Military Retirement Move Overseas and Pension Timelines

After retirement, the military will move your household goods to an overseas location - it's true! 

And so long as the cost is advantageous to the government, they might even do it for free. In our case, we were moving from Okinawa to Thailand, which must've been far cheaper than it would have been to move us back to my home of record. USMC-Specific: The move process begins in the OBI, or Outbound Interview module, within Marine Online. Once you have your home of selection established, your administration section or center can issue your "DMO orders," which can only be used specifically for the purpose of...you guessed it - visiting DMO and getting your move request in the system. A few recommendations: 1. Get those DMO orders and visit DMO at about 6 months out to get ahead of any peak season hurdles...DMO and all of their contracted moving teams get EXTREMELY busy in the summer months. 2. Peruse the Joint Travel Regulations. 3. Become familiar with the import/customs rules for your home of selection. Visas are another huge item...but I'll assume that you've already thought of that since you are gearing up for the DMO phase. When it comes to military retirement pay, the following may or may not apply, depending on your unique situation: 1. Active duty military retirement pension begins +30 days after date of separation...DO get on MyPay to adjust those tax withholdings as needed to avoid a potential HUUUUGE tax burden at the end of the year. *Do be prepared with a login and password for this system - and DO NOT think that you will be able to utilize your CAC after separation. 2. VA compensation, as applicable, should begin +60 days after your date of separation...but this assumes that the member utilized the BDD, or Benefits Delivery at Discharge, claim prior to separation. Please, if you can, do the BDD claim, rather than a Fully-developed Claim, as those take longer to process. Apply for Retirement Pay: https://www.dfas.mil/RetiredMilitary/forms/#1ApplyRet Joint Travel Regulations: https://www.travel.dod.mil/Policy-Regulations/Joint-Travel-Regulations/ Benefits Delivery at Discharge: https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/when-to-file/pre-discharge-claim/