Veterans group urges House to pass overhaul of military benefits

The Veterans of Foreign Wars is calling on the House to pass its draft of the annual defense policy roadmap, including measures that would overhaul the military’s retirement system.

“Aside from hostilities, one of the greatest threats to an All-Volunteer Force is a strong economy that offers other employment options,” VFW National Commander John W. Stroud said Friday in a statement.

“In order to meet future enlistment and retention goals, the military must be able to compete with a civilian sector that by and large offers some type of contributory retirement program for its employees,” he added.

{mosads}Stroud said that allowing “troops and their families to build retirement nest eggs sends a powerful message of appreciation, which could result in this becoming the military’s greatest recruiting and retention tool ever.”

The full House will take up its draft of the fiscal 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) next week. The massive $612 billion policy measure sets spending guidelines for the Defense Department’s programs and initiatives.

The legislation was approved by the House Armed Services Committee earlier this month in a 60-2 vote and includes a provision reforming the military retirement system. The overhaul proposed by a blue-ribbon compensation commission would switch from the current retirement system, which only benefits those who serve for at least 20 years, to a 401(k)-style plan for troops who serve at least two years.

Stroud also urged the Senate Armed Services Committee to include the provision in its version of the NDAA, which the panel will begin crafting next week.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) earlier this week vowed that the upper chamber’s policy blueprint would be “revolutionary” on military retirement.