Military Retirement Comparison Calculator Released

"...The long-awaited Defense Department retirement calculator has arrived, designed to help service members choose between the existing and incoming retirement systems as they plan their long-term financial future.

The calculator, labeled a "beta version" but available to anyone at militarypay.defense.gov/Calculators/BRS/, asks for basic information such as age, years of service, rank and estimated years of service at the time of separation and retirement. It fills in the blanks for items such as expected rate of investment return, life expectancy, Thrift Savings Plan contribution percentage and career progression, but users can alter those fields, and others, to tailor their results.

After the user enters all the data, the calculator will offer a comparison between the plans...."

Read more at Military Times

Many 'High-3' Retirees May Never See Back Pay

"...Last November an independent audit of the Military Retirement Fund uncovered a “significant deficiency” in the way the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) has been calculating retired pay for about 15 percent of 370,000 retirees who are under a “High-3” retired pay formula.

The result is that 55,500 retirees who first entered service on or after Sept. 8, 1980, have been getting a little less in monthly retired pay than the law directs. That’s because DFAS, for this High-3 generation, has not been applying a pay protection tool from 1975 called the “Tower Amendment.”

If DFAS were to apply Tower protection retroactively, as auditors recommend, these retirees could expect a lump sum average payment of about $1000, the Congressional Budget Office reports.  Individual amounts would vary base on time retired, with the largest payments going to those who retired in fall of 2000 with the first wave of “High-3” retirees.

But if the Department of Defense has its way, DFAS will never have to make those payments..."

Read more at Stripes

High-3 Calculator

"...This calculator estimates your retirement pay flow under the High-3 Year Average retirement system. This calculator gives you the ability to generate charts and tables based on your personal situation. In addition to tailoring the results to your expected retirement grade, years of service, and age, this calculator also allows you to change some of the economic assumptions, such as the inflation rate..."

Read more about and access calculator at militarypay.defense.gov

REDUX / High-3 Comparison

"...The following fictitious story, about twin brothers Harry and Richard, shows the differences between the High-3 and CSB/REDUX retirement systems, the potential worth of the Career Status Bonus and insight of the lifetime value of the two retirement options. How this story plays out for you depends upon your personal situation and assumptions about your career and the economy. A planning calculator is available on this website for you to make some comparisons of your own..."

Read more at militarypay.defense.gov