Military Careers, Retirement - Air Force Times

Retirees: Moving and Storage

Service members who retire from the military can move anywhere in the continental U.S. at government expense; they do not have to be going to their official home of record.

However, certain restrictions apply for retirees intending to live in Alaska and Hawaii. For those states, as for other locations outside the continental U.S., the government will pay moving expenses only if the location is listed as a retiree’s official home of record or is where the retiree initially was called or ordered to active duty. Filing a final travel settlement voucher with a military finance office constitutes selection of a home.

Retirees do not receive advance pay and allowances, dislocation allowance, move-in allowance or temporary lodging allowances. However, they can get mileage and per diem allowances for the expenses of their move.

Household goods can be shipped from the retiree’s last duty station, any previous stateside duty station or storage area, or any combination of the three. In most cases, retirees have a year from their retirement date to finish moving.

Entitlements, weight allowances and travel allowances are computed the same as in an active-duty, permanent change-of-station move. Retirees can ask to put all or some of their household goods into storage for a year after leaving active duty. The government pays for shipment to the storage site, storage costs and subsequent shipment to the selected home.

Base officials responsible for shipping personal goods choose the storage site, which can be a government or commercial facility. A 12-month limit applies to government-paid storage. It can be extended in exceptional circumstances, such as illness.