Department of Defense to Train People on Blended Retirement System
The Department of Defense has taken on the responsibility to teach people about The Blended Retirement System via a course. The training can be attended by everyone as it’s an online course. It aims to ensure that everyone related to the system knows about it to make better retirement plans. Most of the soldiers would automatically get enrolled in the new system on January 1, 2018, while some will have to wait till December 2018.
Leader Course on Blended Retirement System
The Department of Defense plans to educate financial advisors and service senior leaders about The Blended Retirement System by using a course entitled Leader Course. This tool would be training them online via ArmyOneSource and Joint Knowledge On-line (JKO) websites. The training is offered in an online newspaper format to make the learning process simpler.
The users can update their knowledge by using several glossaries, videos and example scenarios to get a better understanding of the new retirement system and how it’s different from the existing system.
The Aim
The aim of The Blended Retirement System Leader Course is to ensure that the soldiers become aware of how new system works and what resources would help them to make informed decisions with regard to their retirement plans. These aims were shared by Lt. Col. Steven G. Hanson who serves as the Allowances branch chief of the Compensation and Entitlements Team, U.S. Army G-1.
The Blended Retirement System
The Blended Retirement System has three main parts. First is a defined-benefit plan that is not unlike the current system. The second part is the 401K type defined-contribution plan that comes along with a portable retirement account via the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The third plan includes a continuation pay at the mid-career point. All the Service members who are serving at the moment are grandfathered into the existing military retirement system.
The Dates
The Blended Retirement System would be implemented on January 1, 2018. Almost all the service members will automatically be enrolled in it. The only exceptions are servicemen who have served less than 12 years as of December 31, 2017, and the reserve component members who have got less than 4,320 points. The servicemen falling under both the exception categories can choose to remain in the current system or they can choose to be a part of reserve component members. They will have to make the decision until December 31. 2018.
