1. The 6- and 8-Year Rules
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2. 10 U.S. Code §12731. Age and service requirements.
The 6- and 8-Year Rules
10 U.S. Code § Age and service requirements.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), a person is entitled, upon application, to retired pay computed under
section of this title, if the person-
(1) has attained the eligibility age applicable under subsection (f) to that person;
(2) has performed at least 20 years of service computed under section of this title;
(3) in the case of a person who completed the service requirements of paragraph (2) before April 25, 2005,
performed the last six years of qualifying service while a member of any category named in section 12732(a)(1) of
this title, but not while a member of a regular component, the Fleet Reserve, or the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve,
except that in the case of a person who completed the service requirements of paragraph (2) before October 5,
1994, the number of years of such qualifying service under this paragraph shall be eight; and
(4) is not entitled, under any other provision of law, to retired pay from an armed force or retainer pay as a
member of the Fleet Reserve or the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve.
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3. The 6- and 8-Year Rules
10 U.S. Code § Entitlement To Retired Pay: Computation Of Years Of Service
(a)Except as provided in subsection (b), for the purpose of determining whether a person is entitled to retired pay under section of this title, the person’s years of service are computed by adding the following:
(1)The person’s years of service, before July 1, 1949, in the following:
(A)The armed forces.
(B)The federally recognized National Guard before June 15, 1933.
(C)A federally recognized status in the National Guard before June 15, 1933.
(D)The National Guard after June 14, 1933, if his service therein was continuous from the date of his enlistment in the National Guard, or his Federal recognition as an officer therein, to the date of his enlistment or appointment, as the case may be, in the National Guard of the United States, the Army National Guard of the United States, or the Air National Guard of the United States.
(E)The Navy Reserve Force.
(F)The Naval Militia that conformed to the standards prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy.
(G)The National Naval Volunteers.
(H)The Army Nurse Corps, the Navy Nurse Corps, the Nurse Corps Reserve of the Army, or the Nurse Corps Reserve of the Navy, as it existed at any time after February 2, 1901.
(I)The Army under an appointment under the Act of December 22, 1942 (ch. 805, 56 Stat. 1072).
(J)An active full-time status, except as a student or apprentice, with the Medical Department of the Army as a civilian employee—
(i)in the dietetic or physical therapy categories, if the service was performed after April 6, 1917, and before April 1, 1943; or
(ii)in the occupational therapy category, if the service was performed before appointment in the Army Nurse Corps or the Women’s Medical Specialist Corps and before January 1, 1949, or before appointment in the Air Force before January 1, 1949, with a view to designation as an Air Force nurse or medical specialist.
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4. Present Day
Reserve component members who attain twenty qualifying years on or after April 25, 2005 have no minimum reserve component service requirement.
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5. Twentieth Qualifying Year Completed on 1 June 1991.
Example 1
Twentieth Qualifying Year Completed on 1 June 1991.
14 Years (Regular Army)
6 Years (National Guard)
20 Years Total Service
8-Year rule applies. 2 years of service still required before twenty-year letter will be issued.
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6. Twentieth Qualifying Year Completed on 1 June 1995.
Example 2
Twentieth Qualifying Year Completed on 1 June 1995.
14 Years (Regular Army)
6 Years (National Guard)
20 Years Total Service
6-Year rule applies. Twenty-year letter will be issued.
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7. Twentieth Qualifying Year Completed on 1 June 2005.
Example 3
Twentieth Qualifying Year Completed on 1 June 2005.
16 Years (Regular Army)
4 Years (National Guard)
20 Years Total Service
Neither 8-Year nor 6-Year rule applies. Twenty-year letter will be issued.
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