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House Panel Backs 401(k)-Like Plan for Military Personnel

"Under the existing defined-benefit plan, most officers and enlisted personnel who serve 20 years receive annual retirement pay equal to half of their average basic pay over their last three years of service. The [proposed] legislation would ... reduce that figure from 50 percent to 40 percent, in part to fund a 401(k)-like Thrift Savings Plan for the more the 80 percent of service members who leave the military without getting any retirement benefit."

Combat Veterans Support Offering Troops a 401(k)-Style Retirement Plan

"The retirement overhaul is one of 15 recommendations from the congressionally mandated Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission.... Under the existing defined-benefit plan, most officers and enlisted personnel who serve 20 years receive annual retirement pay equal to half of their average basic pay over their last three years of service. The panel proposed cutting that figure from 50 percent to 40 percent, in part to fund a 401(k)-like defined-contribution plan for the more than eight in 10 service members who leave the military without getting any retirement benefit."

New Option for Military Retirements?

"[A] new plan might be offered as a voluntary option, promising at least some retirement benefits to many members who don't expect to serve 20 years.... Though designed to become the sole retirement plan of new entrants, it also would be offered as an alternative to current members."