What do you think of a military retirement system closer to a 401K?
"The Army has cut 22,000 soldiers from its ranks this year with plans to trim 20,000 more next year.
Cuts had largely come through attrition and reductions in recruiting, which mostly affected low-ranking enlisted soldiers. But this summer, the cuts began to affect officers as well, including 1,188 captains and 550 majors. Some of those officers found out they would have to leave the service while they were deployed to Afghanistan, even if they were intending on making a career of the military. All must be out by April.
Initially, before they took place, the Army announced that the officer cuts would target officers with evidence of poor performance or misconduct.
But an internal Army briefing disclosed by a military website in September obtained by The New York Times showed the majority of captains being forced out had no blemishes on their records. Instead, it found that officers who had joined the Army as enlisted soldiers were three times as likely as captains who graduated from West Point to be forced to retire.
It is believed that officers who were prior enlisted are being pushed out because they are entitled to more pay and are eligible for retirement earlier, since they have more time in service than other commissioned officers."
Just another way for the Federal Government to steal your money.Â
They have been stealing Social Security funds for decades now. The IOUs are starting to come due, and there is not anything to pay those IOUs with, and they CONTINUE to plunder the fund.
The new MyRA that the president is pushing is a Ponzi scheme as well. They take your money and buy our own Federal debt with it. Seeing as how badly Federal T-Bills are performing, the expected rate of return on these is pessimistic at best. Good luck trying to live on whatever (if anything) you can get back when you want to retire.
Better to just buy precious metals than have your "money" (1s and 0s) in a bank that is accessible to the government. Don't believe the government will take your money? Talk to those in Cyprus and the EU...
"The Army has cut 22,000 soldiers from its ranks this year with plans to trim 20,000 more next year.
Cuts had largely come through attrition and reductions in recruiting, which mostly affected low-ranking enlisted soldiers. But this summer, the cuts began to affect officers as well, including 1,188 captains and 550 majors. Some of those officers found out they would have to leave the service while they were deployed to Afghanistan, even if they were intending on making a career of the military. All must be out by April.
Initially, before they took place, the Army announced that the officer cuts would target officers with evidence of poor performance or misconduct.
But an internal Army briefing disclosed by a military website in September obtained by The New York Times showed the majority of captains being forced out had no blemishes on their records. Instead, it found that officers who had joined the Army as enlisted soldiers were three times as likely as captains who graduated from West Point to be forced to retire.
It is believed that officers who were prior enlisted are being pushed out because they are entitled to more pay and are eligible for retirement earlier, since they have more time in service than other commissioned officers."
I think the system needs some revamping, but looking at these proposals worries me. I think they devalue the system and will do very little for retention.
I think if they considered a contribution to the service members TSP at each enlistment/reenlistment point then combine that with a reduction in the multiplier, say 2.0 per year served versus 2.5 would give the members something for their future even if they don't serve a full 20. Granted they can't touch that money until age 59 1/2, but it will be there growing for them over the years, not to mention if they leave the service they will be able to roll that money over to their own personal IRA, employer 401(k) and then have more control over it's growth.
They should also consider matching contributions to the TSP, just like GS civilians get. Congress authorized matching contributions already.Â
Just some thoughts. I'm no financial wizard but surely they could garner some savings and still maintain the 'retirement incentive' of continued service.
Here's a link
Better link;
After years of silence on the intensely controversial issue of military retirement reform, the Pentagon on Thursday unveiled a detailed proposal for fundamental, far-reaching changes to the current ...