PurpleToolBox

If you already have a military retirement, why would you want to work for an airline and be gone from home? You already did that for the military.

Find a decent yet easy job near where you want to live and enjoy retirement.

kme9418

1. all jobs whether "easy" or not get old at some point and just become a job so you might as well be getting paid more to do something that has the potential to be fun every now and then
2. some like to bunch all of their work into half the month then be off the rest of the month INSTEAD OF working every weekday in an unfulfilling job then driving home in rush hour traffic for a short evening with the family who is already tired then going to bed early and starting all over again and having to cram all the fun stuff into the weekend when everyone else is off and traffic still sucks in the suburb
3. being within 50 feet of an airplane can be hazardous to the health of your bank account so you might as well get paid to do it if you like planes
4. for a lot of us in this profession...working in some forsaken cubicle dealing with TPS reports would make us eventually go postal
5. few "easy" jobs even when paired with a mil retirement will provide the same standard of leaving that most of us want and are used to living

pittflyer

To make this thread all about ME, let me throw a wrench in this topic and say the same guy was at 16yrs (4yrs from retirement) however, flying currently in his active job and would be when he hit 20yrs (but that's in 2019). Do you leave the mil retirement money on the table, walk for the QOL and seniority # now at 16years or stay to the 20yr point to collect from Uncle Sam?

[All of this assumes you get on with a Major at this 16yr point, do the reserve gig so you don't waste the 16yrs you have, etc.]

Flyinhigh

It was my experience that being away from home with the military and being away from home with the airlines were just a little bit different.

sailingfun

Why are you not taking your own advise and doing the same?

full of luv

In similar spot few years ago as 06 select. Compatriots about had me psyche evaled for declining and going to major.
It has to be what you WANT to do. Life too short to just work for pension.
Long pentagon days did not appeal to me with base co being the end game.
Think of it this way. Right now you'd be forgoing 5 yrs of pension payments for higher one. Working for half pay they say.
Also always first year pay in airlines what you'd be avoiding is last four years of airline pay.
Do what you want to do. Life is short.

vbguy01

Thanks for the replies. I was prior enlisted Navy for 10 years before crossing over to AF officer. With a 2 year break for ROTC, I am 43 at the 23 year mark.

I did some number crunching with the retirement calculator on AFPC and came up with these numbers.
As an O-4 w/24 yrs, =$4440/mo pension.
Staying in 4 more years (70% retirement) =$5466/mo.
If promoted to O-5 with 28yrs =$6422.
The are estimates but looks like staying in 4 more years with promotion to O-5 to retire with 28 years would be an extra $2K/month. Assuming I live until 85, that would be another 37yrs (444 months) x $2K = $888,000 for staying in. I'd have to make $178K for 5 years to offset assuming I fly until 65 and make the big bucks as captain.

Does that check? QOL is huge no doubt. I've spent too much time away from home but I also understand the airlines are gone a bit until you move up the ladder...

F224

I got in at NWA at 28, took the Army Guard CWO buyout at the 15 year point a few years later under slick-willy. Retired at 48 after a work related neck injury, took six years off and finally got my first class back. Now I'm chasing Taliban for fun and profit.

My advice to you is to apply, then get an offer and ask yourself if it's time to go. As we said when we were young pilots: the worst major airline job was better than the best military flight gig.

Where else can you make a six figure income and not take a briefcase home every night?

full of luv

What your forgetting is that you'd have collected 04 retirement for 5 years that you never would have collected, plus what you make in the airline.
$178K as a captain shouldn't be a problem, especially with the generational movement over the next decade.
Bottom line though is what you want to do. If it is fly airplanes for 15 days a month and do whatever you like the rest of time, then that is what airline flying is all about.
If you want to do the jobs in the AF that an 05 does, then I'd say stay in till they kick you out and then be a contractor till you can afford to no longer work.
My opinion: worst decision is to stay mil for just 5 more years and then leave for airlines. But there will be other jobs like corporate that may be more immediately rewarding.

Jughead135

Double check your numbers. Remember, your numbers are percentage based off the "High 3" (if I understand your timeline correctly, that's the retirement system you're under), i.e., an average of your highest 36 months of pay. If you're an O-5 for less than 36 months, you won't be getting X% of that, it'll be a blend of your O-4 & O-5 pay (further complicated by annual CoL raises). I don't know if you included that in your calculations, but your $1,000 / mo (or $800 / mo in your numbers above) estimate seems potentially high....

As others have said, only you can decide--but, one more opinion to add to the pile, take the retirement NOW, get hired ASAP, and enjoy the benefits of seniority sooner, both financially & QoL....

Good luck!