A new program will help service men and women save money with a government match, much like a 401(k) program.
The fiscal 2016 defense spending bill, approved by Congress recently creates a 401(k)-type retirement program called a Thrift Savings Plan that allows service members to contribute money with the government matching up to 5 percent of it for over 26 years. Unlike the current Thrift Savings Plan, this one offers government contributions. Proponents say the new system is aimed at the 83 percent of troops who don't make it to retirement.
"The goal is to help attract and retain 'the best and the brightest' to an all-volunteer force," says U.S. Rep. Joseph Heck, a Nevada Republican and chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee.
This goes a long way to meeting recruitment and retention goals of the force," says Heck, who is a brigadier general in the Army Reserve and a physician.
"Once you get out, you don't have a job unless you are very lucky. If we had a program like that, it would provide a buffer to get back to your home of record and be not so stressed about getting back on your feet, finding a place to live and settling in."
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