Reference library

What you are paid, what is taxable, and which parts follow you into retirement.

• Deep treatment

  What you are actually paid, and what a civilian job would have to offer

  Basic pay, the untaxed allowances, and how to compute the taxable-equivalent salary that makes a military package comparable to a civilian offer — a figure that appears on no document you are given.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → How much is military pay really worth compared to a civilian salary?
  • → Are BAH and BAS taxable?
  • → Why did my pay go up without a promotion?
  • → Does BAH change if I have more children?
  • → What is Regular Military Compensation?

• Deep treatment

  Renting against buying when you move every three years

  Why the ordinary rent-versus-buy advice fails on a military timeline, how to compute the break-even including transaction costs, what the VA loan does and does not change, and the accidental-landlord outcome nobody plans for.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → Should I buy a house at my next duty station?
  • → How long do I need to own a home to break even?
  • → Is the VA loan a good deal?
  • → Should I keep my house and rent it out when I PCS?
  • → Does BAH cover a mortgage?

• Deep treatment

  Deployment finances: the tax exclusion, the savings deposit, and what to set up first

  What changes about your pay in a combat zone, why Roth contributions from excluded pay are untaxed at both ends, the guaranteed-return savings programme with a deposit ceiling, and the arrangements to make before you leave.

  13 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → What is the combat zone tax exclusion?
  • → Should I contribute to Roth or traditional TSP while deployed?
  • → What is the Savings Deposit Program?
  • → What pay do I get while deployed?
  • → What should I set up before a deployment?

• Deep treatment

  The 36% cap, the 6% cap, and why lenders cluster outside the gate

  What the Military Lending Act actually caps and what it excludes, how the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act differs, why military families are targeted specifically, and how to recognise the products designed around the rules.

  12 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → What is the Military Lending Act 36% cap?
  • → What is the difference between MLA and SCRA?
  • → How do I get the 6% interest rate cap?
  • → Why are there so many loan shops outside base?
  • → Is a car title loan covered by the MLA?

What you owe in return for training, bonuses and transferred benefits.

• Deep treatment

  Service commitments, and why they do not add up

  How active duty service commitments actually work: the concurrency rule that makes most opportunities free, the free window that closes early, what a PCS service-remaining requirement is and is not, and how bonus recoupment works.

  12 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → Do military service commitments add together?
  • → How long will taking this bonus keep me in?
  • → Does a PCS extend my separation date?
  • → What happens to my bonus if I leave early?
  • → What is the difference between an ADSC and a service-remaining requirement?

The pension computation, the systems, and the elections around them.

• Deep treatment

  How military retired pay is calculated

  The full computation of active-duty retired pay: which system applies to you, what the multiplier is, what the retired pay base actually averages, and the omissions that make estimates too high.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-15

  Questions answered

  • → How is military retirement pay calculated?
  • → What is High-3 and what counts toward it?
  • → What is the difference between BRS and the legacy retirement system?
  • → Do BAH and BAS count toward my pension?
  • → How much is a 20-year military pension?

• Deep treatment

  The Thrift Savings Plan, and the match people lose without noticing

  How the TSP works for service members: the agency match and the per-pay-period rule that quietly costs money, traditional against Roth, what combat-zone pay does to both, and the withdrawal rules.

  16 min · Content updated 2026-08-15

  Questions answered

  • → How does the TSP match work for military members?
  • → Should I use Roth or traditional TSP?
  • → Why did I stop getting the TSP match in December?
  • → What happens to my TSP when I leave the military?
  • → What is the difference between the elective deferral limit and the annual additions limit?

• Deep treatment

  Blended Retirement against the legacy system

  What the 2.0% multiplier costs against 2.5%, what the TSP match and continuation pay are worth in return, why the answer depends almost entirely on whether you serve twenty years, and where the lump-sum election destroys value.

  15 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → Is BRS better than the legacy retirement system?
  • → How much smaller is a BRS pension?
  • → Should I take the BRS lump sum at retirement?
  • → What happens to my retirement if I leave before 20 years?
  • → Is continuation pay worth the extra service commitment?

• Deep treatment

  Reserve and Guard retirement: points, good years and the gray area

  Why a reserve pension is built from points rather than elapsed time, what makes a year a good year, when retired pay actually starts, how qualifying active service moves that date earlier, and the cost of the years between retiring and being paid.

  16 min · Content updated 2026-08-15

  Questions answered

  • → How does National Guard and Reserve retirement work?
  • → What is a good year for military retirement?
  • → How many retirement points do I need?
  • → When does reserve retired pay start?
  • → What is a gray area retiree?

The GI Bill, tuition assistance, and transferring benefits to family.

• Deep treatment

  Transferring the GI Bill, and the window that closes four years early

  What transferring Post-9/11 entitlement to a spouse or child costs in obligated service, why the free window shuts long before the obligation it hides behind, and the allocation mistake that permanently forecloses a child.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → How do I transfer my GI Bill to my spouse or children?
  • → How much extra service does transferring the GI Bill cost?
  • → Can I transfer my GI Bill after I separate?
  • → Why should I give each child one month of GI Bill?
  • → Do service commitments add together or run at the same time?

• Deep treatment

  Using the GI Bill yourself: tiers, housing, and choosing where to study

  How the three components are paid and scaled, why studying while on active duty forfeits the largest part, what online-only study costs you, and how to compare schools on what the benefit actually covers.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → How much is the Post-9/11 GI Bill worth?
  • → Why do I not get housing allowance with the GI Bill?
  • → Does online school pay less GI Bill housing?
  • → How many months of GI Bill do I have?
  • → What is Yellow Ribbon and how do I know if a school offers it?

TRICARE on active duty, in retirement, and alongside Medicare.

• Deep treatment

  TRICARE Prime against Select in retirement

  How the two retiree plans actually differ, why the cost group set by your entry date matters more than the plan choice, and the inpatient billing basis that reverses the answer in a bad year.

  13 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → Should I choose TRICARE Prime or Select when I retire?
  • → What is the difference between TRICARE Group A and Group B?
  • → How much does TRICARE cost for retirees?
  • → What is the catastrophic cap and what counts toward it?
  • → Why did I get a huge bill after seeing a specialist?

• Deep treatment

  TRICARE while you are serving: which plan you and your family are on

  The plan matrix for active duty, Guard and Reserve families — what each option covers, what changes on activation and deactivation, the referral rules that generate surprise bills, and the dental programme that is separate from all of it.

  13 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → What TRICARE plan is my family on?
  • → What happens to my TRICARE when I go on orders?
  • → What is TRICARE Reserve Select and who can get it?
  • → Do I need a referral to see a specialist?
  • → Why is my child no longer covered?

Service connection, ratings, and how compensation interacts with a pension.

• Deep treatment

  How VA combined disability ratings are calculated

  Why 50% plus 30% plus 20% is 70% and not 100%, how VA's whole-number combined-ratings table works, when left/right conditions qualify for one bilateral factor, and when the veteran-favorable exception changes the result.

  13 min · Content updated 2026-08-15

  Questions answered

  • → How does VA combine disability ratings?
  • → Why is my combined rating lower than my ratings added together?
  • → What is the bilateral factor?
  • → How do I get from 90% to 100%?
  • → Does a 10% rating do anything once I am already at 80%?

• Deep treatment

  Filing a VA disability claim: evidence, effective dates, and the exam

  Build the right evidence for the claim type, use an Intent to File without treating it as a guaranteed effective date, and prepare an accurate record of symptoms and flare-ups.

  18 min · Content updated 2026-09-05

  Questions answered

  • → How do I file a VA disability claim?
  • → What is an Intent to File and why does it matter?
  • → What happens at a C&P exam?
  • → What is a secondary service-connected condition?
  • → What is a nexus letter and do I need one?

• Deep treatment

  The VA waiver, CRDP and CRSC: why your retired pay went down

  Why receiving VA compensation reduces retired pay dollar for dollar, why that is usually still advantageous, which of the two restoration programmes you qualify for, and why you cannot have both.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-16

  Questions answered

  • → Why did my retired pay go down when I got VA disability?
  • → What is the VA waiver?
  • → What is the difference between CRDP and CRSC?
  • → Can I get both CRDP and CRSC?
  • → Is it worth taking VA compensation if it reduces my pension?

The final two years, and the documents you leave with.

• Deep treatment

  The last two years: what to do and when

  A sequenced account of the final 24 months — the disability claim window, terminal leave against selling leave, SkillBridge, the insurance conversion deadline, and the order in which these have to happen because several depend on each other.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → When should I start preparing to leave the military?
  • → What is BDD and when do I file?
  • → Should I take terminal leave or sell my leave?
  • → What deadlines do I have when separating from the military?
  • → What is SkillBridge and when can I do it?

• Deep treatment

  Translating military experience without hollowing it out

  Why direct translation of a military role usually undersells it, how to convert responsibility into terms a hiring manager can price, what a clearance is worth, and the salary comparison that must account for untaxed pay.

  13 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → How do I translate my military experience for a civilian resume?
  • → What is my security clearance worth to an employer?
  • → What salary should I ask for leaving the military?
  • → Do employers value military experience?
  • → How do I explain what I did without using acronyms?

The files that decide outcomes long after anyone remembers the events.

• Deep treatment

  The DD-214 and the records that outlive your memory

  What the discharge certificate governs, the fields that decide benefits years later, why beneficiary designations beat a will, and what to gather before you lose access to the systems holding it.

  12 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → What is a DD-214 and why does it matter?
  • → How do I correct an error on my DD-214?
  • → Does my will control who gets my life insurance?
  • → What documents should I save before I separate?
  • → What is the difference between a discharge upgrade and a records correction?

• Deep treatment

  Wills, powers of attorney, and the documents a family needs before a deployment

  Why banks reject general powers of attorney, what a durable POA actually does, the difference between a will and a trust for a mobile family, and the free legal assistance most members never use.

  13 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → What is a durable power of attorney and why do I need one?
  • → Why did the bank refuse my power of attorney?
  • → Do I need a will if I have SGLI?
  • → What is a family care plan?
  • → Where can I get a free will as a service member?

• Deep treatment

  Divorce and military benefits: the pension, the ID card, and the ten-year rule

  What the 10/10 rule actually governs, why 20/20/20 is a different test entirely, how a pension division is calculated under the frozen benefit rule, and the survivor election that a decree can order.

  13 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → What is the 10/10 rule in military divorce?
  • → Is my ex-spouse automatically entitled to half my pension?
  • → What is 20/20/20 and what does it provide?
  • → Can a court order me to elect SBP for a former spouse?
  • → Does my ex-spouse keep TRICARE after divorce?

What continues after a death, and what stops.

• Deep treatment

  The Survivor Benefit Plan, and the election that happens by default

  What the SBP annuity pays, what the premium costs, why doing nothing does not decline it, and how to compare it against commercial life insurance without getting the comparison wrong.

  15 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → Is the Survivor Benefit Plan worth it?
  • → What happens if I do nothing about SBP before I retire?
  • → Can I decline SBP without my spouse agreeing?
  • → How does SBP compare to buying life insurance instead?
  • → When do SBP premiums stop?

• Deep treatment

  When a retiree dies: what stops, what continues, and what must be claimed

  A source-linked survivor action center covering retired pay, Arrears of Pay, SBP, DIC, Social Security, healthcare, insurance, burial benefits, forms, and the one-year and two-year deadlines that can change the result.

  17 min · Content updated 2026-08-15

  Questions answered

  • → What happens to military retired pay when the retiree dies?
  • → What benefits does a surviving spouse of a military retiree get?
  • → What is Arrears of Pay and who receives it?
  • → What is Dependency and Indemnity Compensation?
  • → Who do I notify when a military retiree dies?

What a spouse is entitled to in their own right, and the career a military life keeps interrupting.

• Deep treatment

  A military spouse's own benefits, career and retirement

  What a spouse holds in their own right rather than through the member — hiring preference, licence portability, education funding, the residency rule that decides which state taxes their income, and the retirement gap nobody budgets for.

  15 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → What benefits do military spouses get?
  • → What is MyCAA and who qualifies?
  • → Do I have to pay state income tax where my spouse is stationed?
  • → Can my professional licence transfer to a new state?
  • → How do military spouses save for retirement with no steady job?

A debt letter, a denied claim, a rating being cut. What the rules actually are, and what you can still do.

• Deep treatment

  The VA is proposing to cut your rating

  What the four protection rules actually say, the procedural rights that attach to a proposed reduction, and the two deadlines inside the notice that most people miss because nobody selling representation has any reason to point them out.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-15

  Questions answered

  • → Can the VA reduce my disability rating?
  • → The VA is proposing to reduce my rating, what do I do?
  • → Can the VA reduce my rating after 10 years?
  • → Can the VA reduce my rating after age 55?
  • → What is a predetermination hearing?

• Deep treatment

  A debt letter arrived from DFAS or the VA

  A route-by-route response plan for VA benefit overpayments, active or former military pay debts, retired-pay debts, and service remission — with the clocks, forms, standards, and collection consequences kept separate.

  19 min · Content updated 2026-08-15

  Questions answered

  • → I got a debt letter from DFAS, what do I do?
  • → Can I dispute a VA debt and request a waiver too?
  • → Does financial hardship matter to a debt waiver?
  • → How do I get a military overpayment waived?
  • → What is the difference between a waiver and a remission?

• Deep treatment

  Your VA claim was denied

  Read the decision issue by issue, choose the review lane by its evidence rules, and protect a potential effective date without overstating Arellano or benefit of doubt.

  19 min · Content updated 2026-08-16

  Questions answered

  • → My VA claim was denied, what do I do?
  • → What is the difference between a supplemental claim and a higher-level review?
  • → How does continuous pursuit affect a potential effective date?
  • → Why did VA prefer one medical opinion over another?
  • → What did Arellano actually decide?

Social Security, Medicare, and the decisions waiting at 62 and 65.

• Deep treatment

  Medicare eligibility and the enrolment TRICARE For Life depends on

  How Medicare Part A entitlement and Part B enrolment affect TRICARE, including under-65 eligibility, active-duty-sponsor exceptions, payer order, deadlines, and IRMAA.

  12 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → Do I need Medicare Part B if I have TRICARE?
  • → What happens to my TRICARE when I turn 65?
  • → What is the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty?
  • → When should I sign up for Medicare?
  • → What is IRMAA and does it apply to military retirees?

• Deep treatment

  Social Security for military retirees

  How military service builds an earnings record, what claiming at 62 against full retirement age against 70 actually costs and pays, the earnings test that catches second-career retirees, and how spousal and survivor benefits interact.

  14 min · Content updated 2026-08-14

  Questions answered

  • → Does military service count toward Social Security?
  • → Should I claim Social Security at 62 or wait until 70?
  • → Will working after retirement reduce my Social Security?
  • → How do spousal and survivor benefits work?
  • → Does my military pension reduce my Social Security?