Military Retirement and Social Security: A Comparative Analysis,
Abstract
The Old Age and Survivor's Insurance (OASI) program of Social Security and the military retirement system provide substantial amounts of income for retirees, they are fundamentally different. In addition to providing retirement annuities, OASI attempts to improve the social welfare by redistributing income toward the old and the retired poor. The military retirement system helps manage military manpower. This system provides incentives for some personnel to remain in military service, and incentives for others to retire. Through this system the military is able to maintain an experienced force with sufficient youth and vigor to cope with the rigors and stresses of military life. Policymakers need to be aware of the differences between in the programs because in a constantly evolving environment new problems and choices arise. As private saving provides increasing sources of income for the elderly, the relative importance of the redistributive function of OASI has increased. This change has implications for the structure of the program. The benefit formula could be made to have stronger redistributive features or tax structure could be made progressive. As military technology becomes more sophisticated the average amount of training increases. Any changes that are made should consider the tradeoffs retirement cost vs. effectiveness and training costs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA178045
Entities
People
- Donald J. Cymrot
Organizations
- Center for Naval Analyses