PFRDA

Do you think the new DOD retirement plan overhaul has a good chance of passing?

The new program ends pensions and pays money into the TSP. Current members are not grandfathered into the old system.

Public Comments

1. Imagine if they screwed the troops and everyone decided to leave at the end of their enlistment.
2. IF current members are not grandfathered into the plan they enlisted into, it has no chance of passing because they have a contractual obligation to fulfill the soldier's enlistment agreement. They can change what the future agreements are but cannot go back and recontract a person.
3. No chance in hell if it will have an affect on the current retirees. Way too many industries across America rely on the retiree dollar to remain viable. For example, many retirees pay their mortgages with that money and the housing market can ill afford another hit. Why does this matter? Home ownership produces property taxes. Those taxes pay for schools, police, fire protection and infrastructure. Home ownership keeps the manufacturing sector and construction industries alive. No new homeowners and fewer jobs. Fewer jobs and there are fewer taxes. Fewer taxes means an even bigger deficit due to more people on unemployment and welfare and food stamps.....all because someone wants to mess with military retirement. So while it may look like it saves money in the short term, in the long run it would actually make things much much worse for all. In physics, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. However, when dealing with the federal budget, for every action, there are multiple reactions. If they are not careful, they will turn the TSP into a parallel social security system.
4. @Freedom Fighter. Congress can approve to change to the proposed retirement plan as long as they get a majority vote through the House AND Senate. The likeliness of this is very slim because many of the Lobby groups that fight for military members rights will put a lot of pressure on this subject. The problem comes in if they were to "sneak" it into another bill or resolution. @MSG Brad, it does have a chance to get approved. If we (military members) were smart we would write our Senators/Congressmen and Lobby Groups VFW, Sergeants Associations, etc and pressure them to fight for us. All the articles I've read they will not change anyone who is currently retired or already over 20 after it would be signed.
5. I do think some version of it will pass - with the state of the federal budget it will be an easy target to hit fo lawmakers. They will follow business away from defined benefit plans (pensions) to a 401(k) type approach.