DOPMA/ROPMA Policy Reference Tool

Retirement Pay:

An officer’s retired grade is governed by statutory regulations, in which certain responsibilities are delegated to Service Secretaries.

Federal Law

10 U.S. Code Chapter 71: Service members who retire have several retirement pay options. The options are summarized in the following table:

Table 1.1: General Rules of Estimating Retired Pay (From DoD Financial Management Regulation)

Retirement Plan Eligible Pay Formula Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)
Final Basic Pay Entered Active Duty prior to 8 Sep 1980 2.5% times the years of service times basic pay Full inflation protection based on Consumer Price Index (CPI)
High-3 Entered service between 8 Sep 80 and 31 Jul 1986 2.5% times the years of service times the average of the highest 36 months of base pay Full inflation protection based on CPI
High-3 or $30K Career Status Bonus (CSB)/ REDUX* Entered service after 31 Jul 1986    
High-3 Option ” Same as High-3, above Same as High-3, above
CSB/REDUX Option* ” CSB/REDUX option: Each of the 1st 20 years of service is worth 2% toward the retirement multiplier. Each year after the 20th is worth 3.5%. A 30-year career is computed by 2% times 3.5% for the 10 years beyond 20, resulting in a maximum of 75%. The multiplier is applied to the average of the member’s highest 36 months of basic pay. CSB/REDUX option: Annual COLAs of CPI minus 1% are given based upon the CPI of the High-3. Retired pay is recomputed at age 62 so that REDUX and High-3 retirement salaries are equal but REDUX COLAs for later years will continue to be CPI minus 1%.

Instead of retiring under High-3, these members may choose to receive a $30K Service Bonus at 15 years of service in exchange for agreeing to serve a minimum of another five years and then retiring under the less generous REDUX plan. Every month of service is counted as 1/12th of a year.

10 U.S. Code § 12733: Total years of service for the purpose of determining retired pay for reserve members is calculated by dividing by 360 the sum of the following:

  • Days of active service
  • Days of full-time service while performing training duty or attending instruction at a service school
  • 15 days plus days spent in attendance at a drill or instruction, with the following limits:
    • 60 days for such service before Sept 23, 1996
    • 75 days for such service before Oct 30, 2000
    • 90 days for such service before Oct 30, 2007
    • 130 days for such service after Oct 30, 2007- Days in which funeral honors duty was performed
  • One day for each point earned for funeral duty

10 U.S. Code § 14706: In calculating a reserve officer’s year of service for retirement pay calculation, the following shall be counted:

  • Time spent serving as a warrant officer
  • Constructive credit awarded
  • Service after appointment as commissioned officer that was spent obtaining required advanced education

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DoD Policy

Follows U.S. law.

DoD Financial Management Regulations (FMR) summarized payment options for retirees.

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Air Force Policy (AF Community of Practice Wiki)

Implements U.S. Law and DoD Policy. See Table 1.1 above.

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Army Policy (Army Community of Practice Wiki)

Implements U.S. Law and DoD Policy. See Table 1.1 above.

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Navy Policy (Navy Community of Practice Wiki)

Implements U.S. Law and DoD Policy. See Table 1.1 above.

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Marine Corps Policy (USMC Community of Practice Wiki)

Implements U.S. Law and DoD Policy. See Table 1.1 above.

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