Following are the paycharts which shows monthly retirement pay for military members who retire during 2005.
Military personnel can retire after 20 years of active duty service. A military member who retires at 20 years of service receives 50 percent of his/her monthly base pay. For each year served over 20 years, the military member receives an additional 2.5 percent, up to a maximum of 75 percent of their base pay, at 30 years of service.
Military members who entered the service after September 8, 1980, but before August 1, 1986, fall under a slightly different system that pays a little less. Instead of a direct percentage of the base pay they were receiving at the time of retirement, these members receive a percentage of their average base pay during the three years of service when their pay was the highest (which is usually, but not always their last three years of service).
