I am trying to decide what to do. My wife and I cant decide if I should get out after 10 years and get into a local police job and then retire 20 yrs later with a killer pension. The other option is to stay in the CG for 10 more yrs just making ends meet and then retire probably as a E-8 or E-9 and make unknown amount of money and then have to get another job. If anyone has any suggestions or if you have retired and have a story about the outside of the CG retierment pay stuff. Please help me and my family in this decision.
Thanks

As the saying goes, opinions are like...well, you know the rest. Here's mine:

Get a pad of paper and make four columns. One each for the pros and cons of staying in, and one each for the pros and cons of getting out. Brainstorm it, seek your spouse's input, speak with your mentors, those you respect, those who have been in your shoes, and those in the shoes you wish to fill.

If you stay in, you have at least ten more years to advance or promote. You'll earn a COLA-indexed pension, and a lifetime of benefits, and and improve your position in life. While on active duty, you can finish a degree, earn another, or obtain certifications and qualifications. You can also retire at roughly 38 years of age and still put in another full career.

On the other hand, all is not lost if you punch out at ten. If you have TSP, you can bring that forward into another company retirement plan. You can remain in the reserves, earning benefits and a pension. You also keep the door open if you choose to return to active duty.

If you separate at ten, and sever your ties with the Coast Guard, I'd make darned sure of my decision. How secure is the job? What are the benefits? When can I retire? Where will I work?

Seriously...do some intense list making. Have a plan (as well as a back up plan) for what it is you want to achieve.

On a tangent, your comments about "making ends meet" caught my eye. Perhaps a review of where your cash is going might be in order. The 2008 RMC for a 10-year PO1 is slightly under $60,000 a year. Not bad. Picking up Chief, Senior, Master, CWO2, CWO3, or even LT changes that dramatically as you reach the twenty year mark. That creates one heck of a retirement at twenty. You're then in the position of getting a job you want and like...not one that you "have to get" merely to put food on the table.

That's just me, speaking as a twenty-five year retiree who went on to start a profitable company. So, BTDT and got a (company!) t-shirt.

Thanks for the input, but just one thing. Where did you get $60,000? When I was stationing in New York with one of the highest BAH's in the country, with BAH included I made 60k. I just got stationed in IL and with BAH included I will barely clear 36,000. My Base pay is only around 30,000 a year. I wish I was making 60k. That would be woth staying in for. I did one of those retirement calculators and it said that by the time I retire as either an E8 or E9 I would only be getting around 3K a month. Thats barely enough to retire on. Especially if you have kids. I dont know all the ins and outs of the retirement yet, still have some research to do. Before I had a family I used to be all about the job, now I have changed to still love the job, but the money for the amount of work I do just doesnt seem to match up.

You are half way to retirement.. Get it! Then, if you choose, become a police officer. You will find a military retirement is hard to beat.

Wray....

Boats - I think the MOST important thing here is for you to find out what you WANT to do for the rest of your life. All too often people make the mistake of beginning their life-plans with next year, then five years, ten years, twenty years, etc. Instead, I suggest you figure out what you WANT to be doing in 30 (50?) years. Wanna be a police officer? doctor? Own your own landscape business? Architect? Electrical Engineer? There is no wrong answer to the question "what is your dream job."

To help you figure out what your dream job is, I recommend a book called "What Color is your Parachute?" I don't normally read, much less advocate, self-help books, but this one is pretty good.

AFTER you find out what your "dream job" is, then start working toward it. If your "dream job" is becoming a police officer, then start taking CJ/psych courses. Wanna become an FBI agent? Start taking psych/business/accounting/computer courses. If your DREAM JOB is to own a landscaping business, then start taking business & biology classes.

Then use the remainder of your CG time to prepare for your future career. If you can be ready to jump into your future career at the end of your enlistment...then do it! If you are not ready, then you may need to reenlist for a while as you continue your preparations.

Good luck!

I still have 2 yrs till my end of enlistment at 10 yrs, just exploring my options.My dream job is the Coast Guard, but my priorities changed once I got a family. I am not saying that I want to be a cop, I am just realizing that you can make allot more money on the outside doing the same job I am doing now. For example the Army Corp of Engineers hires BM's to drive thier boats doing surveys and such starting at 58,000. I know that everywhere you go people are like thanks for serving our country, but thats not what its all about. You have to get another job after spending 20 yrs in the CG. You cant live on 3k a month these days. I would be 40 yrs old and starting from scratch. I am just exploring my options and looking for maybe an example from someone who has retired of what kind of pay and medical benifits are for retiree's.I have 2 yrs left and figured I better start looking now before its to late. Trying to be a little more responsible.

I just did some searches but still don't know a lot about CG benefits. I think those are more important to think aboout than anything else.
Do you have accesss to commissaries and exchanges? If so, you will still have that upon retirement - and believe me, you'll save tons shopping on base.
Do you have access to medical care? Again, you'll have that for yourself and your spouse for life!! (Kids lose it at 21 unless they're full-time students.) Tricare is far too valuable to waste. And, if your civilian job provides healthcare, Tricare will take care of the deductibles and medications are FREE.
I've reached a great time in my life where staying in 20+ has paid off nicely.
Whether or not to stay is not an easy decision but don't forget the life-long benefits of doing so.

Boats - You still have, in my opinion, the wrong attitude. You're still talking about money, and about doing on the outside what you are doing on the inside (being a cop & driving boats). Instead of focuing on money and what you can do if you walk out today (cop & ACOE), stop imposing limitations on your dreams and think about what you WANT to do. If you do what you WANT to do, your life will be much happier and the money will work itself out.

You say your dream job is the Coast Guard. Well I have two replies to that. First, you PROBABLY are not dreaming big enough. What is your DREAM job? Second, if the Coast Guard really is your DREAM JOB, then why don't you plan on staying in for 30+ years? Then you could retire as E-9/CWO4/LT+ and bring home 75% (plus) of your base pay.

Try to think of it this way. You are acting like the DWO of a cutter. You are only looking at where the ship is going for your watch (next few years of your life). Sometimes you think about the end of the patrol (retirement), but you feel like that's out of your control. Well, it's not. Figure out WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, then start laying out your tracklines and figure out how to get there.

Okay, enough corny analogies. Go to the library and check out that book.

Good luck

quote:

I would be 40 yrs old and starting from scratch.

Actually you would be bringimng 20 years of experience with you. I cannot tell you how many people I have met that got out early and have regretted that decision.

At 40 years of age yopu are certainly young enough to pursue a second career. Then you would end up with TWO retirement checks by the time you are 60.

My brother retired after 30 years and then joined the Sheriff's Dep't. He now gets both retirements and gas plenty of money.

From my personal experience, it is best to stay at least until you reach twenty years of service. Beleive me I thought about leaving and starting over. Just stop and think all the accomplishments you have achieved while in the Coast Guard in ten years. I would be willing to bet you have worked hard to get where you are at now. In addition, I have met some of the most professional and honorable people both up and down the chain in my Coast Guard career. To me the Coast Guard is just not a paycheck; but an honorable career. Just two cents from an MK.

Thanks Guys. It is mostly about my wife nagging me about being far away from the comfy home life of having family only 30 minutes away. She was spoiled while I was in NJ. Now that I am 1000 miles from home its hard on her. She is anti CG right now. Just trying to help ease her mind so I can move on. To answer your question "disenherited" The CG wasnt my dream job, just close to it. I worked on a fishing boat taking people out fishing in NJ. My dad owns the boat and the plan has been for me to do 20yrs in the CG, retire and then take over his charter buisness in NJ. Here is his boat. http://mimivi.com/
It is a great time. Now I just have to keep my wife's head in it and not let the moving get to her. Once again thanks for all of you answers and suggestions. The double pension is definately worth it.

Even if you find another job that pays 5k more, it will still not be worth it. Your entire take home pay will be considered taxable, in fact you will probably be in a higher tax bracket if you go elsewhere. Other highly under valued breaks we receive are: access to commissaries, free medical, and tax exemptions in certain states.

Your right though, your pension alone will not be enough for a comfortable retirement. You should think about saving on your own; possibly with a Roth IRA.

If I'm not mistaken, doesn't BM currently have a Zone B SRB? Hopefully that will be around at your ten yr mark.

If your still set on joining the Police force, you might want to think about getting your degree, if you don't already have one. They pay more to those with degrees.

Retirement Calculator/site:
www.defenselink.mil/militarypay/retirement/calc/index.html

I believe I have been on a MIMI charter boat off of New Jersey about 12 years ago. The boat doesn't look too familiar, but the name/location does.

If the CG wasn't (isn't?) your dream job, just close to it, what is your dream job?

What is it you would want to have to go into work to do when you are 70 years old?

While I understand Smirfy and Diesel's comments, I encourage everyone to use financials as a secondary factor in choosing their careers. I say this because very few people ever have "enough" money. If you think $60K would be great now, that will likely change if you're making $58K. Then you would want to make $75K...until you're making $70K...then you start thinking maybe $100K is a bit better. This goes on and on. Bottom line is money does NOT make you happy (although it lets you look for it more places)

Instead, I encourage you to think about what you WANT to do for a career.

So...what is your "dream" job??

This is where Brian got the 60k number:

http://www.defenselink.mil/militarypay/mpcalcs/Calculators/RMC.aspx


If you are a NJ resident don't forget since you are stationed out of state you are exempt from state income taxes, so if you haven't already get that deduction stopped.

Also since New Jersey is such an expensive place to insure a car look at changing your insurance to where you are stationed even if it means registering the car there. USAA can help you with reasonably priced insurance.

Boats,

IF the charterboat or anything marine related are in your future, get on starting the ball rolling for your Masters/Mates license NOW.

Mariners are miserable at keeping track of our seatime. If you have no cutter time, you need to start today, while it is fresh, going back and recording all the time/days that you have underway on CG workboats. The less than 65' WYTLs may only give you the tonnage for a 50 ton Masters license, but that can be upped thru tonnage increases through time on boats. Days will be important. The definitions in the CFR call a day as 8 hours, but not less than 4 hours.

I have run into more than a few Customs officers coming through to get a 100 ton Near Coastal because it is being required as part of their job.

Check thru 46 CFR part 10 on lower level licensing and the CG website for charter boat information.
http://www.uscg.mil/STCW/

Thanks again. I already have my 100ton/100mile offshore and towing endorsement. More importantly, what is that about not paying state tax? I was stationed in Baltimore for 5.5yrs and payed state tax the whole time. Thats like 17,000 over that time frame. How do I go about doing that?

Sorry, 3000 over that time frame.

Oh yeah, I went onto that RMC website. It would be correct if the BAH was right. I am stationed in Peoria, IL as an E6 with a family and I only get 1050 a month for housing. If that Bah was right, Life would be allot better. thats an extra 350 a month.

If you are a NJ resident you are exempt from paying state income tax if you are stationed outside the state and meet these conditions:

Military personnel who are domiciled in New Jersey, but who meet all three of the following conditions for the entire year, are considered nonresidents for income tax purposes:

You did not maintain a permanent home in New Jersey; and


You did maintain a permanent home outside of New Jersey; and


You did not spend more than thirty days in New Jersey during the taxable year.

state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/index.html?military/residency.htm%7EmainFrame

EDIT - ACTIVE HYPERLINK REMOVED

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LetsGoRedSox,

Dude I will be at the 10 yr mark May 09. There is not a day that goes by that I dont think about "what if" But when I go home and look at my kids, knowing they are all set and I dont have to worry about medical, school and maybe even my kids college (if the CG picks up this new GIbill sharring option) It is an absolute no-brainer. It is not easy though as you and your wife know. We were homestead in Mass our first 6 years and then we up and left and went to Kodiak, AK for 3 years. I had to pull my wife kicking and screaming from there! Give your wife time, she will adapt and if not, tell her the same thing I tell my junior guys when they are bummed out "everything's temporary" Good luck.