DoD Sends Blended Military Retirement Proposal to Congress
By John D. Banusiewicz
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, June 10, 2015 – A Defense Department proposal submitted to Congress today would create what Pentagon officials called a “blended defined benefit and defined contribution” military retirement system.
Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters that the proposal includes elements the department believes are necessary to promote retention, to maintain the all-volunteer force, and to protect service members who retire due to disability.
“The department carefully reviewed proposals offered by the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission as well as Congress,” Warren said. “And in crafting its final recommendation, the department considered all elements of current and potential retirement plans and built a blended system that — in the military judgment of the Department of Defense — best enables us to maintain the readiness of the all-volunteer force.”
Officials believe the proposal will help to give the department the flexibility it needs to manage the force into the future, the colonel said, while helping to ensure that 85 percent of service members will start long-term retirement savings.