Retirement Services - Osan Air Base

M Updated
Retiree Cap in Osan, South Korea
Retirement Celebration in Osan, South Korea
Soldier handshake the Retired General in Osan, South Korea

Installation Listings

Installation Listing Category

Geographical Address

City
Duty Station(s)
Public Address
Building #936 APO, AP, Korea 96278

Contact Info

DSN
315-784-0492
COMM
011-82-31-661-0492
Operating Hours
Please call for an appointment.

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Pre-Retirement Services Provided

Planning

The most important part of retirement is careful and thoughtful planning that starts well before the expected retirement date. Waiting until "the last minute" means an active duty career that ends with stress, confusion and unhappy memories to mar an otherwise memorable career of positive accomplishments. Soldiers considering retirement should contact their S1 or the area Transition Center to get important information regarding retirement options.

Once you've reached a decision to retire, your first stop should be the Retirement Services Office. There are many factors to consider in preparing for retirement. The most important is money. Besides your military pay, you are receiving benefits either in the form of allowances such as for housing and cost of living, or payment in kind (on-post housing, free utilities, etc.).

In retirement, your pay is cut drastically and the extra allowances disappear; the RSO is able to provide you an idea of what your retirement income will be. Another place to visit is the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) to determine what services are offered to help you prepare for a new career as you leave the military. You'll very likely need a paycheck to supplement the military retired pay and ACAP can lead you to the education and training you'll need to embark on a civilian career.

Another source of additional income may be available in the form of disability payments from the military, from the VA, or from both. So it's important, in preparing for retirement, to ensure that your medical records have completely documented any medical conditions that could have resulted in a current form of long-term disability, or that could affect you in the future. The problems could have been the result of combat, or training for combat, or simply those that occurred during the routine performance of your official duties. An accurate record of your military assignments is also very important. This is particularly true in the case of overseas assignments to combat areas where exposure to hazards may have occurred.

A prime example of this is the exposure to Agent Orange for those who served in Vietnam. Long after that war ended and many Soldiers separated or retired, health problems were revealed that were related to spraying the Agent Orange defoliant. Health problems such as diabetes, skin cancer, and prostate cancer led them to file disability claims resulting in disability payments from the VA plus increased military retired pay in the form of Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) or Concurrent Retired Disability Pay (CRDP). What are these? Your Transition Center will tell you about these and other important considerations as part of your pre-retirement briefings and RSO counseling sessions. To apply for CRSC, the DD Form 2860 (fillable) is used.

Keep in mind also that qualifying for disability pay could result in higher payments if you have a family. Also, a disability rating with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could provide VA annuity payments to survivors in the case of your death if the cause of death can be connected to a rated disability.

 

Preparing

Preparing for retirement is a family affair. If you're married, your spouse must be fully involved in all aspects of your retirement planning and preparation and needs to know the important information -- what benefits will be available, what kind of civilian job you will have, what assistance is available to prepare for a civilian job, what educational benefits are available -- so that she or he has a vote on decisions that affect her or his life.

To assist you, the Transition Center in each Army Area in Korea provides briefings on pre-retirement -- the important considerations of transitioning from active duty to retired status -- and ensuring your family's secure financial future.

Some retirees serving in Korea have picked up more than souvenirs of Korea. Some have married here and might be considering staying in Korea. So let's first look at what you need to do to stay here as a retiree, then later we'll look at what it's like to live in Korea as a military retiree.

 

Retirement Services Office Overview

On October 1, 2006, a Retirement Services Office reopened at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul serving pre-retirees and retirees throughout Korea. Seoul Retiree Bulletins from the mid-1980s indicate that a Retirement Services Officer civil service position existed and was occupied by Fred D. Yarborough. Subsequently, the position was taken in 1989 by David Downing, who served for only 8-9 months before the civil service position was transferred to the Army Career and Alumni Program at Yongsan and the RSO position was eliminated. Mr. Downing continued voluntarily serving the Korea retirees and survivors until his death in July 1998.

USAG Yongsan

The Retirement Services Office for Area II is located in the Soldier Support Center (Building 4034, Room 140), Military Personnel Division (MPD), Yongsan South Post, Seoul City, Korea. The RSO is Mr. Mark Wade (DSN: 723-2781). Hours of operation are from 0900 to 1600 hours on the dates the office is open. The dates of operations will be published in advance at the beginning of each month. Anyone requiring RSO services can also contact the RSO to make individual appointments.

Contact Information

RSO USAG Yongsan:

• DSN in Korea:723-3735

• DSN outside Korea: 315-723-3735

• Commercial from anywhere in Korea: 02- 7913-3735 or 05033-233735

• Commercial from outside Korea: +822-7913-3735

• E-mail: usarmy.yongsan.imcom-pacific.list.usag-yongsan-retirement-servic@mail.mil

or [email protected]

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Retirement-Services-Office-Korea/603673916356400

The mailing address is:

Retirement Services Office

USAG, MPD

APO AP 96205-5742

 

Office Operation

USAG Yongsan

• The Retirement Services Officer is Mr. Carl W. Reed, U.S. Army (Retired). He is an experienced Counselor, having spent over 40 years working as a Counselor, Supervisor and Manager in the Human Relation and Transition Field. He is sensitive to the needs of the retirees, their families and their survivors, and readily welcomes the opportunity to provide quality service to them.

• In order to reduce excessive waiting time and ensure quality customer service, appointments are preferred. However, walk-ins are welcome. If the RSO office is not open in your area and immediate assistance is required, call DSN 315 723-3735 or 315 753-3872, Commercial 05033-233735 or 05033-533872.

Pre-Retirement Services Provided

Planning

The most important part of retirement is careful and thoughtful planning that starts well before the expected retirement date. Waiting until "the last minute" means an active duty career that ends with stress, confusion and unhappy memories to mar an otherwise memorable career of positive accomplishments. Soldiers considering retirement should contact their S1 or the area Transition Center to get important information regarding retirement options.

Once you've reached a decision to retire, your first stop should be the Retirement Services Office. There are many factors to consider in preparing for retirement. The most important is money. Besides your military pay, you are receiving benefits either in the form of allowances such as for housing and cost of living, or payment in kind (on-post housing, free utilities, etc.).

In retirement, your pay is cut drastically and the extra allowances disappear; the RSO is able to provide you an idea of what your retirement income will be. Another place to visit is the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) to determine what services are offered to help you prepare for a new career as you leave the military. You'll very likely need a paycheck to supplement the military retired pay and ACAP can lead you to the education and training you'll need to embark on a civilian career.

Another source of additional income may be available in the form of disability payments from the military, from the VA, or from both. So it's important, in preparing for retirement, to ensure that your medical records have completely documented any medical conditions that could have resulted in a current form of long-term disability, or that could affect you in the future. The problems could have been the result of combat, or training for combat, or simply those that occurred during the routine performance of your official duties. An accurate record of your military assignments is also very important. This is particlarly true in the case of overseas assignments to combat areas where exposure to hazards may have occurred.

A prime example of this is the exposure to Agent Orange for those who served in Vietnam. Long after that war ended and many Soldiers separated or retired, health problems were revealed that were related to spraying the Agent Orange defoliant. Health problems such as diabetes, skin cancer, and prostate cancer led them to file disability claims resulting in disability payments from the VA plus increased military retired pay in the form of Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) or Concurrent Retired Disability Pay (CRDP). What are these? Your Transition Center will tell you about these and other important considerations as part of your pre-retirement briefings and RSO counseling sessions. To apply for CRSC, the DD Form 2860 (fillable) is used.

Keep in mind also that qualifying for disability pay could result in higher payments if you have a family. Also, a disability rating with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could provide VA annuity payments to survivors in the case of your death if the cause of death can be connected to a rated disability.

Preparing

Preparing for retirement is a family affair. If you're married, your spouse must be fully involved in all aspects of your retirement planning and preparation and needs to know the important information -- what benefits will be available, what kind of civilian job you will have, what assistance is available to prepare for a civilian job, what educational benefits are available -- so that she or he has a vote on decisions that affect her or his life.

To assist you, the Transition Center in each Army Area in Korea provides briefings on pre-retirement -- the important considerations of transitioning from active duty to retired status -- and ensuring your family's secure financial future.

Some retirees serving in Korea have picked up more than souvenirs of Korea. Some have married here and might be considering staying in Korea. So let's first look at what you need to do to stay here as a retiree, then later we'll look at what it's like to live in Korea as a military retiree.

Retire in Korea

For those retirees who choose to retire in Korea, there are several steps in planning and preparing for retirement in order to legally do this:

• Step 1: Application for permission to retire in Korea must be made as part of the retirement application process. To obtain approval for an in-country retirement, the Soldier must submit a memo to the Area Commander stating the reason for remaining in Korea (job, job search, education, etc). Once that is approved, the next two steps are extremely important.

• Step 2: Obtaining a civilian (blue) passport is necessary for those planning to remain more than 30 days after the effective retirement date. Staying beyond that point is a violation of Korean Immigration laws and will result in a fine. The longer the violation, the higher the fine.

• Step 3: A Korean visa must be obtained in your new passport in order to remain past the 30 days automatically granted to new retirees. As with the passport, if you do not have a current Korean visa, you will be fined for violation of Korean Immigration laws.

 

Pre-Retirement Briefings

• The Transition Center presents two briefings at each pre-retirement session. The first briefing covers the actions that retirees need to take and options they need to consider as part of preparing for retirement. The second briefing specifically covers the Survivor Benefit Plan and the importance of considering this protection for the retiree's family. Links to information on these two topics are provided below so that Soldiers can become familiar with the topics beforehand.

Pre-Retirement Counseling Guide and Briefing

• To aid you in navigating the maze towards retirement and into civilian life, Army Retirement Services has prepared a Pre-Retirement Counseling Guide for you to print off and use as you prepare to retire from the Army. Reviewing the guide will assist you in receiving and understanding the annotated slides presented in the Pre-Retirement Briefing, which can be reviewed before attending the Transition Center presentation. (You may need to download the briefing to review it with Notes displayed.)

Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)

• Ensuring that your family would be provided for in the event of your untimely death is another important consideration. You may become rich and not need the added insurance that the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) provides. However, with the option to disenroll from SBP for a one year period starting two years after you retire, SBP is an important consideration. Army Retirement Services has prepared an annotated briefing to explain the Survivor Benefit Plan, which can also be reviewed before attending the Transition Center presentation. (You may need to download the briefing to review it with Notes displayed.)

• In addition to the above information, and to further assist you in evaluating whether SBP is right for you and your family, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service has prepared some information for you to consider as you prepare for retirement.