Pentagon Released Explainer Video on New Retirement Program After Overhaul

The US Defense Department created a 3-minute video, which provides information about their new retirement system that is set to take effect in the year 2018.

Pension360 has extensively covered the overhaul, which took place in 2015 and early 2016.

The newly released video aims to provide a complete financial literacy campaign offer by the Pentagon as they prepare troops and their families for the changes.

The military’s new retirement plan is quite comparable to the 401k plan offered by the private sector.

Find out more about the campaign at MilitaryTimes:

Starting in January 2018, military personnel with fewer than 12 years of service must choose whether to opt into the new “blended” system or stay enrolled in the traditional pension plan. Officials estimate that group includes 1.6 million people.

Those with more than 12 years in uniform will remain enrolled in the traditional pension plan.

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Everyone who joins the military in 2018 and beyond will automatically be enroll in the new system.

In approving the new system, officials both in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill have championed the fact that this new system will, for the first time, ensure service members who don’t stay in uniform for a full 20-year career will receive at least some retirement benefit upon leaving.

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Notably, officials have yet to resolve one of the plan’s key components: its lump-sum payout option. The American Academy of Actuaries issued a warning to the Pentagon in May, saying it risks shortchanging enlisted personnel specifically.

Meanwhile, officials have introduced the first of four courses that will help the force prepare for decision time. They’re targeting the military’s leaders now, individuals expected to be on the receiving end of questions from rank-and-file personnel, but the course is open to anyone. It’s accessible via the department’s Joint Knowledge Online portal.

You can learn more about the new retirement plan here.