WASHINGTON (AP) - It sounds like a pretty good deal: Retire at age 38 after 20 years of work and get a monthly pension of half your salary for the rest of your life. All you have to do is join the military.
As the nation tightens its budget belt, the century-old military retirement system has come under attack as unaffordable, unfair to some who serve and overly generous compared with civilian benefits.
That very notion, laid out in a Pentagon-ordered study, sent a wave of fear and anger through the ranks of current and retired military members when it was reported in the news media this month.
If pensions are to be cut, Congress should go first, one person said on the Internet.
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If pensions are to be cut, Congress should go first, one person said on the Internet
ReplyDeleteThat was me lol
That means 83 percent of service members don't get a pension, even after serving for 10 or 15 years, while 17 percent do get one.
ReplyDeleteOnly 17 percent gets a pension to begin with.
I don't think pensions should be touched at all. Maybe chipping in a little for health care, that may help some.
And from what I have heard about V.A. hospitals, they are not all that great to begin with.
With all the millionaires in congress, they shouldn't even need a salary or pension or health care.
Ben Franklin once said elected officials should not be paid, but of course the others disagreed.
Sullivan dismissed the idea that the average military retiree becomes enriched by the system, saying few go to work for big defense contractors or find other high-paying jobs. More commonly, a retiree might get about $1,400 monthly in pension pay and a second career that earns $50,000 or $60,000 annually, he said.
ReplyDeleteNot a whole lot to begin with.
Congressional pensions should be cut first.
ReplyDeleteIt's the least we as a nation can do for these exceptional people. 20 years in service to thios country is a lifetime for some.
ReplyDeleteJust another attack on one of the things the democrats hate. A man or women serving their country in an honorable way and being true patriots. Exact opposite of everything the democrats stand for. Weaken the military to such a sad state that there will be no problems when they decide we don't need elections anymore.
ReplyDeletemaybe our military will do as others and clean house in DC! Wow what an idea! They get their salary after only serving one term! Pot calling kettle black!
ReplyDeleteMy pension is 75% of what my salary was.I don't see where 50% is a great big deal.After all ,they risked their life for us in many cases.They deserve more.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have written on another thread about this subject that I thought the pension system was very generous--only having to stay in 20 years before one can retire--I can see the problem if we do away with the current system: We would have a very hard time finding people to serve, particularly for 20 years. Yes, we all appreciate the valor that servicemen and -women exhibit, but the issue is about money.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can tell, most of the people advocating the reduction in pensions for the military are the same ones who think military service is beneath them, have never served in the military, look down on the military, and usually have sucked at the public trough their whole lives. If someone shot at THEM, they would crap their pants and cry like a baby girl. A loud NOISE would terrify them. Carrying an 80lb pack up a mountain, in the rain, while being shot at by snipers, is something those sissies wouldn't and couldn't do. But they LOVE their freedom. Try twenty years in the military. If you still have all your limbs and and your health is still good, retirement may be something you'd consider. And DESERVE. It sure as hell ain't like retiring after 20 years in the Department of Commerce. Or that cesspool of Congress.
ReplyDelete4:44
ReplyDeleteso you think that congress is ok with their pensions and dont have to stay in more than one term to get it
Leave the military alone! Unless you have served your 20 years, then you have a right to discuss the pension.
ReplyDeleteCongress needs to cut their own pension and health insurance first.(LOL) Kick all of the lobbyist out of Washington, listen to the people who elected them,then maybe, they can find the correct way to run this nation.
I know...I am in lala land.