"...Even as Washington policymakers begin to ponder a new, far-reaching proposal to redefine the military retirement system, a previous overhaul of the benefit is dying a slow death.
It's been 15 years since service members were first given the choice of taking a $30,000 lump-sum cash payment in exchange for accepting a lower retirement pension for the rest of their life under the so-called REDUX retirement option.
It was popular initially. As recently as 2003, almost half of the troops eligible to take the REDUX option did so, accepting that cash bonus — along with lifetime monthly retirement checks worth about 20 percent less than under traditional retirement..."