Category Archives: military retirement

Job Risk Mindset After Retirement – What to Consider When Starting Your Second Career

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Forrest Baumhover

While I normally try to write to people looking to either retire or separate, this article is intended for people who plan to retire. However, there are some items of consideration for separating members as well. This article is the … Continue reading →

Posted in financial planning, military, military financial planning, military retirement, military transition, military tsp, retirement planning, transition, westchase financial planning | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Three Things to Consider About a VA Loan

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Forrest Baumhover

1. You can finance up to 100%, but should you?
Lenders generally require a 20% down payment on the purchase of a home, or they will require that the borrower obtain private mortgage insurance. This is to protect the bank’s investment in the case of a default. However, there is another argument that can be made: ‘skin in the game’ is an important consideration. Continue reading →

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What is the Survivor Benefit Plan, and What Does It Mean to Me?

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Forrest Baumhover

When a military retiree passes away, their pension automatically stops. Without a plan to replace this lost income, the family’s quality of life could definitely be at risk. In 1972, Congress established the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and its reserve counterpart under Title 10, specifically to help military retirees and their families protect themselves from the risk of financial loss.

SBP and its reserve component counterpart, RC-SBP, are annuity plans designed to replace a military pension once a military retiree passes. Under SBP, you pay a certain percentage of your retired pay (currently capped at 6.5%) in exchange for the right for your dependents to receive 55 percent of your retirement pay. For example, if you have $1,000 per month in retired pay, you’d pay $65 per month for SBP. When you die, your spouse would receive $550 per month. After 360 months and you reach the age of 70, you are considered ‘paid up’ and there is no additional cost to you.

Here are four unpublished reasons you should strongly consider SBP: Continue reading →

Posted in military, military financial planning, military pension, military retirement, military transition, pension, retirement, sbp, survivor benefit plan, transition, westchase financial planning | 2 Comments

Retirement Journal (Initial Entry)

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Forrest Baumhover

One of the things I wanted to do with this blog is to chronicle the transition from my military career to my new civilian career as a fee-only financial planner in the Tampa Bay area.  One of my 2016 New … Continue reading →

Posted in military financial planning, military pension, military retirement, military transition, retirement, retirement planning, transition, westchase financial planning | Leave a comment