Monday, January 6, 2014

Budget Punishes Retirees

Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer

There is no end to the mischief Congress can get itself into.  It did little to assist veterans in 2013 and I have written about that earlier in the month.  In a last minute budget deal, the Congress and President have a budget law that punishes retirees from the military.  "The deal Obama signed includes a provision that would pare down annual cost of living increases in benefits for military retirees under age 62, saving the government an estimated $6.3 billion over a decade."   On the theory that younger retirees have the chance to work in the private sector, the budget team isolated these “younger” retirees and stripped out COLA from their pensions.  These folks put in their 20–30 years and now get a point shaving game run on them. 

Congress does not treat all retirees this way.  It is not stopping COLA for all similar situated people or for those on other federal programs.  But remember, only less than 10% of the population have served in the military.  The early retirees are not that big of a voting block.  So Congress cut them from the herd and then cut them down - a military tactic dating back to Sun Tzu and the Art of War.  The veterans may need to employ some of the same tactics in the next election cycle.

If you want to view a good discussion of the problem, listen to this retired Marine on Fox discuss the problem.


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