GoArmy.com > Army Reserve Prior Service > Army Reserve Benefits

The Army Reserve can help you find great jobs both during and after your term of enlistment. As a veteran of the Army, there are programs and benefits that can help you get ahead in life.

EARNING PROFESSIONAL TRAINING CERTIFICATES

In many Army Reserve jobs you'll have the opportunity to earn professional and trade certifications. Nationally recognized, these certifications can help you succeed in your civilian career.

In the Army Reserve you can choose and train for an MOS that is completely different than your Active Duty MOS. You may want to select something that compliments your civilian job—or something completely opposite. There are over 120 jobs to choose from, and you can leverage the skills you'll gain in any number of ways.

The Army Reserve is committed to taking care of Soldiers — whether they're enlisted or retired. Army Reserve Veterans are entitled to many great benefits that can help them pay for college, finance homes, purchase life insurance and find good jobs.

As a Soldier in the Army Reserve, you can add to your Retirement Pay point total. Your Retirement Pay is based on points earned during both Active Duty (one point per day) and Army Reserve Unit Training, plus certain other activities. After 20 years of service, you will be eligible for full military retirement benefits at the age of 60.

Take a look at the points gained by prior-service Soldiers who transitioned to the Army Reserve.

* Examples based on 6.25 percent interest rate, 3.5 percent expected pay increase, and a 3.0 percent expected cost of living adjustment (COLA) after retirement. Examples should be used as illustration only.

As a Soldier in the Army Reserve, you are eligible to participate in a 401(k)-type retirement savings and investment plan. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is sponsored by the Federal Government and offers the same type of savings and tax benefits that many corporations offer employees. An optional program, TSP enables you to contribute up to 100 percent of your basic pay each pay period, up to the limits established by the Internal Revenue Code. If you contribute to the TSP from your basic pay, you may also contribute from 1 to 100 percent of any incentive or special pay (including bonus pay) you receive. TSP contributions are either tax-deferred or tax-exempt, which means that the money you contribute is taken out of your pay before Federal and state income taxes are withheld, a feature that regular savings accounts cannot offer.