More Isn’t Always Better

Not all active duty service members, retirees, or family members think more generous and more expensive military compensation benefits are automatically the best option, according to a new study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Over the course of 12 weeks, more than 2,600 persons responded to the think tank’s survey, explained Todd Harrison, the CSBA senior fellow who authored the study, during a July 12 press event in Washington, D.C., unveiling it. Not surprisingly, service members of all ranks placed a high value on basic duty pay, though lower ranking service members marked this as an even higher priority, he said. The majority of respondents also valued keeping years of service for retirement at 20 years versus dropping it to 15 years. In addition, “More than 80 percent of service members in each age group would prefer a one percent increase in basic pay in exchange for raising the retirement collection age to 50,” states the study. On the other hand, performance-based bonuses ranked fairly low when compared to the cost of implementation.