for reduced service in case they need to force you to return in an emergency.

Slow

You can retire from the military, and you will get a large sum of retirement money paid over time. You should greatly consider looking into what the retirement package consist of these days first though, I've been hearing things myself. If you end up having a family by the end it is likely another family member, or yourself will still have to work after you retire. The Air Force is a great branch to get into, I think retirement or not you will enjoy it.

XpLiciT

Yes, that is the amount of time required to receive your pension and retire from the military. You can either take the pension and say goodbye, remain the the military, or take your pension and go get another job outside of the military and get 2 retirement checks at a time!

Ana

My answer is yes! I am a veteran and my husband is a helicopter pilot for the Army. He plans to retire at 20 years but I think you get a 7% increase in retirement pension for every year after 20. The pension is 50% of the base pay. Also, there's a new thing out...you can take $30,000 at 15 years and accept 40% of the pension (but it goes back up to 50% in 5 years)...not sure if this applies to the Air Force. I think it's call redux.

The military offers great benefit. I mean depending on your rank upon retirement, who can really complain about $1500-$2500 a month for the rest of their lives with free health care? Plus, there's alot of women who enlists that gets married and have children. If you have children, you just have to have a family care plan in the event that you deploy. Good luck!

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