Every once in awhile I like to look at the military retirement calculator. It has been a sort of hobby on mine since I hit my 8-year mark of military service. I would calculate what an E8 would retire with at 20 years and what an E9 would retire with at 30 years. Lo and behold, I am now an E9 over 21 years. I would have never guessed this day would be upon me. Now I only need to stay healthy and I am on my way to 30-year retirement.
Since I have started my dividend investment portfolio, I have felt a little ashamed that I do not have more money invested. Everyone I listen to on YouTube had millions of dollars invested at age 40. So this time when I looked at the calculator, I was more interested in the total worth of the retirement plan. Come to find out, I am not doing so bad. I have always said that Kris and I could easily live off of my military retirement. My investment portfolio is just the icing on the cake. Plus, the portfolio can be left to our children along with real estate and real assets. I want to dive into the military retirement plan because some people are unaware of how generous the package actually is.
As you can see from the picture, the present value is if I retired soon. The total retirement value is if I retire at 30 years (age 48) and live until 85 years old. The first year of retirement would pay me roughly $8,500 a month. Then each year I would be given a cost of living adjustment. The Thrift Savings Plan is like the government version of a 401K. When I joined they did not have a matching contribution. This was never an option for me throughout my career. I never was too invested into the TSP, and I would rather build a portfolio that is easily transferred to my children. It is also important to remember that chances are I will receive some amount of the disability rating from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Being in the Marine Corps for 21 years is very taxing on the body. I would guess I would rate around $2000 a month. That would add another $880,000 to the retirement package. Kris and I can easily live and invest based on these numbers, especially if we split time in Turkey.
However, instead of resting on our laurels, Kris and I are grinding even harder to ensure we can provide for our future family members. Not only do we want to have our military retirement, but also multiple income streams. This will allow us to better represent the life we want to live with our families. On top of military retirement income, we will have rental income, business income, and investment income. We should be able to double the amount of our military retirement with the other streams of income. The G.F.I.R.E. movement (Generational Financially Independent Retire Early) was born on the grounds that we do more for our future generations. The more we do, the more options they will have in life. I also believe that this will create a family that can be closer, but physically and emotionally.
Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Leave a Reply