MILITARY DIVORCE GUIDE

Reserve Family Law Issues

Division of Reserve Component Military Retirement

The formula for dividing reserve military retirements is based upon the same principle as active duty retirements, with one subtle change - it utilizes retirement points, rather than months.

The former spouse of a reservist is entitled to one-half of the marital portion of the servicemember's disposable disposable retired pay, calculated as one-half of:

Retirement points accumulated during marriage
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Total retirement points at retirement

Note that a reservist who has at least 20 years of qualifying service (50 or more retirement points earned in the year) is eligible for retirement, but the payments do not begin until the servicemember's 60th birthday.

A reserve servicemember can find out the retirement points acquired during marriage, depending upon his/her branch of service. For more information, see:

Army Reserve. ARPC Form 249-2-E (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points) sent annually to reserve soldiers within 2 months of their Retirement Year Ending Date, and accessible online by at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command My Record Portal.

Air Reserve. The paper version of AF 526 has been discontinued, but retirement point credit information is available at the Virtual MPF.

Navy Reserve. Annual Retirement Point Record is not in paper format, but accessible online at BUPERS Online.

National Guard NGB 23 (Retirement Points History Statement). Applies to the Army National Guard and Air National Guard.

Reserve Component SBP (RCSBP)

The reserve component has a Survivor Benefit Plan, similar to, and different from, the active duty SBP. Among the choices available are making an election upon the reservist's retirement, or deferred until age 60, when the retirement benefits start getting paid, opting for a deferred SBP annuity, or one to start immediately, etc.

Air Reserve. See the RCSBP section of the Air Reserve Personnel Center web site for comprehensive information about RCSBP and a downloadable calculator.

More Information

Texas National Guard Retirement Benefits Page. An excellent overview of the reserve retired pay system, full of information and links.

Reserve Retired Pay Calculator.

Guide Created by Carl O. Graham,
A Colorado Springs Military Divorce Lawyer
Practicing Exclusively in El Paso County, Colorado