Pentagon can't justify reserve retirement overhaul, report says
The Defense Department does not have enough information to overhaul the retirement system for members of the military reserves, the Government Accountability Office concluded in a new report.
Specifically, the report (GAO-04-1005) said that Defense officials do not know how much the available retirement benefits affect retention rates among reservists.
GAO conducted the study because problems with Reserve and National Guard pay and benefits issues have received increased attention in recent months. As hundreds of thousands of reservists have been activated, several proposals have been raised in Congress to adjust their compensation. According to GAO, there are five pending legislative proposals that aim to lower the age when eligible reservists can receive their retirement annuities.
"[Defense] has not established thresholds for attrition attributable to retirement," the report said. Without this information, "it is not possible to assess the extent to which [Defense] is retaining the desired numbers of senior reservists or the extent to which retirement benefits influence decisions to leave or stay in the reserves."
GAO auditors said adjusting the reservist retirement system to make it more attractive could be extremely expensive and should be carefully considered.
The Pentagon requires that active duty and reserve personnel serve for 20 years before they gain full ownership rights to the government contributions made to their retirement accounts. The retirement systems also provide annuities based on 2.5 percent of basic pay for every year served and provide access to the Thrift Savings Plan, a 401(k)-style retirement plan for federal workers.
"Changes, if not evaluated from a total force perspective, could result in a significant increased cost with little or no benefit and may produce unintended consequences on [Defense's] active duty forces," the report said.
GAO called on the Pentagon to determine if reserve attrition rates are actually higher than Defense officials want or expect. If they are higher, GAO recommended a study on how much an adjustment to the retirement system would affect retention rates and how much those adjustments would cost.
Defense Department officials generally agreed with the GAO recommendations. Defense personnel officials noted that the RAND Corp. has been hired to conduct a detailed study of the reserve retirement system, and the results of that project are expected soon.
COMMENTS
- I am a gray area retiree. The age 60 benefits requirement is AGE DISCRIMINATION. MOST retired reservist are being punished because they entered the military at a young age. sean Posted December 27, 2007 8:49 AM
- You people are really screwed up if you think the government cares about us! We gave the the US Government the best years of our lives and they don't give a darn about us!W e are expendable! That shows in their conclusions given here! We deserve the same benefits as our active duty counterparts and more!!! For the great personal sacrifices we give! Think about that! Oh I'm sorry you people in the government don't think!?! GovExec.com reader Posted September 30, 2004 11:55 PM
- The story is missing something else. We all know we have to be 60, the even bigger issue is not retention due to retirement benefits, but retention due to deployments. Yes, it our job to step up to the plate when called upon but to cut Active forces due to budget reasons not to mention cutting existing things such as aircraft. One does not have to guess who exactly is going to get the job done. We need about 400 more Joe Wilsons' in Congress. We will not only then get support, we will get the job done as well! Gary Fister Posted September 23, 2004 6:57 AM
