Obama does not support 401k retirement plan for troops

The president announced on Thursday that he does not support the blended military retirement plan recommended by a commission of experts earlier this year, just one day after House members included it in their fiscal 2016 defense policy bill.

President Obama said that while he supports 10 of the 15 recommendations from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, he could not support the proposal to have troops contribute to a 401k-like savings plan that would be matched by the government in an effort to offer some retirement benefits to troops who don’t serve 20 years.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter echoed the president’s remarks, saying that the department will continue to analyze the rejected reforms, including the retirement changes, over the coming months.

“The choices we face about military compensation are both vexing and critically important,” Mr. Carter said in a statement. “DoD will continue to work closely with the Congress and the commission to achieve the goals we share: ensuring the long-term strength and vitality of our all-volunteer force, and honoring all our servicemembers.”

The president said he did support implementing the majority of proposals, including better collaboration between the Defense Department and VA, improved child care and mandatory transition assistance.

The commission warned against implementing only certain pieces of their recommendations when they introduced their full report in January, noting that lawmakers should take the 15-package reform proposal in one piece as-is to avoid any unintended effects on the budget or on maintaining an all-volunteer force.  – See more at: https://specialoperationsspeaks.com/current-news/Obama-does-not-support-401k#sthash.RPdzfSqA.dpuf