November 25, 2015

Military retirement is going to look a lot different in 2018.

In order to provide up to a five percent government match to servicemembers’ federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) accounts, military retirement will be cut by 20 percent for new service entrants starting that year, as will their future disability retirement calculation.

The new blended retirement system comes with lots of unpredictable variables, including fund choice, return rates, member contributions, inflation, cost-of-living increases, the economy, etc. Servicemembers will be taking on much more responsibility for managing their own retirement and need to be informed about their financial options.

If you entered the service in 2006 or later, you’ll have a choice between keeping the current retirement plan or electing the new one. In that case, you’ll want to know all of the considerations involved, and discuss them with your peers and family.

To help servicemembers thinking about these issues, MOAA is offering a webinar on the ins and outs of the new system. We invite you, your spouse, and your fellow servicemembers to sit in on the webinar on Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. EST.

Registration is free and open to the public. Don’t miss this opportunity to start getting smart on the choices and their pros and cons.