webecheck

can somebody shed some light on the details of this? more importantly the retirement i guess. all other benefits aside, what is the impact to your finances from leaving AD for a technician job? I guess you can make more money while working, but what about the retirement aspect of it? stock market willing, i would prefer not to have to work unless i wanted to once i hit 43 years of age (that would be my 20yr active duty retirement). that may not be feasible, and even if it is i may opt for another job just for the extra money. i guess my questions revolve around how delaying that retirement check because i left active duty will affect me. on the flip side, my morale would improve dramatically so working after i turn 43 years old probably wouldn't seem like the drag it does now.

anyway, thanks in advance to whomever responds.

Jetjok

If you find someone who can actually give you sound advise on what it's going to be like for you, in your retirement, vis-a-vis your financial situation, please send them my way. Seriously, here's a few things to consider: 1) 43 is way too early to retire, regardless of how hard you've worked and how much money you have. No one, and I mean no one, stops being productive at such a young age. Hell, they just became productive a few years earlier. That's not to say that people don't "retire" from certain jobs, such as the military, police, fire, civil service, etc, but they all then do something else with their lives that either serve themselves or others. So one could say that if your first job was your vocation, then after you "retire", your next job should be for your self-actualization; and 2) unless you were extremely lucky or very, very good in your investments, or your parents were very wealthy and left you a ton of money, I can't imagine that you'll have saved enough to potentially fund your sitting on your butt for the rest of your life.

On a different note, I've worked for almost 50 years and two years ago suffered a heart condition that has, for the most part, taken me out of my profession (flying heavy iron for FedEx.) Thankfully I have enough to not have to worry about where my next meal is coming from, and so far I'm enjoying retirement. But let me tell you, after working 1, 2 or sometimes 3 jobs (ANG + FedEx + consulting) for so many years, this retirement stuff is becoming downright boring, requiring me to look for things to peek my interest. That in and of itself is not bad, but I'd hate to have to look for something to do, each and every day, for some 40 + years. Perhaps you should just retire from the military when you get your 20 and move on to another life, preferably with a much younger woman, assuming you're a male.

JJ