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High-3 to High-5?
Military retirement pay is calculated, in part, on the average basic pay over a service member’s three highest earning years in uniform, almost always the last three. As part of a larger reform in government retirement, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said $2.1 billion could be saved over 10 years if retirement pay was calculated on average basic pay over a service member’s five highest earning years in uniform.
The CBO envisions applying the change to those who retire starting Jan. 1, 2015. The net effect would be an average 3 percent reduction in the lifetime value of military retired pay.
Military retirement pay is calculated, in part, on the average basic pay over a service member’s three highest earning years in uniform, almost always the last three. As part of a larger reform in government retirement, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said $2.1 billion could be saved over 10 years if retirement pay was calculated on average basic pay over a service member’s five highest earning years in uniform.
The CBO envisions applying the change to those who retire starting Jan. 1, 2015. The net effect would be an average 3 percent reduction in the lifetime value of military retired pay.
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 6
This should not apply to Soldiers with a Basic Active Service Date prior to the date of the retirement law change. Precedence is that changes made to retirement in a negative way do not apply to Soldiers on active duty or return to active duty in a way that the date used for retirement calculations. Look at implementation of the 15-year payment and retirement calculation with lower percentage with a one-time adjustment, change from high-pay to the high-three (got me on that by about 2-months prior to DEP), or changes in calculation of leave payment back 1974 or 1975.
This is saving money at the expense of Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen serving in combat environments. Not likely to be a positive for politicians seeking reelection in areas with large military voting populations.
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Lt Col Luis A. Rojas
I concur...those already on active duty should and probably will be grandfathered.
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I did the math on it, looking at several pay grades and lengths of service. The cut does not seem that drastic, but on principle I don't support any cut to military may or benefits that is not preceded by cuts to congressional pay and benefits.
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I have to agree with MSG Lange and hope he is correct. The three current retirement plans, really four when you include redux, were all based on BASD. Also I can't see anything perceived as being bad for the Soldiers passing. That is the political world we live in.
And I'm retiring in just under two years so they better hold off!
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