Retired Members of the Armed Forces Should Not Receive Cuts in Benefits

Retired members of the armed forces should not receive cuts in benefits

Thomas Lewis

English Composition II

Sue Cochran

20 February 2014

Abstract

The “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013” was passed in December 2013 by congress and approved by the President. Since the bill was introduced a small portion of it has been highly debated by many different parties. The subject of all the controversy has been the budget cuts to retired military service members’ benefits. Many military advocacy groups as well government representatives have voiced strong opinions on the issue because they feel the government has broken its promise to all the branches of our military. This research paper essay will take a closer look at some of the main arguments about this issue from the point of view of the group this bill will impact. The small group this portion of the bill impacts is 20+ year retired service members of the military. Also impacted are all medically retired veterans and members of the survivor annuities program which are the family members of military members that died in service of their country.

The United States Government has not passed a bill that reduced benefits to the military retirement program since World War II. Last December a bill was passed by the government called the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and it reduces the benefits for retired members of the armed forces. It reduces retired military personnel’s benefits by cutting the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) by 1 percent a year until the retired service member reaches the age of 62. Although it might not seem to be a big adjustment it does add up over time. To make this change with little notice or a well thought out plan is like a broken promise to the service members that defended our country.

To understand what this bill actually does it reduces the annual adjustment of retired...