For some agencies, the computer that reads your resume is merciless in culling out resumes that are highly qualified, but don’t have the right words in the right places.
I retired from the US Navy in February of 2000, having entered the military in February of 1979 and had a 13 month break in service. There were no contributions towards military retirement and had I left the service prior to 20 years active service, there would be no pension at all.
Fortunately, this has changed to some degree. In 2001 military members could invest in Thrift Savings Plan. The alternative is to complete their service by going into the Guard or Reserve and get the half pension from that retirement when they turn 60.
You want a government job? Other posters have given you tips about filling out forms, but here’s a good online source:
http://www.gogovernment.org/how_to_apply/index.php
After looking at your posting, I’d reccommend that you should try to improve your spelling.
I’ve been working for the feds for 43 years. I’ve filled out hundreds of these (fortunately it’s online now so there’s much less typing) when i want to switch jobs due to a BRAC or a RIF (I’ve been through 4). Do you really think that people only hire their buddies? It’s tough and everyone who wants a government job has to work just as hard as everyone else.
Canada has been on the forefront of pension reform - as a result, stories like some airline pilots or Detroit workers are rare - where they retire to find their pension fund incapable of meeting its obligations (and a bankrupt employer walking away).
Pension funds must do an actuarial assessment every three years and show a plan to get the plan topped up within 5 years if deficit (and “we’ll pay it all in 5 years” doesn’t hack it). Plans are run by an independent 3rd party, typically an trust company, not the employer’s accounting department. They must invest in a safe collection of investments; the trick of printing company stock and putting it in the pension fund does not work.
Canada also recognized the problem of people not staying in one job for a long time; as a result, they changed the rules. the company I used to work at had a 10-years to vest requirement. Canadian law now vests you in 2 years - whatever your pension calculation, you get the amount (when you turn 65) that you’ve earned. You also at a certain point have the option of taking the net present value of your pension instead, putting it in a locked-in RRSP (like a 401K) hat you can’t touch until age 65.
Despite these advances (from IIRC about 1990) a huge number of Canadians will retire with nothing but their government old-age pension.
But yes, when you were in the military, whether you make an explicit contribution or not, your pay was lower for the possibility that they must budget for, that they would also have to pay you a pension. Perhaps not as low as it could have been based, since they took the statistical gamble that X% of enlisted men do not stay long enough to collect anything; but if you put in 19 years and get nothing, then your employer is certainly ripping you off - morally if not legally.
Oh, and Canadians have free health care, and despite debate claims to the contrary, it’s pretty good. And did I mention it’s free?
Recommend. 
Thank you dear. I knew as soon as I posted that I’d stick my foot in it. :o
This has little to do with either the post I made or the post to which my post was in response. The US military pension was not “money already earned”.
Just to be clear, that TSP for military is non-matching. So while it’s not a bad deal, 0% of that is from the government/military.
And reservists don’t get half pension. It’s decidedly less than half. Still not a bad deal, but it’s not what folks imagine.
TSP took the place of the savings bond program.
Reserve retirement is determined by a formula which includes time in service, the number of days of training or activation and rank. It is not a simple matter of a percentage of base pay. And you have to wait until you are 60 to see a penny of it.
I’m not tracking on this one.
The savings bond program still exists, and nothing has changed about it that I’m aware of, other than you can no longer get a physical bond. And the money one put into them was never tax deferred (as in a traditional TSP), and the interest isn’t exempt either (as in a Roth TSP).
So I don’t understand how TSP “took the place” of savings bonds. What am I missing?
My mistake. Once I left active it wasn’t offered to continue. The TSP wasn’t available to the guard for a while after that and when it was I thought had replaced the bond program.
For those who join the new blended retirement system, TSP will be matched up to 5%. I imagine for midcareer service members who have an option to opt-in to the new system, it could be a very complex decision between the TSP changes, the retention pay, and the other changes.
For mid-career Service members who intend to stay to 20, it’s an absolute no-brainer to stay in the current system. Since the current system is cliff vested, it certainly is a no-brainer to go to the new system if you’re going to get out and not go into the Drilling Reserve. The new system for Drilling Reservists is a complete mess. I’ve studied it and I’m expected to be one of the experts, and it’s a challenge for me and there are unanswered questions.
The big issue within DoD is what happens if the TSP take rates are very low. While that will big a savings to the government, there is a concern that Congress may feel the need to step in and “save” the Service members that didn’t contribute or didn’t contribute enough to TSP. From personal experience, I’m amazed at the number of fellow Service members that haven’t contributed a dime to TSP, even senior people. One could argue that’s because of the safety net provided by the current retirement system. I’d say it’s because we are a spender nation. We’ll see.
Muphry’s law
You’re new, so you get a pass this time, but it’s Gaudere’s Law.
Don’t you mean ‘Guadree’s Law’?
It’s not vested until the years of service cutoff. But it’s certainly earned.
For my time on the military, retirement pay was not vested nor was it earned until one hit the 20 year mark. Yes, that is a cruddy system.
I don’t think it is a cruddy system. I have a guaranteed income every month for the rest of my life.