Military Retirement in the News Again
08-10-2011, 04:34 PM
#31
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Joined APC: Jun 2008
Posts: 357
Someone on this board said pilot military pilot pay is better than civilian with comparable experience. For the most part this is true, but lets look at how this happened. Prior to 1992 military pay was far below civilian pay. Then in 1992 we had a huge draw-down, we had a president who "loathed the military" and life in the military was downright bad. Then after a while the president decide he really needed the military for all of his foreign diplomacy operations. Guess what, he noticed they were all gone and the only ones left were planning to leave; "quick, start the bonuses and pay them more before they all leave".
Back then the only reason they were able to keep anyone at all was to increase the bonuses and raise the pay. With this new system, they'll never be able to raise the pay high enough. They say they will pay more for some of the challenging tours. I ask this board, if you could leave tomorrow, had a good job offer, and take your retirement with you, how much of a bonus would be required for you to deploy one more time.
Back then the only reason they were able to keep anyone at all was to increase the bonuses and raise the pay. With this new system, they'll never be able to raise the pay high enough. They say they will pay more for some of the challenging tours. I ask this board, if you could leave tomorrow, had a good job offer, and take your retirement with you, how much of a bonus would be required for you to deploy one more time.
08-10-2011, 04:43 PM
#32
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Joined APC: Jun 2008
Posts: 357
The country has a spending problem. So we ask our 20-40 year old guys carrying a 60 pound pack through the mountains of Afghanistan to take home less pay and don't ask the 60-80 year old's living on the beach in Miami to pay anything.
08-10-2011, 04:43 PM
#33
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Joined APC: Jan 2008
Position: 737A
Posts: 1,890
Originally Posted by TheDashRocks
This plan does nothing more than reduce cost to the government and transfer risk to the service member. His or her retirement savings will now be based on how well the stock market or mutual funds perform. They do not always rise in value. Service members will have to get by on less take-home pay while contributing their own funds to the retirement plan.
Our finest young men and women are fighting two wars for us. Leave the current plan as it is and raise Paris Hilton's taxes modestly to pay for it.
Our finest young men and women are fighting two wars for us. Leave the current plan as it is and raise Paris Hilton's taxes modestly to pay for it.
Also, I bet we'd all be floored to find out how little Ms. Hilton pays in tax.
08-10-2011, 05:01 PM
#34
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Joined APC: Apr 2006
Position: Purple B757/767 FO
Posts: 108
Originally Posted by MD10PLT
if you could leave tomorrow, had a good job offer, and take your retirement with you, how much of a bonus would be required for you to deploy one more time.
08-10-2011, 05:36 PM
#36
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Joined APC: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,224
The military isn't a for-profit corporation. I think they'll find that the 20 year carrot holds a lot of guys in when they might have left with much less time. These people are "the volunteers" that get sent for year long deployments to ****ty locations. Once you get your hooks into people that feel that they are committed to retirement, they will take the remote or other really bad deal because of the retirement.
I think the military will take huge cuts in the next few years. We have one party that won't cut entitlements and the other that won't raise taxes. There really isn't that much left other than defense and other agencies, and you know where the money is. Don't get me wrong, I think we can trim the budget, but I think the military will take a much larger haircut than it should.
It would really be a bummer if they don't grandfather the people already in the military, but at this point, nothing would surprise me.
I think the military will take huge cuts in the next few years. We have one party that won't cut entitlements and the other that won't raise taxes. There really isn't that much left other than defense and other agencies, and you know where the money is. Don't get me wrong, I think we can trim the budget, but I think the military will take a much larger haircut than it should.
It would really be a bummer if they don't grandfather the people already in the military, but at this point, nothing would surprise me.
08-10-2011, 07:34 PM
#37
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Joined APC: Aug 2011
Posts: 484
If this goes through, it will gut the military - folks will leave in droves. The ONLY thing that will prevent that is the current economy making it hard to get decent paying work on the outside may keep folks in, but they will always be looking for that greener pasture. Always.
The military does one thing well - mismanage their people. RIFs, banked pilots, SERBs, more RIFs - it's insane.
The current tempo of operations is unsustainable. Give people a reason to get out and they will. Give them the means to get out and they will. Simple as that.
Sad. There is no comparison in the civilian world. Some things just aren't apples and apples....this is one of those.
The military does one thing well - mismanage their people. RIFs, banked pilots, SERBs, more RIFs - it's insane.
The current tempo of operations is unsustainable. Give people a reason to get out and they will. Give them the means to get out and they will. Simple as that.
Sad. There is no comparison in the civilian world. Some things just aren't apples and apples....this is one of those.
08-10-2011, 08:38 PM
#38
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Joined APC: Feb 2011
Position: Tail Surfing on a 737
Posts: 64
Originally Posted by golfandfly
The military isn't a for-profit corporation. I think they'll find that the 20 year carrot holds a lot of guys in when they might have left with much less time. These people are "the volunteers" that get sent for year long deployments to ****ty locations. Once you get your hooks into people that feel that they are committed to retirement, they will take the remote or other really bad deal because of the retirement.
X2! I had always planned on staying until 20 to get the retirement but happily took the pilot bonus money. Then about the 16 year point I got the 1 year remote to the desert. The wife and I talked about 7 day opting and giving up 16yrs with nothing to show, but we decided to stick it out for the retirement. Had we had the option to take a 401k pot o money and a 15 year retirement it would have been see ya later big blue. I think they'll have a hard time filling those tough assignments without the retirement incentive.
08-11-2011, 02:10 PM
#40
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Joined APC: Feb 2006
Position: Various
Posts: 428
Originally Posted by TheDashRocks
This plan does nothing more than reduce cost to the government and transfer risk to the service member. His or her retirement savings will now be based on how well the stock market or mutual funds perform. They do not always rise in value. Service members will have to get by on less take-home pay while contributing their own funds to the retirement plan.
Our finest young men and women are fighting two wars for us. Leave the current plan as it is and raise Paris Hilton's taxes modestly to pay for it.
Our finest young men and women are fighting two wars for us. Leave the current plan as it is and raise Paris Hilton's taxes modestly to pay for it.
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