An article in Stars and Stripes tells us that during his first visit to Afghanistan as the new U.S.. Secretary of Defense, “Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Sunday he is open to altering the military retirement system but would not want changes forced on current or former service members. When a service member asked Carter about potential changes at a troop talk at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, Carter said, ‘I’m of course open to reconsidering the military retirement system. It’s been around for a long time [and] it makes sense to take a look at it.’ He said the retirement system should be attractive to potential recruits and give service members appropriate incentives to either stay in the military or retire at a time that is best for them and DOD. ‘That’s the criterion that I will principally apply when considering these things,’ Carter said. But he believes any mandated changes should only apply to those who join the military in the future.”
Read the entire SECDEF article.
Note: Actual changes to the retirement system would involve a change in law with Congress agreeing on enacting legislation and the incorporation of such changes in legislation signed into law by the President.