Retiree benefits for the military could face cuts
By James Dao and Mary Williams Walsh, New York Times
As Washington looks to squeeze savings from once-sacrosanct entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, another big social welfare system is growing as rapidly, but with far less scrutiny: the health and pension benefits of military retirees.
Military pensions and health care for active and retired troops now cost the government about $100 billion a year, representing an expanding portion of both the Pentagon budget — about $700 billion a year, including war costs — and the national debt, which together finance the programs.
Making even incremental reductions to military benefits is typically a doomed political venture, given the public’s broad support for helping troops, the political potency of veterans groups and the fact that significant savings take years to appear.
But the intense push in Congress this year to reduce the debt and the possibility that the Pentagon might have to begin trimming core programs like weapons procurement, research, training and construction have suddenly made retiree benefits vulnerable, military officials and experts say.
And if Congress fails to adopt the deficit-reduction recommendations of a bipartisan joint Congressional committee this fall, the Defense Department will be required under debt ceiling legislation passed in August to find about $900 billion in savings over the coming decade. Cuts that deep will almost certainly entail reducing personnel benefits for active and retired troops, Pentagon officials and analysts say.
“We’ve got to put everything on the table,” Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said recently on PBS, acknowledging that he was looking at proposals to rein in pension costs.
Any cuts to Congressional benefits?
Why does the fed build separate medical facilities for retired military? Why not give them the benefits but have them use the same doctors and hosiptals which retired civilians on medicare use? Seems there would be savings there.
Military facilities are staffed with military doctors. Military medical soldiers have to train and practice somewhere. If you think the wait is long at public facilities try adding all the retired soldiers into the mix. The military takes care of their own without involving medicare which would be a welfare system of incredible proportions and adding to our allready overwhelmed public system.
To Major (ret)— I understand your training explaination. What I question is the services provided through a DOD funded hospital system to personnel who did serve for a few years but did not retire with 20 years service. They do not have service caused conditions but are still provided treatment at the VA medical facilities. They are eligible for medicare but do not pay for their medical treatment through medicare premiums. Somehow the VA gives them free treatment which thereby reduces their ability to serve retired military.
In response to “Major (ret) I believe some of the doctors working in VA hospitals are not military doctors but, rather have some sort of contract with the military. This is the case in Reno and Palo Alto and probably throughout the network.
Advocate, I entirely agree with you on the fact that someone who spent 2 years in the regular military gets free or almost free medical for life yet someone who spent 20 years in the Guard gets none. Should be a sliding scale. David, you are correct with the VA, I was referring to medical facilities on bases. Thanks.
so we can keep extending the unemployment benefits going for years, all the welfare programs for those who dont work. Now we are going to cut the benefits for the men and women who risked thier lives and came back with problems. I honestly feel the military personell should be the last to even think about being cut. I am sorry but i feel this is the biggest insult the feds have come up with yet.
The tax cuts for the rich, sorry i mean job creators, need to be paid for somehow. We can’t just stop fighting pointless wars, so we have to pay the fighters less. The military-Industrial complex. It protects freedoms and spreads democracy.
Fireman, it’s all about the tax base. Welfare recipients overwhelmingly vote Democrat while retired people tend to be more conservative. And cutting back on Medicare and Social Security will ensure that they die off sooner, leaving the welfare breeders in the majority to keep the left in power.
Sorry, I meant to say “voter base”.
Dogwoman is right. The two biggest welfare programs are medicare and social security. People need to stand on their own without government handouts. People rely on the government and don’t save money for retirement. They blow their money on cars and boats and vacations and count on taxpayers for free retirement checks and free health care. That’s why the country is going broke. Then they all vote for democrat party to keep the welface going.
I’m guessing the people that get $600-1,200 a month are not breaking the back of this country, but it’s a nice bone to throw our way, to distract us from where the money is really going.