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Military Retirement: Possible Changes Merit Further Evaluation

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date Nov. 15, 1996
Report No. NSIAD-97-17
Subject
Summary:

Payments to military retirees and their survivors totaled $29 billion in fiscal year 1996. Various factors, including the end of the Cold War, defense downsizing, changes in civilian retirement systems, and increasing federal budgetary constraints, have raised questions about whether the military retirement system today best meets the needs of the Pentagon and members of the armed forces. A number of analysts, including several who participated in a roundtable discussion convened by GAO, believe that fundamental changes to the military retirement system could increase its effectiveness or reduce costs by yielding a force of different composition and size than exists today. The suggestions of the GAO panel, which included Defense Department experts and compensation analysts, ranged from earlier vesting of retirement benefits to more sweeping reforms, such as placing military personnel under a system similar to the Federal Employees Retirement System.

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