Serving in the Military a Lot More Lucrative Than the Peace Corps
by John Lawrence, March 7, 2018
- Deferment and Cancellation of Student Loans. ...
- Foreign Language Instruction. ...
- Graduate and Fellowship Opportunities. ...
- Expanded Career Opportunities. ...
- Pay and Living Expenses. ...
- Medical Benefits. ...
- Liberal Vacation Benefits. ...
- Readjustment Allowance.
Here are just a few benefits of serving in the military:
- Educational Benefits - GI Bill, Tuition Assistance, Servicemember Opportunity Colleges, Education on Duty, etc.
- Advanced Technical and Specialty Training
- Cash Bonuses
- Tax-Free Housing & Food Allowances, or Free Room & Board
- 30 Days of Vacation per Year
- Space A Travel - Free flights between bases
- Substantial discounts and deals throughout the private sector (link to Deals center)
- The pride and honor of serving your country
- World travel
- Health & Dental Care for you and your family
- Special deals on Home Loans (VA Loans link)
- Being part of a larger family with a proud history - the military tradition
- Pension
Why is it that military service is valued so much more than Peace Corps service? There is no pension for serving in the Peace Corps. After just 20 years in the military, you can receive over $20,000 for life. So if you went in just after high school you could retire at age 38 having received an education, free health care and a pension. Then you could work another 30 years at a second career. Here's the skinny:
Active duty military members can retire after 20 years of active duty military service. In exchange, they receive military retirement pay for life. How much retirement pay a member receives is based on years of service, and rank.
The military makes it easy to calculate ballpark breakdown of retirement pay using the online calculator found at the official Military Pay website. Every member's retirement pay will differ to some degree due to their length of service and rank, however if you place in the calculator the retirement of an E-8 with twenty years, you will see that the retirement pay will be roughly $22,000 a year for just waking up in the morning.