Table of Contents

Part 6 - Solution and Implementation 3

Part 7 – Justification 5

Part 8 – Reflection 6

Conclusion 7

Part 6: Solution and Implementation

The current state of the military retirement system was developed during a time when the United States had a small military and the life expediency of a retiree was around a decade after retirement. Unfortunately following the end of World War II the United States has inquired and maintained a large productive military with numbers so large that many of the service members qualify for retirement benefits. Military retirement pay is unlike civilian retirement pay systems. First of all there is no vesting in the military retirement system or no special retirement accounts, with a matching funds provision and no interest. One must either qualify for retirement by honorably serving their country for 20 years or more in the military. If a soldier is discharged from the military with 19 years, 11 months, and 27 days of service, for example, the soldier do not qualify for retirement pay but instead the soldier may be entitled to an early retirement program, these programs are designed to reduce the size of the armed forces. To say the least in many cases our soldiers are living well past the twenty years or span after their retirement from the military and there medical disability discharge. This has resulted in a massive growth in retirement pay and the cost associated with that pay. For the current service member today the personnel costs are approximately forty percent of their annual budget, retiree costs are a large part of those personnel costs. The retirement system for our service member is so inflexible because the member must have vested at least 20 years of service but those members who has less than 20 years of service earn no retirement, so as you can see