One thing that surprised me was that no one here said show him MMM. I'm glad to hear it went well, but a few things I wanted to bring up that were brought up in this thread.
1) if you are US. The military retirement system was changed recently so while you can retire at 20 years still you don't get a check until retirement "age" which really has taken the sales out of new enlisted staying for the full 20. Its utterly shocking to watch how many active duty folks I work with are upset about that. Those in before the change are grandfathered though.
@Heroes821, that scurrilous rumor was flying around during the implementation of the Blended Retirement System, and it's absolutely incorrect & untrue. For the sake of whoever else reads this thread, here's the clarification.
1. The BRS active-duty pension still starts as early as 20 years (like the legacy High Three retirement system) and retirees receive it as soon as they retire. The BRS pension multiplier is only 2% per year instead of 2.5%.
The reason that people still wanted to convert from High Three to BRS (and the reason that people still join the military today) is for the 5% match in the Thrift Savings Plan. The BRS default contribution to the TSP is 5% in the longest-dated L fund, which (if a servicemember goes to 20 years) will more than make up for the smaller pension multiplier.
More importantly, for the 85% of military families who don't serve until retirement, the 5% match of the BRS gives them more money after leaving the military than they would have had under legacy High Three.
2. The Reserve pension (for servicemembers retiring from the Reserves or National Guard) has also converted from legacy High Three to BRS, but it's always started at age 60.
The most significant change to the Reserve pension is that members who mobilize for at least 90 days to a combat zone, or for some national emergencies, can start their pension three months earlier than age 60. That program started in 2008 and it's been amended a few times over the years.
There's no need for people to be utterly shocked, let alone upset. Those "new enlisted staying for the full 20" are welcome to contact me if they have questions, or they can read more at the BRS website:
https://militarypay.defense.gov/blendedretirement/There's a lot on the site and it can be hard to navigate, but I'm happy to help.
