Summary: Members of the Armed Forces can retire at any age after 20 years of service. The Department of Defense (DOD) justifies this length of service as necessary to retain a young and vigorous force and attract and retain servicemen. DOD uses a competitive promotion system which precludes most military members from serving full careers and must, by law, retire officers who have been passed over for promotion or who reach a certain age. Since their careers could end in the middle of their potential worklife, DOD believes military members need the assurance of early retirement benefits.
In fiscal year 1975, officers retired at an average age of 46 after about 24 years of service, and enlisted personnel retired at an average age of 41 after approximately 21 years of service. Most fiscal year 1975 retirees' career time was spent in occupations not demanding exceptional youth and vigor. In fact, 81 percent of the enlisted member retirees and 30 percent of the officers spent their entire careers in non-combat-related occupations. The 20-year retirement provision should be discontinued for many military personnel in occupations not demanding exceptional youth and vigor. Twenty-year retirement, in conjunction with present personnel management policies, is an inefficient means of attracting new members, causes the services to retain more members than are needed up to the 20-year point, provides too strong an incentive for experienced personnel to leave after serving 20 years, and makes it impossible for the vast majority of members to serve full careers.
