New Spending Bill Continues to Punish Retirees’ Pockets

A $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill, passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday this week, continues to punish the pockets of military retirees. I wrote earlier this month about the budget deal that hurt veterans by eliminating Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) from their pensions – resulting in thousands of dollars taken out of the pockets of retirees under the age of 62. The current legislation keeps the 1% decrease in COLA, which will be a huge blow to service members and commissioned officers.

According to a recent report, “Enlisted service members could lose a minimum of $72,000 over a 20 year period of their retirement, while commissioned officers could face up to $124,000 in lost compensation.”

With a second chance to put money back in the pockets of those who have served our country, Congress has faltered once again. Eighty-two percent of veterans still face significant losses in their retirement pay, only exempting disabled veterans receiving Chapter 61 benefits. This bill restores benefits for only 17.5% of military retirees, while leaving intact generous benefits for federal civil employees.

This bipartisan deal is disappointing and simply unfair. Federal civil employees are allowed to keep their benefits on the backs of the people who have sacrificed so much for our country – our veterans.

Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe’s comments are telling: “The fact that we even have to take efforts to restore these retirement benefits in the first place is troubling,” he said. “This is a benefit these men and women were promised when they joined the services and earned by dedicating their lives to protect our national security.”

Learn more about the spending bill’s impact on military retiree pensions and COLA here:

http://freebeacon.com/vast-majority-of-military-pension-cuts-remain-in-omnibus-spending-bill/

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.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/12/28/Marine-Vet-Slams-Paul-Ryan-s-Outrageous-Attitude-Toward-Military-Pension-Cuts