Senior
Chief
Going
Ashore
Senior
Chief
Petty
Officer
Robert
Mayer,
a
reservist
stationed
at
Station
Atlantic
City,
N.
J.,
went
ashore
after
27
years
of
combined
military
service
in
the
Coast
Guard
and
the
Army.
Photo
by
Petty
Officer
1st
Class
Wayne
Chandler.
Do the Math:
Pentagon Unveils Official BRS Calculator
The Blended Retirement System (BRS) is the largest reform to the uniformed
services retirement system in decades. Eligible personnel will be able to opt-in
to the new system between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018, seeing benefits in the
following pay period. These personnel include members who enter the military
before 2018 who have served fewer than 12 years or service members in the
Reserve who have fewer than 4,320 retirement points as of Dec. 31, 2017.
Service members who join the military after Jan. 1 will automatically be enrolled
in the BRS.
In June, the Department of Defense (DoD) released the official BRS
comparison calculator. While service members are encouraged to use any tool
that will help make them make a retirement plan decision, the DoD comparison
tool is the official calculator, as many other calculators may have not received
adequate vetting. The BRS comparison calculator assists service members in
comparing the current retirement system, often referred to as the "High-3," to
the new system, BRS.
The BRS calculator is based on the published military pay chart and will be
updated no later than Dec. 31 each year to reflect the exact pay chart.
Prior to using the BRS calculator, service members should take the mandatory
BRS opt-in course to familiarize themselves with the new system and know their
exact pay entry base date to ensure accuracy when using the calculator.
http://militarypay.defense.gov/calculators/BRS/
46 RESERVIST � Issue 3 • 2017