Army reserve expectation

[MedScat]

Hello!

I was accepted to a US medical school for the upcoming fall. I've been in contact with an army recruiter for about a year. I was first interested in the HPSP scholarship but then decided that the commitment was too much for me since I am married and looking to start a family during residency. I want to work and raise my family in NY which wouldn't really be possible with HPSP (lots of moving around). The recruiter then told me about the reserves which sounds very interesting to me. I would not be joining for the money during medical school but I would be joining for the eventual pension after 20 years as well as the benefits for my family and of course, because I would be proud to serve my country. I know they say deployment isn't always inevitable but I would love some feedback on what to actually expect. It's scary planning for my future self 8+ years down the road. Any feedback would be wonderful

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[WernickeDO]

Hello!

I was accepted to a US medical school for the upcoming fall. I've been in contact with an army recruiter for about a year. I was first interested in the HPSP scholarship but then decided that the commitment was too much for me since I am married and looking to start a family during residency. I want to work and raise my family in NY which wouldn't really be possible with HPSP (lots of moving around). The recruiter then told me about the reserves which sounds very interesting to me. I would not be joining for the money during medical school but I would be joining for the eventual pension after 20 years as well as the benefits for my family and of course, because I would be proud to serve my country. I know they say deployment isn't always inevitable but I would love some feedback on what to actually expect. It's scary planning for my future self 8+ years down the road. Any feedback would be wonderful

If you are interested in the pension via the Reserves one thing you need to understand is that you don't earn a pension after 20 years in the Reserves. Someone else can step in and attempt to explain how the points system and "quality years" compute while in the Reserves but it will take you more like 40 years to qualify for the pension. @militaryPHYS would OP even be eligible for the classic pension or only the blended retirement? Also worth considering is the value of the retirement vs. the lower pay that you earn while in the military. That is specialty dependent, as well as circumstance dependent (you have a special needs child, your spouse develops a chronic illness).

 

[MedScat]

If you are interested in the pension via the Reserves one thing you need to understand is that you don't earn a pension after 20 years in the Reserves. Someone else can step in and attempt to explain how the points system and "quality years" compute while in the Reserves but it will take you more like 40 years to qualify for the pension. @militaryPHYS would OP even be eligible for the classic pension or only the blended retirement? Also worth considering is the value of the retirement vs. the lower pay that you earn while in the military. That is specialty dependent, as well as circumstance dependent (you have a special needs child, your spouse develops a chronic illness).

My understanding is that when you are in the reserves, you can have a civilian job, and you just have to fulfill your requirement of 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year (Excluding possible 3 month deployment). With that understanding, I would not be making reduced salary since I'd have a civilian job

 

[WernickeDO]

My understanding is that when you are in the reserves, you can have a civilian job, and you just have to fulfill your requirement of 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year (Excluding possible 3 month deployment). With that understanding, I would not be making reduced salary since I'd have a civilian job

Right, my example was more for HPSP/USUHS people, which is not relevant to your question. Please disregard.

 

[MedScat]

Right, my example was more for HPSP/USUHS people, which is not relevant to your question. Please disregard.

PHEW you scared me lol

 

[deleted480308]

Reserve component gets a retirement at 20, now slightly reduced with the blended system

The way to calculate it is to take your expected “high 3” rank base pay *years* .2.......

That would be your pension as an active doc

To get your reserve version divide that by 365 and then multiply by (your points/your years)

The premise here is that we are only military for the points/days we’re in uniform so our pension doesn’t accumulate as fast

You earn 4 pts for a two day drill, and 1 Pt per day when on annual training or deployment. You get fifteen per commission year just for existing. If you don’t get 50pts during a year you still keep the pts but the year doesn’t count toward your 20

 

[deleted480308]

My understanding is that when you are in the reserves, you can have a civilian job, and you just have to fulfill your requirement of 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year (Excluding possible 3 month deployment). With that understanding, I would not be making reduced salary since I'd have a civilian job

But if they pull you for a 90day deployment (with an extra month for ramp up/return) you can lose $20-50k pretty quick or more

 

[Helpful Troll]

Hello!

I was accepted to a US medical school for the upcoming fall. I've been in contact with an army recruiter for about a year. I was first interested in the HPSP scholarship but then decided that the commitment was too much for me since I am married and looking to start a family during residency. I want to work and raise my family in NY which wouldn't really be possible with HPSP (lots of moving around). The recruiter then told me about the reserves which sounds very interesting to me. I would not be joining for the money during medical school but I would be joining for the eventual pension after 20 years as well as the benefits for my family and of course, because I would be proud to serve my country. I know they say deployment isn't always inevitable but I would love some feedback on what to actually expect. It's scary planning for my future self 8+ years down the road. Any feedback would be wonderful

The retirement pay for reservists doesn't start until age 60 or three months before age 60 for every 90 continuous days mobilized.
Military Reserve Retirement

 

[MedScat]

Reserve component gets a retirement at 20, now slightly reduced with the blended system

The way to calculate it is to take your expected “high 3” rank base pay *years* .2.......

That would be your pension as an active doc

To get your reserve version divide that by 365 and then multiply by (your points/your years)

The premise here is that we are only military for the points/days we’re in uniform so our pension doesn’t accumulate as fast

You earn 4 pts for a two day drill, and 1 Pt per day when on annual training or deployment. You get fifteen per commission year just for existing. If you don’t get 50pts during a year you still keep the pts but the year doesn’t count toward your 20

So are you saying that reservists are eligible for retirement after 20 years but it won't be as much as someone active duty? What do these points mean?

 

[deleted480308]

So are you saying that reservists are eligible for retirement after 20 years but it won't be as much as someone active duty? What do these points mean?

Basically assume an active retirement is calculated as having 365 pts per year, whatever fraction of that you produce annually will be your fraction of pension compared to the active folks.

So if you earn just your minimum 60ish points or so each year by making most drills and doing most of your active training and never deploy, you’ll earn about 1/6th of an active pension

 

[MedScat]

Basically assume an active retirement is calculated as having 365 pts per year, whatever fraction of that you produce annually will be your fraction of pension compared to the active folks.

So if you earn just your minimum 60ish points or so each year by making most drills and doing most of your active training and never deploy, you’ll earn about 1/6th of an active pension

Ok that makes a lot of sense. Is it common for people in the reserves to never deploy? I'm not one of those people who want all the benefits of the army but never want to deploy but, I am interested in knowing what is most common for people who are in the reserves. One person I spoke to said it is reasonable to expect to deploy once every two years. Do you agree with this (since you seem so knowledgable)

 

[deleted480308]

Ok that makes a lot of sense. Is it common for people in the reserves to never deploy? I'm not one of those people who want all the benefits of the army but never want to deploy but, I am interested in knowing what is most common for people who are in the reserves. One person I spoke to said it is reasonable to expect to deploy once every two years. Do you agree with this (since you seem so knowledgable)

I don’t know enough about that tempo

 

[TheEarDoc]

Ok that makes a lot of sense. Is it common for people in the reserves to never deploy? I'm not one of those people who want all the benefits of the army but never want to deploy but, I am interested in knowing what is most common for people who are in the reserves. One person I spoke to said it is reasonable to expect to deploy once every two years. Do you agree with this (since you seem so knowledgable)

If you don't want to deploy then I would suggest you not go into the military at all. Reserves is not just a one weekend a month 2 weeks a year gig. As you gain rank you get more work added on besides just regular drill. You'll have online trainings to complete, schools you will have to attend (BOLC for example), and you are always subject to being mobilized or deployed. If you can't see yourself or your family being without you for up to 18-24 months (worst case scenario) then this is not a path for you.

If you look at the last go around with Iraq and Afghanistan the guard and reserves saw a ton of deployments. I had plenty of patients who did back to back deployments as guardsmen and reservists. Many were spending more time in the sand box than their active duty counterparts. I believe most of the future plans for the military are to depend on the reserves and guard more than previously seen, so it's kind of up in the air what will happen with deployments/mobilizations if something jumps off in the middle east again or in Asia. You might not be sent outside the US, but it's a strong possibility you will be mobilized as a reservist to back fill a slot in the US for someone active duty getting orders to report overseas.

 

[MedScat]

If you don't want to deploy then I would suggest you not go into the military at all. Reserves is not just a one weekend a month 2 weeks a year gig. As you gain rank you get more work added on besides just regular drill. You'll have online trainings to complete, schools you will have to attend (BOLC for example), and you are always subject to being mobilized or deployed. If you can't see yourself or your family being without you for up to 18-24 months (worst case scenario) then this is not a path for you.

If you look at the last go around with Iraq and Afghanistan the guard and reserves saw a ton of deployments. I had plenty of patients who did back to back deployments as guardsmen and reservists. Many were spending more time in the sand box than their active duty counterparts. I believe most of the future plans for the military are to depend on the reserves and guard more than previously seen, so it's kind of up in the air what will happen with deployments/mobilizations if something jumps off in the middle east again or in Asia. You might not be sent outside the US, but it's a strong possibility you will be mobilized as a reservist to back fill a slot in the US for someone active duty getting orders to report overseas.

Like I said, I do not mind deploying I'm jut trying to get an accurate representation of what to expect since recruiters love to highlight only the good parts. The recruiters say that reserve physicians can only deploy for a maximum of 90 days so how could they deploy 18-24 months?

 

[deleted480308]

Like I said, I do not mind deploying I'm jut trying to get an accurate representation of what to expect since recruiters love to highlight only the good parts. The recruiters say that reserve physicians can only deploy for a maximum of 90 days so how could they deploy 18-24 months?

Because the army can change their mind

 

[TheEarDoc]

Like I said, I do not mind deploying I'm jut trying to get an accurate representation of what to expect since recruiters love to highlight only the good parts. The recruiters say that reserve physicians can only deploy for a maximum of 90 days so how could they deploy 18-24 months?

As the above poster said they can change their mind and change the rules at any time. Like I said if you aren't willing to be gone for 12 months if needed then it's not going to be a good idea. You do not want to be the person either who shirks their call to go and makes another person go instead.

IF you want to do service and not deploy and want a decent pension then join the VA system. The pension isn't too bad and you won't be deployed.

 

[notdeadyet]

Regarding reserve retirement, there is a handy calculator for folks who are already in the system.

Calculating my estimated retirement as an O-6 after 20 years of service with a total of about three years spent on active status deploying and with an estimated extra 20 days per year of service outside of my alleged 1 weekend per month and 2 weeks per year (all optimistic assessments), I was looking at a retirement of about $1,500 per month.

Many good reasons to join the military. Money isn't usually one of them.

 

[Gilakend]

But if they pull you for a 90day deployment (with an extra month for ramp up/return) you can lose $20-50k pretty quick or more

I thought I read on here they were removing the 90 day deployment? I could have misunderstood. I also thought it was only for guard and reserves did normal deployments? My information could be incorrect/outdated though so just trying to clear it up.

 

[deleted480308]

I thought I read on here they were removing the 90 day deployment? I could have misunderstood. I also thought it was only for guard and reserves did normal deployments? My information could be incorrect/outdated though so just trying to clear it up.

Ditching the 90 day policy was being discussed