a soldier earned a one-time "praemium" or discharge benefit upon completing his service (sixteen years for the praetorian guard, twenty for regular duty in the army). at the end of augustus's reign, the pension for a praetorian guard was 20,000 sesterces "(hs)", and that of a legionary 12,000. in the 1st century, a legionary's retirement benefit would have amounted to about 12 years of service pay. the "praemium" remained stable until the time of caracalla, who increased it to 20,000 "hs" for a legionary and a higher but unrecorded amount for a praetorian guard.