Transition Leave and Pay
 

Hey folks. I'm going through the Transition Assistance Program this week and my wife and I had a big discussion yesterday about funding the move and supporting the family on a drastically reduced salary. I'll be in the ball park of 2300 hours so quite a few corporate jobs will be slightly out of reach and I may have to go to a regional.

My question is, "When does the military salary actually run out?" I'd like to hear the experiences from those that have seperated already.

Here is what I'm thinking. We get paid on the 1st of every month for the previous months work. My DEROS is 16 April 2010 and I expect to have about 45 days of transition leave. This means my ETS date will be around 31 May 2010. On June 1st I'm thinking I should get a normal paycheck which I'll have money to support my family for the entire month of June as if I was still employed. (Before you say it, yes the outgoing money will be changed to support potential unemployment and a decrease in standard of living).

Therefore, if I want a seamless transition from military to civilian pay I need a new job by around 15 June, not 15 May.

Please tell me if I'm off base.

Clue,

After watching a few friends make the leap...

I recommend you actually plan in some down time between jobs. The finances are important but the lifestyle change needs to be recognized/eased into and the closure is important.

FWIW, I am not all touchy feely but I have seen several guys struggle.

Good luck!
Boyd

Possible delay in processing...
 

Another item to consider: depending on the efficiency of your Finance office, I (an Air Force guy) was told to expect a one to two week delay on one's last paycheck, since they have to manually process the payment (because of transition/terminal leave).

Best of luck,
Opie

Clue,

You will get paid on your last day of active duty service for the previous month served. In your case, since you are separating at the end of the month it makes things nice and tidy for your calculations.

I recently seperated on the 30th of August after taking the full 60 days of terminal (transition) leave. On the 31st of August I received my normal paycheck plus a nice bump of 17 days of unused leave I sold back at the going rate of Base Pay/30 per day of unused leave. I didn't wait to receive my leave rebate but rather got it lumped into my last paycheck.

Don't forget you are entitled to unemployment but the process takes a while to get going. You have to wait until your DD214 shows up in the mail anywhere from 2 weeks, in my case, to much longer depending on who you talk to. In the meantime, continue to file but expect to get denied until the ink signed copy is in your hands.

As every other person on this board advises, try to secure a reserve or guard job if that's an option for you.

Good luck

Thank you all for the responses. This will help as we make our "after the army" budget and game plan.

EP11, about the unemployment. After you got your 214 did your unemployment office let you get paid unemployment while on terminal leave, or did they file the paperwork so that it automatically started on the first day after ETS? The unemployment office will definately be on my list of places to go my first week after I return to the states.

Clue,

From what I have seen you won't get your DD214 until your service is complete. For example, you take 60 days terminal leave and DD214 isn't even officiall until you are complete with your terminal leave. That is not to say that it isn't created/made before you last day but it will be post dated and it will not be mailed to you or available for pick up until your last day. FWIW, I could be misremembering/wrong as it has been a few years since I was the Admin O for a base and in charge of the personnel detachment.

Clue32, I retired two years ago and if I remember the last paycheck was held for about 5 -7 days for one last audit. It was explained to me that it is Uncle Sam’s last chance to square the record if there are any claims that are due. Don't forget permissive TDY and travel days for you and the family. That will back up the actual date you sign out by at least a few weeks. One note on your DD214, it will be prepared in advance and held until the last day your in the Army, if you have any awards that don't make it onto it by that date will be impossible to have it added later, (unless you are in the Guard or Reserve later.) I found out that the hard way, the unit was dragging their feet and didn't get the final award until it was too late, so I ended up with a add on sheet to the final DD124, I think it is a DD214-1 or a DD215, anyway it is a halfa$$ way to correct this important document.

Best of Luck to you. I also flew the C-12C/F/J, C-21A and UH1 under the Clue callsign, 94-97.

I'm no expert but a quick sanity check tells me that if I'm still gainfully employed and collecting a regular paycheck that I would not be eligible to collect the free monies until I'm on the street. At least that's how it goes in state X. Do some legwork on the interwebs and see how your state does it. It's probably all online so you can file every Sunday in your underwear while watching football.

keep in mind insurance. Tricare stops on separation date. Nothing, nada, zilch. Better have some COBRA to bridge the gap from Tricare to your new insurance. It isn't cheap either. I recommend you factor that in your finances as well.