Guess what? There is a huge retirement benefit out there that I will bet many of you didn’t even know you had.
Leave.
Careful handling of leave days in the last couple of years before retirement or separation can put you in a position to have paid time off right before you retire. Potentially, months of it.
Upon retirement, every service member is granted what’s called “terminal leave.” Previous to my husband putting in his paperwork late last year, I thought terminal leave was free – meaning it didn’t count against your leave days and was automatically granted.
But terminal leave is just the name given to the leave a service member chooses to take at the end of his or her time in service. Some of it can come from permissive TDY, which is a benefit designed to use while house hunting or looking for a job. Typically, those retiring stateside are offered 20 days permissive TDY. Those retiring from overseas can be allowed up to 30 days permissive TDY.
Add to that the leave you already have on the books – up to 60 days each year – and you could have up to 90 days. On top of that, add in any leave you earn between the start of a new fiscal year and your retirement date, plus what you earn while on leave, and you could potentially have even more.
And that’s not all. Since terminal leave is taken before a service members actual retirement date, all active-duty benefits still apply, such as medical and dental care. Housing allowances are still paid as well. If you are in transition between homes (which many of us will be during retirement) you will earn BAH for either your current duty station or your home of record, depending on circumstances.
The key to this benefit is managing your leave in the last couple years of retirement and continuing to carry over 60 days at the start of every fiscal year. That’s not hard for many service members, who lose leave every year anyway or have extra accrued due to deployments and other events.
Besides job hunting, house hunting and getting settled in a new location, many people use this time to travel, even taking Space-A flights overseas or cruises or other once-in-a-lifetime vacations.
A good rule of thumb is to do a little of both – practical and frivolous - if you can afford it.
Either way, terminal leave should be used to the maximum advantage of the service member. Start calculating leave days now, no matter how far out retirement is. Trust me, you’ll want some time to breathe before moving on from the military to the next adventure in life. Terminal leave is the best way to do that – all while still getting paid your full salary and benefits.
