ABSTRACT
Thestructureofmilitarycompensationplansdirectlyaffectstheabilityofthe servicestorecruitandretainhigh-qualitypersonnel.Perhapsoneofthemostcontroversialaspectsofcurrentcompensationpolicyistheavailabilityofarelativelygenerouspensionplantomilitaryretireesafter20yearsofservice.Recentcriticisms havebeenmadeabouttheefficiencyofthisdeferredpaymentschemeasatoolinthe recruitmentandretentionofmilitarypersonnel.Muchofthiscriticismhasbeenfueled bytherapidincreaseinthecostofthepensionprogramavailabletomilitaryretirees. Table10-1illustratestheincreaseinbothdollarcostsandnumberofbeneficiaries duringthe1970-1982period.Thenumberofretireeshasrisenbyroughly80%during the13-yearperiod,thelevelofexpenditures(netofinflation)hasincreasedbynearly 150%,andthereallevelofbenefitstotheaverageretireehasincreasedby38%.
