Military Pensions & Federal Jobs
One major benefit of a career in the military or with the government is a pension -- getting a paycheck for a certain amount of money every month after you retire. These pensions are a great way to assure financial security in retirement, and different pensions have different requirements and qualifications.
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Military Pensions
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The military awards pensions for retirement. You can retire from the military in one of two ways. You can retire after 20 years of service, or you can be medically retired. When a service member suffers an injury that renders him unable to meet the physical requirements of military service, the military can separate him from active duty by awarding him a medical retirement and a pension that corresponds to the extent to which the individual was physically or psychologically disabled.
Maintaining Pensions
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When a service member retires after 20 years of service, his pension is his. There are no strings attached to that pension. He is free to either live the life of a retiree, or to pursue a second career in the private or public sector. Indeed, one of the reasons individuals may enlist at an early age is to serve 20 years from a young age to get professional experience and achieve financial security from a pension, then pursue a second career as young as 37.
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Federal Jobs
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One area that is particularly fruitful ground for military veterans is employment with the federal government. The military teaches many skills, such as combat and intelligence gathering/analysis skills, which the federal government desires in many of its agencies and which are hard to find in the civilian world. Additionally, the government grants you a hiring preference as a military veteran. Consequently, if you earn a pension from the military, either medically or through 20 years of service, you can also take a federal job and receive both a pension check and the paycheck for your new job.
Dual Pensions
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It is possible to receive both a military pension and a pension from a federal job at the same time. The individual earned both pensions through her service, so she will get both. If you fall into this situation, where you have a military pension and are retiring from your federal job, you have two options when you retire. You can either retire on both pensions, keeping your military pension as is and taking a federal pension that is calculated based on the number of years you served in your non-military capacity, or you can choose to forfeit your military pension and receive a federal pension that is calculated from your years of both military and non-military service.
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References
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