The US government pays Thrift Savings Plan contribution matches, up to 5%, for Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) personnel. At the end of 2011, there were nearly 2.5 million FERS participants in the retirement plan, all receiving matching contributions. Yet the military only had 895,000 participants, and the vast majority received no matching contributions.
Most servicemembers do not serve the minimum 20 years to become eligible for military pensions. These young men and women that cycle through our armed forces deserve the opportunity to better their retirements as well. The inevitable future overhaul of the military pension system further highlight this necessity.