Salt Jones
Rookie
- Mar 22, 2011
- 6,900
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- Banned
- #41
I thought it was just me, but I have met a lot of other military retirees who feel the same way I do about having served for 20 years, which is to say we feel like the world's biggest suckers.
The promises that were made to us are being broken. The "free medical" is not free. If you don't live near a VA hospital, you enroll in Tricare. And Tricare has insurance premiums just like any other health insurance. Sure, it is currently cheaper than a civilian health insurance plan, but there is a movement underway in Congress right now to triple our premiums, and that would demolish any cost advantage to serving 20 of the youngest years of your adult life for medical benefits.
They are also going to do away with the military pension. The reasoning at first sounds logical. A guy who serves four years of active duty who gets sent to combat does not get any kind of retirement plan. A guy who serves 20 years who never went to combat gets a paycheck for the rest of his life.
So the idea is to create a kind of 401-k plan. If you serve only four years, you have a little nest egg when you get out.
But think about that for a minute.
You join the service and after 20 years you get a health benefit identical to a civilian's health benefit. Except you get shot at. And you get paid less.
You join the service and you get a 401-k, just like a civilian. Except you get shot at, and you are paid less.
Why would I join the military?
Oh. Yeah. Patriotism.
Sure.
Ever hear of Tricare Standard or the Thrift Savings Plan? Both have been around for at least 15 years.