1. What are the references for the most common types of officer regular (active duty) retirements?
2. Where can a learn more about “Retired-Retained (R/R)” status and requirements?
Key aspects of serving on active duty while in a retired status:
- Per 10 USC 619, you are not eligible for promotion because you are not on the Active Duty List (ADL).
- Per BUPERSINST 1900.8 series, you will not be issued a DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, until the actual date of separation from active duty.
- Per BUPERSINST 1610.10 series, you will not receive performance evaluation reports, i.e., fitness reports (FITREPs).
- Per OPNAVINST 6110.1 series, you are required to maintain Navy physical readiness standards.
- Per DoD 7000.14-R, Financial Management Regulation (FMR) Volume 7A, Chapter 35, if you have been on active duty for 30 or more consecutive days and are retired and immediately reenter on active duty, then accrued leave is not payable upon retirement. You may “sell leave” upon your actual date of separation from active duty.
- You will earn full active-duty pay and allowances and any accrued service time will be credited toward your retired pay computation. You will not receive retired pay during R/R.
- Expect retired pay to start approximately 30-45 days following your actual date of separation.
- An updated statement of service (SoS) will be generated upon your actual date of separation from active duty.
- Any VA Claim should be started within 6 months of your date of separation from active duty.
- DoD 7000.14-R, Financial Management Regulation (FMR) Volume 7B, Chapter 7 describes retired pay recomputation in detail and provides example calculations. Generally, the retired pay base for a recomputation of retired pay differs depending on the date you first became a member of the uniformed services, your applicable retirement system – whether you enrolled in the Blended Retirement System (BRS) or the reduced retirement (REDUX) with Career Status Bonus (CSB), and Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) that may apply.
3. What are my important career dates related to qualification and calculation of retirement pay for a regular (active duty) retirement?
Important career dates related to a regular retirement are available in your Officer Data Card (ODC). Log onto BUPERS Online and access your ODC. There you can find your dates for:
- ADSD (Active Duty Service Date). Block 20 on your ODC – An actual or computed date representing the date when all active duty (enlisted, warrant, and commissioned) in any of the U. S. Armed Services and their Reserve components would have begun if it were continuous to the present. It is used to calculate your eligibility for active duty retirement and your retirement percentage.
- ACBD (Active Commissioning Base Date). Block 19 on your ODC – An actual or computed date representing the date when all creditable active commissioned service in any of the U.S. Armed Services and their Reserve components would have begun if it were continuous to the present. It is used to calculate your active commissioned service.
- PEBD (Pay Entry Base Date). Block 16 on your ODC – An actual or computed date representing the date when all creditable service for pay purposes would have begun if it were continuous to the present. It incorporates all creditable service in any of the uniformed services of the U. S., active and inactive, commissioned and enlisted. It is used to calculate your longevity pay.
- Promotion History. Blocks 36-40 on your ODC. It used to calculate your time in grade.
4. How and how far in advance of my desired retirement date do I submit a request for voluntary retirement from active duty (Officer)?
Refer to MILPERSMAN 1810-020. However, MILPERSMAN 1810-020 is being revised to allow voluntary retirement requests to be submitted up to 18 months prior to desired retirement date. PERS-835 is accepting voluntary retirement requests up to this expanded limit before the revision to the MILPERSMAN article is formally released.
Active duty officers desiring voluntary retirement must submit an official request to the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), via the chain of command, using the self-service functionality within Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System Retirements and Separations (NSIPS RnS).
User friendly instructions are available on the NSIPS home page. After accepting the “Department of Defense Terms of Use,” you may be prompted for a CAC certificate. Choose your “Authentication” (CAC PIV_Auth) certificate (not your email certificate).
You will be redirected to https://www.nsips.navy.mil/nsipsclo_landing/index.html, DO NOT LOGON yet. Scroll down the page to the primary header, “User Information.” Under “User Information” select “Smart Sheets and What’s New For You User Communications.” There you will find several helpful guides.
5. If I have a mandatory/statutory required retirement date approaching, do I need to request retirement?
Per MILPERSMAN 1810-020, for officers with mandatory/statutory retirement due to failure of selection for promotion, maximum years of service, selective early retirement, or age, a request is not needed or desired unless an earlier retirement date is desired. Retirement orders for the mandatory/statutory date are initiated by NAVPERSCOM (PERS-835) within Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System Retirements and Separations (NSIPS RnS). If you do desire a retirement date prior to your mandatory/statutory date, see FAQ #4 above.
6. How far in advance of my retirement date can I expect retirement orders in support of a voluntary retirement request? Can I receive a "letter of intent" before the actual orders?
Per MILPERSMAN 1800-020, fiscal constraints limit the release of continental United States orders to no earlier than 6 months prior to the actual retirement date and no earlier than 9 months prior to the actual retirement date for outside the continental United States orders. Approved leave and permissive temporary duty do not change the actual retirement date. No letters of intent will be issued.
7. How do I get a retirement certificate?
As standard retirement processing, PERS-835 mails a filled-in and complete retirement certificate to your command at its official mailing address approximately 5 months prior to your scheduled retirement date. This is changed from the former process of mailing certificate stationary and providing a template for use when printing on the stationary locally.
8. Can I get Presidential Letter of Appreciation?
If you have 30 or more years of total active military service and are receiving a regular retirement, PERS-835 will make the official request for a Presidential Letter of Appreciation to the White House Military Liaison Office on your behalf. There is no need for you to request a Presidential Letter of Appreciation. Receipt of the letter may take on the order of six months.
9. What is the current policy for house hunting and job hunting TAD?
10. What is the current policy for Separation (a.k.a., Terminal) Leave?
11. What’s the current policy regarding entitlements for getting my households good where I need them to go?
12. What will my retirement pay be?
13. What is a Statement of Service (SoS)? How do I view my retirement SoS?
Refer to Statement of Service. A retirement SoS is viewable via NSIPS. Log into Member Self-Service, select Employee Self-Service -> Retirements and Separations - > Check Eligibility -> Statement of Service -> Generate SoS Form (be patient at this point and select "Refresh" a few times over 30 seconds or so). A new link should appear with the word "view" in it. Select that link. A draft retirement SoS is normally available to review 90-120 days prior to retirement date.
14. How is years of service calculated for a regular (active duty) retirement if I have service while on the Active Duty List (ADL) and service while on the Reserve Active Status List (RASL)?
15. Where can I find DoD 5500.7R as referenced by MILPERSMAN 1810-020?
16. How much leave can I “sell back” upon retirement?
Refer to MILPERSMAN 7220-340. See answer under FAQ #2 above for “selling back” leave if you will continue serving on active duty while in a retired status.
17. If I’ve already retired, how do I get a copy of my (or a deceased family member's) military record?
Records are accessed into the National Archives and become archival 62 years after the service member’s separation from the military. Such records are open to the public. A copy of these records can be requested for a fee. For additional information refer to National Archives.
Records reflecting a discharge date between from 62 years ago and 1995 are non-archival records and are maintained under the Federal Records Center program. Non-archival records are subject to access restricted to the military veteran or the surviving next of kin. For additional information refer to Federal Records Center Program.
Records reflecting a discharge date after 1995 are electronic records maintained by Navy Personnel Command Records Management. These records are subject to access restricted to the military veteran or the surviving next of kin. Next of kin requesting records must provide proof of death of the veteran (such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary) and proof of kinship. Request records by submitting an SF-180 to:
Navy Personnel Command
PERS-313
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38055
18. If I have a question about reserve (non-regular) retirement, where do I look for information?
19. If I have a question that is not addressed above, whom should I contact?