{"id":49309,"date":"2017-12-19T21:17:23","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T21:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:25:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:25:58","slug":"retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army Sgt. John Bernert, an air traffic controller in the Kentucky National Guard who is about to start warrant officer school, said the numbers make sense for him to stay with the military\u2019s legacy retirement system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have every intention of staying 20 years,\u201d the E-5 said. \u201cThat\u2019s the point of going to warrant officer school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He doesn\u2019t think the new Blended Retirement System\u2019s features are enough to offset the 20 percent reduction in the retirement pay he would receive. Reservists who qualify for retirement start receiving retired pay at age 60.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s risk versus reward,\u201d he said. \u201cThe risk is more than the reward if I do stay 20. If I stay for 20, I will have foregone more than I can ever recoup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bernert has 1,100 reservist retirement points. He entered the Florida Guard in July 2005, after some time in ROTC in college, but has a three-year break in service. He moved to the Kentucky Guard in 2014. All in all, he has nine years of credited service, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using the Defense Department\u2019s BRS calculator, Bernert determined that the numbers are in his favor to stay with the legacy system:<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-brs-or-legacy-well-help-you-find-the-right-path\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIL_BRS_lede-photo.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Retirement Guide: BRS or legacy? We\u2019ll help you find the right path<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">More than 1.6 million service members are eligible to make a choice between the military&#039;s legacy retirement system and the new Blended Retirement System, which goes into effect Jan. 1<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2046, the first year he could get full retirement pay as a reservist, he\u2019d get $21,045 under the legacy system. Under BRS, he\u2019d get $16,836. If he maxed his TSP match under BRS, he\u2019d add $2,298 a year from those added funds, making his highest first-year BRS haul $19,134. There\u2019s a lag in getting those retirement funds in both cases \u2014 retired reservists get retired pay at age 60; money in TSP can be withdrawn starting at age 59\u00bd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His total retirement pay \u2014 if he lives to age 85 \u2014 would be $731,215 under the legacy system. Under BRS, he\u2019d get $584,972. Both figures factor in cost-of-living increases. He\u2019d get another $59,000 or so thanks to returns on TSP DoD matching funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under BRS, he\u2019d also get $82,985 worth of projected investment return from his own contributions, which would include an extra $2,352, representing half of his continuation pay at his 12-year mark. But he doesn\u2019t count that as part of his BRS total: \u201cIf I want to put 5 percent of my Guard pay into my TSP, I can do that regardless of whether I\u2019m in the BRS,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As an E-5, 5 percent of his drill pay adds up to about $30 a month, he said, which means that under BRS, he\u2019d receive \u2014 at most \u2014 about $30 a month from the Defense Department in matching TSP contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cActive duty can benefit a lot more as far as the matching funds to TSP,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Small amounts can add up over time, said JJ Montanaro, a financial adviser with USAA, especially as investments grow. For example, if you contribute $50 a month to your TSP, and it\u2019s matched by DoD, that $100 a month grows to about $50,000 in 20 years, assuming an investment return of 7 percent. If you\u2019re 41 years old when you retire after 20 years, and let it continue to grow, at age 59\u00bd, when you can start withdrawing without penalty, it would have grown to about $178,000, Montanaro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But that\u2019s understating the end result, because as a service member\u2019s pay increases with promotions and time in grade over the years, the same 5 percent will be a percentage of an ever-growing number, Montanaro notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Montanaro talked to Bernert about his decision-making process, and said he agrees with his logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe primarily focused on his current glide path,\u201d Montanaro said. \u201cHe\u2019s relatively certain he will go 20 years. That\u2019s where our conversation focused. I think it\u2019s less about the math than it is about whether someone\u2019s going to serve long enough to qualify for retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bernert has about nine years of service. \u201cHe\u2019s about halfway there, and that makes it easier for me to follow and agree with his logic,\u201d Montanaro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSomeone with one or two years of service could say the same thing \u2014 \u2018I\u2019ll serve for 20 years\u2019 \u2014 but a lot of life can happen between now and then that can get in the way of that, not to mention what could happen with performance, service requirements, and force-shaping issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bernert, who is married and has a 3-month-old son, is already plowing money into his retirement savings through his civilian job with the federal government, where he also works as an air traffic controller. He contributes 10 percent of his salary to his civilian Thrift Savings Plan and gets a 5 percent match from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He hopes to eventually contribute all of his Guard pay to his TSP, he said, once they pay off some bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s doing a good job\u201d in preparing for retirement, Montanaro said. \u201cHe has done retirement planning, to see where he stands. For someone who is 32, that\u2019s pretty unique.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Army Sgt. John Bernert, an air traffic controller in the Kentucky National Guard who is about to start warrant officer school, said the numbers make sense for him to stay with the military\u2019s legacy retirement system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":93137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":85,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[85,15],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3302],"class_list":["post-49309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-retirement","category-pay-benefits"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2MYBXNJ6WNEEFI5KXVQOA5PMTI","arc_canonical_url":"\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Army Sgt. John Bernert, an air traffic controller in the Kentucky National Guard who is about to start warrant officer school, said the numbers make sense for him to stay with the military\u2019s legacy retirement system.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Army Sgt. John Bernert, an air traffic controller in the Kentucky National Guard who is about to start warrant officer school, said the numbers make sense for him to stay with the military\u2019s legacy retirement system.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-19T21:17:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T09:25:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Karen Jowers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Karen Jowers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2017-12-19T21:17:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T09:25:58+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 803,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Military Retirement\",\n\t                \"Pay &amp; Benefits\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career - Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2017-12-19T21:17:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T09:25:58+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Army Sgt. John Bernert, an air traffic controller in the Kentucky National Guard who is about to start warrant officer school, said the numbers make sense for him to stay with the military\u2019s legacy retirement system.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/19\\\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Pay &amp; Benefits\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"pay-benefits\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Military Retirement\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/pay-benefits\\\/military-retirement\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"military-retirement\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Marine Corps Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career - Marine Corps Times","description":"Army Sgt. John Bernert, an air traffic controller in the Kentucky National Guard who is about to start warrant officer school, said the numbers make sense for him to stay with the military\u2019s legacy retirement system.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career","og_description":"Army Sgt. John Bernert, an air traffic controller in the Kentucky National Guard who is about to start warrant officer school, said the numbers make sense for him to stay with the military\u2019s legacy retirement system.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/","og_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","article_published_time":"2017-12-19T21:17:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T09:25:58+00:00","author":"Karen Jowers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Karen Jowers","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career","datePublished":"2017-12-19T21:17:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T09:25:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/"},"wordCount":803,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Military Retirement","Pay &amp; Benefits"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/","name":"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career - Marine Corps Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2017-12-19T21:17:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T09:25:58+00:00","description":"Army Sgt. John Bernert, an air traffic controller in the Kentucky National Guard who is about to start warrant officer school, said the numbers make sense for him to stay with the military\u2019s legacy retirement system.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-guardsman-plans-for-20-year-career\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pay &amp; Benefits","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/","ad_zone":"pay-benefits"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Military Retirement","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/military-retirement\/","ad_zone":"military-retirement"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Retirement Guide: Guardsman plans for 20-year career"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","name":"Marine Corps Times","description":"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization","name":"Marine Corps Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","caption":"Marine Corps Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Retirement_Bernert.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49312,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49309\/revisions\/49312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49309"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=49309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}