By Jaimi Erickson
Contributing Writer
My husband had been talking about submitting his retirement papers for years. Each time I asked him when he was planning to do it, his response was, “next year.” It wasn’t so much about the date for me — I just wanted a timeline. As the planner in our marriage, organizing our lives has always fallen on my shoulders. From family vacations and PCS moves to weekend family time and kids’ sports carpools, it has been my job to manage it all. Retirement planning is no different.
Marine Corps officers don’t have the option to stay on active duty indefinitely. They are evaluated by a promotion board when they reach the timeframe for their next rank. The board decides whether they’ll be promoted, and officers get two chances. If an officer isn’t selected for promotion twice in a row and has already served more than 20 years, their retirement date is set automatically, giving them just six months to transition out.
Developing a Plan for Military Retirement
Being in the military can be all-encompassing, and my husband has always been deeply committed to his service. His single-minded focus on the mission meant I took care of everything else at home. So his retirement came as a surprise to both of us. He had been living his dream as a Marine for over two decades until quite suddenly the Marine Corps decided it was time for him to retire. When he received notice that he hadn’t been selected for promotion, our dreams were forced to shift. Reaching the next rank would have given us financial freedom and would have allowed us to save for our forever home. But instead of planning our retirement on our own terms, we had just six months to map out our post-military life.
It was a whirlwind of stress, excitement, and overwhelm. As the planner, I dove into research mode. My husband was required to take a retirement class before his official retirement date, but he wasn’t given a seat until two weeks before his terminal leave began. With such limited time to process the information and plan, I decided to attend the spouse transition seminar offered by the Marine Corps. This was a critical step in helping us prepare for separation.
Military Spouse Retirement Class
As a military spouse, you transition from military life to the civilian world just as your servicemember does, so it is important to be prepared. The Marine Corps offers a seminar called the Spouse Transition and Readiness Seminar (STARS), something not all military branches provide. Access to this class is important for spouses since it covers crucial information for navigating the transition process. If your branch doesn’t offer a similar course, check out MilSpouse Transition resources. The seminar was incredibly informative — I only wish I had attended it years earlier.
In my opinion, spouses should take this class at least two years before their servicemember’s anticipated retirement date. Since my husband wasn’t able to attend the servicemember’s seminar early on, I relayed a lot of what I learned from the spouse class to him. There is overlap in the information in both classes, and having it early allowed me to support him better as he processed this life change.
Additionally, the transition checklist from AAFMAA was a lifesaver in helping us stay organized for a successful move into civilian life. It is the best military retirement checklist I have found. It starts three years out from your separation or retirement, so you can begin planning and checking all the boxes well in advance of your exit from service.
Retirement Is Just a New Adventure Together
Financially, things worked out for us, largely because we had already done a good job of building up our savings.
My first step to supporting our family’s transition out of the military was to go into saving mode. I looked for ways to save more money, so we had a financial cushion in place.
We were able to live temporarily in our new location while my husband attended interviews where we wanted to settle. Now, I make a point of trying to cheer him on and remind him he’s experiencing the best of both worlds. Being a Veteran comes with a lot of pride and valuable benefits. He is becoming more content — and less stressed — every day.
While the timeline of transitioning can be daunting, uncertain, and even longer than expected, it’s not unlike military life itself. You just have to treat transition like any other deployment: You have a mission to put down roots quickly and weather whatever challenges arise. As military spouses, we’ve navigated storms before, and we have the skills to do it again.
About Jaimi Erickson
Jaimi is a mom of 4, military wife, and writer. She blogs about motherhood, kids activities and homemaking tips at The Stay-at-Home Mom Survival Guide. Connect with her on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
