Mission Transition: Managing Your Career and Your Retirement

by Janet I. Farley

Overview

Change is a given in the United States military, but the soon to be applied “Blended Retirement System” is a financial change like no other the military has ever experienced. It is a huge deal that will not only affect the wallets of many active duty service members today and certainly 100% of them beginning in 2018, but it could also have a significant impact on future recruiting and retention of our volunteer military force.

Mission Transition: Managing Your Career and Your Retirement is a needed introduction of the military’s new “Blended Retirement System,” representing the big shift in how the DoD manages military retirements. In the process, it encourages service members to adopt the new concept of retirement in the military, improve their own financial literacy, and assume responsibility for their own retirement planning. Finally, it provides new civilian job survival tips and strategies for service members in the process of leaving the military for civilian life.

For those who are contemplating joining the armed forces and who wish to better understand the myriad of changes to the overall military retirement system this is the ideal guide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442281615
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/27/2017
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	6.24(w) x 9.34(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Janet I. Farley, EdM, is a long-time respected career transition expert within the greater military community. She offers military service members and their families her own brand of compassionate yet straight-forward career management and job search advice via her books and articles. Farley is a freelance writer whose work has appeared nationally in such publications as Military Officer, Making It in the MilLife®(MOAABlogs.org), Career Connections (NMSN.org)Military Kids’ Life, Military Transition News, Military OneSource, Military Money, ClearanceJobs.com, Stars and Stripes, CinCHouse.com, CivilianJobNews.com, Military Spouse Magazine, Army Wife Network, The Wall Street Journal, Sierra Vista Herald, and The Citizen Newspaper among others. She is an employment panel expert for the National Military Spouse Network (www.nmsn.org) and the author of several advice books targeted to the military community, including Military Life 101: Basic Training for New Military Families (R&L, 2016), The Military Spouse’s Employment Guide, The Military-to-Civilian Career Transition Guide, and Quick Military Transition Guide. She is also a co-author of the award winning book, Stories Around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom and Strength in Military Life. Visit her online at www.janetfarley.com or follow her on Twitter @mil2civguide.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1: The Changing Definition of Retirement in the Military
1: Retirement: One Word. Two Definitions
2: A Crash Course Plus in the Blended Retirement System
Part 2: Moving from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
3: The Space in Between Worlds
4: Job Hunting 101: Practical Tips to Help You Get Hired
Part 3: Making Your New Normal Work
5: Strategies for Success on the New Job
Conclusion
Appendix A: Online Resource Links
Appendix B: Glossary

Editorial Reviews

Janet Farley has been writing about military service members, veterans and military spouses for many years. Mission Transition: Managing Your Career and Your Retirement takes advantage of this experience and provides yet another beneficial edition of advice for military families.

Bill Scott

The author of this straightforward, very helpful work follows her accessible Military Life 101: Basic Training for New Military Families (2016) with this essential resource. Farley’s qualifications as a postmilitary career-transition expert are especially necessary because beginning in January 2018, the 'Blended Retirement System' will affect the immediate and long-range financial planning of all service members, whether or not they stay in until retirement. Service members will need to choose whether to keep their current retirement plan or enroll in a plan that more closely resembles that of the private sector, expanded to a government-run 401(k) retirement account. This book will help service members improve their financial literacy and assume responsibility for planning for retirement. In addition, Farley provides postservice job strategies, some of which will be useful for civilians contemplating joining the armed forces. Online links, a glossary, and notes enhance this single volume’s value. Recommended for public libraries and academic libraries, as both serve members of the armed forces.

Booklist

In Mission Transition: Managing Your Career and Your Retirement, Janet Farley's meticulous research and clear presentation make sense of a complex topic, one that is absolutely essential for military members and families to understand. Readers will feel they've had the new pension system explained to them – top to bottom – by a trusted friend, because they have.

Terri Barnes

I read this book with the great wisdom that hindsight provides. I retired from the Air Force years ago. Janet Farley’s work is comprehensive and her words hit multiple targets in me as they will in you even though you may not realize it yet. As a financial guy, understanding the money issues is critical. The transition pointers are spot-on practical. The emotional impacts of transition—powerful and require your undivided attention. A must read for those planning to leave the Service someday.

Shane 'strom

Janet Farley has crafted an outstanding guide to the military transition. First, she covers all the crucial details of the military's new Blended Retirement System. Next, she takes you through the latest networking skills for the job search. If you're still filling out applications then you need to update your tactics. Finally, she's crafted an essential guide to surviving the hardest part of the transition: the first 100 days on the new job. Avoid the painful hassles, mistakes, and dead ends: read the book.

Doug Nordman

The author of this straightforward, very helpful work follows her accessible Military Life 101: Basic Training for New Military Families (2016) with this essential resource. Farley’s qualifications as a postmilitary career-transition expert are especially necessary because beginning in January 2018, the 'Blended Retirement System' will affect the immediate and long-range financial planning of all service members, whether or not they stay in until retirement. Service members will need to choose whether to keep their current retirement plan or enroll in a plan that more closely resembles that of the private sector, expanded to a government-run 401(k) retirement account. This book will help service members improve their financial literacy and assume responsibility for planning for retirement. In addition, Farley provides postservice job strategies, some of which will be useful for civilians contemplating joining the armed forces. Online links, a glossary, and notes enhance this single volume’s value. Recommended for public libraries and academic libraries, as both serve members of the armed forces.

Booklist

I read this book with the great wisdom that hindsight provides. I retired from the Air Force years ago. Janet Farley’s work is comprehensive and her words hit multiple targets in me as they will in you even though you may not realize it yet. As a financial guy, understanding the money issues is critical. The transition pointers are spot-on practical. The emotional impacts of transition—powerful and require your undivided attention. A must read for those planning to leave the Service someday.

Shane Ostrom