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Consequences of Changing the Military Retirement System

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Submitted By fishers19
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Consequences of Changing the Military Retirement System The military retirement system has been largely unchanged since the 1940s. The Defense Business Board says, “The [retirement] system was designed in an era when life spans were shorter, draft era pay was substantially less than civilian sector pay, second careers were less common, and skills acquired during military service were not transferrable to the private sector” (“Modernizing the Military Retirement System”). With national debt exceeding $16 trillion, there is no question that budget cuts need to be made. To reduce debt, the government is considering altering the current military retirement plan. Updating the military retirement system is one way to trim a small amount of spending, but that would come at a great cost to national security. For many service members, the only reason to stay in the military for 20-plus years is for the benefits. When service members retire from the military, they receive healthcare for a minimal fee, tax-free shopping on base, and a pension that pays two-and-a-half percent of their base pay for each year of service. Considering some retire at age 38, the pension can become very costly over the course of one’s life. The normal civilian-sector job does not receive any type of these benefits, but the civilian sector is vastly different from the military. Military members must stay in top physical shape; move every three to four years; deal with multiple deployments to combat zones; be away from their families for six months or more at a time; work up to 16 hours a day seven days a week and without being paid overtime;, and may still be called back to active duty once retired. Jo Rooney states, “The sacrifices these men and women bear are very different [from the private sector] and these differences should be reflected in their compensation” (House Armed Services).

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