Guard/Reserve Age 55 Retirement
DoD is shortchanging the members of the Guard and Reserve and their families by refusing to support lowering the earliest Guard and Reserve retirement age from 60 to 55.
August 9, 2009
Guard/Reserve Retirement Age
Guard and Reserve members are the only federal employees who must wait until age 60 to draw full retirement benefits. DoD is shortchanging the members of the Guard and Reserve and their families by refusing to support lowering the earliest Guard and Reserve retirement age from 60 to 55. We encourage all AFSA members to contact their elected officials and have the support the bill listed below.
DoD clearly views this as a "dollars-and-cents" matter, not wanting to spend more money on retirees. Furthermore, DoD has successfully deferred this issue by calling for studies, delaying action, and seeking to bury the entire matter in dishonest, intentionally confusing rhetoric.
Today nearly half of all service members who are executing the War on Terrorism and serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are reserve component members. While these members are proud to serve and to defend the interests of this nation, it is time that DoD be prevented from continuing to abuse these members. It is time for Congress to step in and mandate that DoD provide them with an equitable retirement.
Text from HR 1695
SECTION 1. REDUCTION IN MINIMUM AGE FOR RECEIPT OF MILITARY RETIRED PAY FOR NON-REGULAR SERVICE.
(a) Reduction in Age- Subsection (f) of section 12731 of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 647 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 160), is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking '60 years of age' and inserting '55 years of age'; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A)--
(A) by striking 'the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008' and inserting 'January 28, 2008'; and
(B) by striking '60 years of age' and inserting 'the minimum age in effect under paragraph (1)'.
(b) Application to Existing Provisions of Law or Policy- With respect to any provision of law, or of any policy, regulation, or directive of the executive branch, that refers to a member or former member of the uniformed services as being eligible for, or entitled to, retired pay under chapter 1223 of title 10, United States Code, but for the fact that the member or former member is under 60 years of age, such provision shall be carried out with respect to that member or former member by substituting for the reference to being 60 years of age a reference to having attained the eligibility age applicable to the member under subsection (f) section 12731 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a).
(c) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the first month beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to retired pay payable for that month and subsequent months.