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Follow the Papertrail to Retirement

As my husband gets closer and closer to his retirement date, and with our pack-out date looming just a little more than a month away, we have been going through and sorting all of our paperwork.

Mountains and mountains of paperwork.

While we casually go through things each time we move and get rid of things like utility bills and the newcomer’s packet we received upon arrival at our current duty station, we have never gone through everything this thoroughly.

The first step was the file cabinet, from which we purged vet records for the two cats who are no longer with us, 10-year-old vehicle registration receipts and 20-year-old mutual fund statements.

Next were the two boxes of “things to save for the scrapbooks” collected over the last two years. This is where we culled down kids’ artwork and school certificates, ticket stubs and airplane boarding passes.

Finally, we started on our lockbox, where all the really important need-to-keep-no-matter-what items are stored. I expected to find a lot in there that we could trash.

I assumed that by now we could shred or burn a good deal of what’s in the lockbox. My husband is retiring after 26 years of active duty service, so why does he still need a National Guard enlistment contract from 1988, or Army Reserve training records from 1990?

Well, guess what. He needed those exact papers as part of his retirement process.

After he pulled those out, we shut the lockbox and I decided not to purge anything from there after all.

We all have heard many times over that we should keep a paper trail of everything military-related. This is not an exaggeration. As much as I would like to clear out as much clutter as possible before we PCS, military-related paperwork is not the place to do it.

Adding to the problem is the paperwork that continues to accumulate as part of retirement. Just the other day we had to sign a half-dozen documents at the transition office on post. Plus we’ve got orders, leave requests, medical records, VA documents, life insurance forms … the list

goes on and on.

And the next question becomes … what documents should you hand carry during your final PCS (especially when moving from overseas like we are)

After perusing several online discussions and thinking about our own past experiences, this is my list:

  • Copies of orders both to and from your current duty station.
  • Kids’ birth certificates.
  • Kids’ and adults’ social security cards.
  • Kids’ school records, specifically last report card and most recent standardized test scores, as well as documentation of any special services received.
  • Kids’ shot records and up-to-date school/sports physical.
  • Pets’ shot records and microchip number.
  • Inventory of household goods as provided by the moving company, as well inventory sheets for any items in storage.
  • Proof of vehicle insurance and ownership if your car is being shipped.
  • All paperwork signed during the retirement process.
  • Enlistment/initial service entry contract.
  • Servicemembers’ medical records.
  • Prescriptions for any medications taken on a regular basis.

If your household goods will be in storage long-term like ours will be, I would add the following:

  • Marriage certificate.
  • Divorce certificate if previously married.
  • Original mortgage papers if you own a house, as well as any other documents related to home ownership such as warranties or HOA contact information.
  • Adults’ birth certificates.
  • Most recent tax return.
  • All military service records.

 

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