Military Pension Reform : Military Reform

As citizens of the United States of America we must pay taxes to the government. The government takes these taxes and distributes them among different areas to fund each are; one of the highest percentages of spending goes to defense. The whopping amount of around 610 billion dollars makes the United States’ military the largest in the world, so large that its funding out-weighs the next seven highest spending countries. The problem with this is that the military does not really solve the large amount of very important domestic affairs; in fact we barely see the fruits of it. There are many reasons why we should cut down on the percentage spent on defense and focus more on other areas.

- They also collect retirement for their Active Duty time (AT days, Drill and TDYs/Deployments)

Bill (MGIB), eligible veterans enrolled in VA approved educational programs could receive up to thirty-six months of benefits if usage began within ten years of separation from service (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1008). Monthly benefits for veterans who had three or more years of service were eligible for $300 per month, with a total individual benefit of $10,800 for thirty-six months of usage (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1011). Veterans serving a two-year enlistment contract qualified for a $272 monthly stipend for a maximum of $9,800 for thirty-six months of usage (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1011). This remained relatively steady from 1985 to 1992 despite the increased costs of college tuition (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1011). However, in January of 1999 and then again in January of 2000 Congress did increase MGIB benefits to account for rising tuition costs (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1012). These increases continued to be implemented between 2000 and 20003 (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1012). This hit its peak in 2003, when MGIB benefits were at its highest value since 1991 (Simon et al., 2010, p.

During the Revolutionary War in 1776, congress established pensions to increase and incentivize recruitment. Individual states took care of their respective veterans, by providing them with hospital care and shelter.

As you may know there are two types of pension plans that are most commonly used: a defined contribution plan and a defined benefit plan. “A defined contribution plan sets forth a certain amount that the employer is to contribute to the plan each period (Schroeder, Clark, & Cathey, "Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits," 2011). “A defined benefit plan specifies the amount of pension benefits to be paid out to plan recipients in the future. Companies that use this plan must make sufficient contributions to the funding agency in order to meet benefit requirements

The military is something that has been a bit costly for a while, the US according to a graph given by Peter G. Peterson spends an average of more than seven

The need for war has always been a debated point in human ideology. Countries choose to war over money, culture, terrorism, and many other issues. During the 1965-73 America drafted 1,728,344 individuals to the Vietnam wars (National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, 10 Aug 2015). With these escalated statistics an important question is raised on the morality of mandatory military service. This essay will discuss the dangers of drafted military services and how it harms personal freedoms, mental health, and it's effect on military movements and success.

United States federal budget. Social Security is the largest entitlement program in the United States. In 2013, the total Social Security expenditures were $1.3 trillion, 8.4% of the $16.3 trillion GNP (SSA.gov). There has been an issue in the White House of either opposing the cut in Social Security spending or advocating for a hike in payments. Expanding Social Security instead of reducing it would benefit seniors, especially considering America’s struggling middle class and that there are more impoverished people than ever before.

However as of more recent, the focus has been to cut spending and this in turn has affected most notably, Veterans Affairs (VA) and their health programs. According to the VA, “VA is charged with fulfilling President Lincoln’s promise to care for those “who shall have borne the battle, and for ” their families and their survivors. To support this mission, the 2016 Budget provides $70.2 billion in discretionary funding for VA, a 7.9 percent increase above the 2015 enacted level. In addition, the budget includes $3.2 billion in estimated medical care collections, for a total discretionary budget authority of $73.5 billion (which includes $3.2 billion in Medical Care Collections) and $95.3 billion for VA’s mandatory benefit programs.” This increase in budgetary spending can be deceiving as the VA is also seeing an increase in the amount of veterans claiming benefits. So although there is a budgetary increase, it is not enough (a deficit) to fulfill all claims made by veterans and/or their families and therefore is causing the VA to make cutbacks in both military construction efforts, but more importantly in medical benefits that veterans receive. For instance, improving veterans access to medical care to include strengthening their benefits program is a matter of priority. As has been recently of subject in the news, wait times for veterans has been extreme and inefficient, at times to the detriment of the health of veterans. Although the increase is aimed at providing more physicians and improving the VA’s “physical” infrastructure, the budgetary increase lacks the foresight to address the growing veteran population in concurrence with the needed changes that are being proposed. In an article published in Military Times on

The commenter suggested that WWI, Korean veterans, their surviving spouses should be grandfathered in as a class of potential claimants, and all pension recipients should be exempt. VA pension benefit requirement is based on veteran’s wartime service to apply for the benefit, and if these requirement is not meet veteran or beneficiary are not eligible for the benefit. If the veteran or beneficiaries loses pension benefit because of excessive income, they have to apply again for pension benefit once their income meets VA income limits again. The rulemaking will not grandfathered any veteran or beneficiaries currently in receipt of benefits or will be eligible in the future to receive pension

Therefore the military does not have the money to pay them what they need to be paid besides what the government gets to pay them through taxes. (Federal revenue: Where does the money come from). Government spending has military as the third largest source of spending which confuses me because i think that our country's protection should be the number one priority (federal spending: where does the money go). Now that you know the causes now i'm going to show you how it affects them and

The United States spends far more than any other country on defense and security with no end in sight to their expenditures. The total military spending by the United States is nearly equal to the combined military spending of every other nation combined. This unreasonable amount of spending hinders the capacity to provide basic needs, as well as eliminating money that can be used to resolve other domestic issues, while at the same time allowing for short-term economic prosperity and increasing our national defense capacity.

Basically, it started with the Montgomery Bill or as it became known G.I. Bill,or otherwise known as the

For example, “…other public and private sector retirement plans typically do not begin providing an annuity until age 55, 60, or 65…” The next problem with the current retirement plan is that it is an ‘all or nothing’ system. Either a military member serves 20 years and qualifies for benefits or they do not. This is vastly different from many civilian programs currently offered and something that the Department of Defense (DOD) has attempted to remedy with the newly implemented program. Many civilian-based retirement programs offer vesting programs that enable employees to secure retirement benefits after a certain number of years, usually anywhere from five to 15 years. Another issue with the current military retirement plan is its comparability to the private-sector. As stated by FAS, “…private-sector employers who have reduced or eliminated their reliance on defined benefit programs and have focused almost exclusively on 401(K)-type programs…” Additionally, many private-sector companies offer contribution matching up to a certain percentage, assisting employees in saving for retirement. This is not offered in the current military retirement plan. Having discussed the current retirement program the next topic will be the newly implemented retirement program.

(5) Currently SS funds are collected and distributed on a pay - as - you -go (PAYG) system in which Social Security taxes from individuals are immediately distributed by the means of the SS Administration as it sees best fit. This means that taxes collected are not reserved for the individual who has paid them: in Rose 2 the current state he or she must rely on those persons paying SS taxes during the time of their retirement (Becker). For a number of these characteristics and future issues, the Social Security System must be reformed or completely abolished to meet the needs of tomorrow. The leading concerns of Social Security that merits the immediate initiation of reform are the demographic and economic circumstances in the coming century. Even though "forecasting the economy and budget over such a long period is uncertain" there remain many "certainties" regarding problems facing Social Security in the first half of the 21st century (OMB, Budget Perspectives 23). The Federal Government's responsibilities extend well beyond "the five- or six-year window" that has restricted the focus of recent budget analysis and debate. Of these "certainties" are the mounting challenges posed from the baby-boomer generation. This generation, born in the years after World War II, is aging