Receiving Reserve retired pay at a reduced age 

By Maj. Alishia Mahatoo, Army Retirement Services, U.S. Army Reserve        January 2026

Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers typically begin receiving retired pay at age 60. However, This benefit is known as Reduced Age Retirement (RAR). Soldiers must have received a 20-Year Notice of Eligibility (NOE) from the Human Resources Command (HRC) or a 15-year NOE if medically retired, be transferred to the Retired Reserve, or in the “gray area”, meaning they are officially retired from the reserves but not yet eligible for retired pay due to age. These Soldiers have stopped drilling and completed their service in the RC and remain in the “gray area” until reaching their RAR eligibility age for retired pay.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2008 amended Title 10, U.S. Code, section 12731 to allow Soldiers to receive pay before age 60 to a lesser age but not below 50 for those that served on Active Duty in an eligible status after 28 January 2008. Succeeding NDAAs expanded eligibility as follows; NDAA 2015 authorized qualifying service in any two consecutive fiscal years after 30 September 2014 and is not retroactive, and NDAA 2020 added service under Title 10 USC 12304 (b) to the list of qualifying duty statuses.

Qualifying service includes active duty under the following sections of Title 10 USC:

  • 688, 12301(a), 12302, 12304, 12304(a), 12305, 12406
  • Chapter 15 (insurrection)
  • 12301(d)
  • 12304(b) (added in NDAA 2020)
  • Medical exception, if a Soldier is wounded, injured or becomes ill while serving under a provision of law mentioned above, and then ordered to AD under 12301(h)(1) to receive medical care for the wound, injury or illness.
  • Active Guard Reserve (AGR) duty per Title 10 12310 does not qualify in determining RAR.
  • Full-time National Guard duty under Section 502(f ) for the purpose of responding to either a national emergency declared by the President, or a national emergency supported by Federal funds is qualifying service for reduced age retirement. Note: ASD(M&RA) will designate by authorizing memorandum the full-time National Guard duty that qualifies for reduced age eligibility for receipt of retired pay. ARNG Soldiers should contact their RSO to learn more about specific missions that qualify under 502(f ).

The process for RAR for those eligible under NDAA 2008 includes sending a complete non-regular (reserve) retired pay application packet to the Gray Area Retirements (GAR) Branch at HRC at the website below. Soldier’s RAR packets must also include the following:

  • Orders with the qualifying title and authority code and corresponding DD214/215
  • Leave and Earning Statements (LES) for orders under 90 days HRC-GAR website: https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/ Gray%20Area%20Retirements%20Branch.
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