ARMY RESERVE RETIREMENT SERVICES

In order to qualify for a military retirement, a Soldier must serve 20 qualifying years. A year qualifies as a good year with at least 50 points and the Soldier served the entire Anniversary Year Ending date range.

There are a number of time periods that a Soldier could only earn limited numbers of Inactive Duty Service (IDS) points. It is very important to remember that when you begin comparing the points in the various columns to the points displayed in the total column.

Maximum IDS Points Allowed Per Year
There are four dates to keep in mind regarding the maximum inactive (non active duty) service points allowed per anniversary year.

Example of IDS point limit on your 5016.
*any active duty points earned would still apply; total point limit per year is 365 or 366 for a leap year

Example of Total Points Difference:

If you add all the point columns together you may get a different number than is displayed in column 10. That’s OK you’re not going crazy. It’s because of the IDS point limitations. The total columns for the sample above are used in the example below.

Not accounting for the MAX IDS point limits = 944 + 0 + 466 + 3807 = 5217

Column 10 accounts for MAX IDS points allowed = 5126

When you have 20 qualifying years of service and qualify for retirement, there are a few things you need to do:

• Request to transfer to retired reserve
• Request for retirement recognition items
• Attend Reserve Retirement Briefing
• Retirement ceremony 

Your ARA, S1 or RPAC will build and help you complete your packet to transfer to the retired reserve. Your G1 at your Major Subordinate Command will produce your transfer order.

The checklist to the right will take you to the request packet.

At the same time you submit for your request to transfer to the retired reserve, your unit should submit for your retirement recognition items using the checklist T-11-A-5.

IN THE GRAY AREA
Once you transfer to the retired reserve, you are now in the gray area. The gray area is the period in which you are no longer drilling, but you are not receiving your retired pay yet.

While in the gray area, the Soldier is responsible to keep HRC informed of any POC change; mailing address, phone number, or email address. If that information is not up to date, it could affect your retired pay. To update your POC information you can reach HRC at 888-276-9472 or via email at: usary.knox.hrc.mbx.tagd-ask-hrc@army.mil. 

You should continue to review your documents and ensure they are all accurate. If you notice that you are missing documents or your points statement is incorrect, it is not too late to solve the problem. You can always reach out to HRC or to your readiness Division RSO for assistance. 

RESERVE RETIREMENT BRIEFINGS
As you approach your retired pay eligible age, you should plan on attending a reserve retirement briefing. The dates and locations can be found in the calendar to the right. These briefings are a wealth of information and is recommended that your spouse attend as well. Topics covered at the briefings:

• Pay Application process
• Reserve Components Survivor Benefits and Survivor benefits Plan
• Retirement Points Management
• TRICARE benefits
• VA Benefits
• Gray Area Benefits and responsibilities

DS LOG-ON
When you transfer to the retired reserve, you will turn in your CAC. Without your CAC you will be limited to your ability to access many of the websites after you retire. In order to maintain accessibility you will need to create a DS Logon account.

This account will allow you to access sites like MyPay, HRC records portal and more, as if you still had your CAC. The link to create this account is:  https://myaccess.dmdc.osd.mil/identitymanagement/authenticate.do?execution=e4s1