Military Is Overhauling Its Retirement Systems<br />The new system still offers a monthly pension, but one calculated using a formula<br />that reduces it by 20 percent, said Michael Meese, a retired Army brigadier general and chief operating officer of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association, a nonprofit group that provides insurance and other financial services to military members.<br />The system needed updating, the commission said, because the military’s current pension system leaves<br />the vast majority of service members with no retirement savings when they leave the military.<br />Both Mr. Andrews and Mr. Meese suggested that people who knew for sure<br />that they did not want to stay in the military for 20 years would probably benefit from switching to the blended system.<br />Service members with less than 12 years of service, however, must decide whether to move to the new system or remain in the old one.<br />“If someone is at the 10-year point,” he said, “it’s much less risky to stay in the old system than if you’re one to two years in.”<br />Those who are unsure of their plans, Mr. Meese said, have some hard thinking to do.
