Reserve Officers Association Web Site
NEED FOR AN EARLY RETIREMENT FIX!

Here's the Facts!
Early Retirement falls SHORT.

  1. Congress passed Early Retirement.
  2. 90 days reduction for 90 day service.
  3. New program began on January 28, 2008 for mobilization thereafter.
  4. All earlier service excluded. - Service between 9/11/2001 and 1/2008 doesn't count.
  5. Over 700,000 Guard and Reserve have mobilized, but..
  6. Service of  600,00 RC members is ineligible.
  7. These individuals will have to do additional service to reduce their retirement age.
  8. Congress's excuse is a $2.1 billion dollar cost spread over 10 years.
  9. ROA was first out of the gate to take action!
  10. Worked with Senators Chambliss and Kerry to introduce a corrective measure.
  11. Senate bill S.831 changes eligibility back to 9/11/2001.
  12. S. 831 needs cosponsors: Contact your Senators to sign-on! 

Take Action Now The Reserve Officers Association would like your support.  The first step is with this alert, to increase awareness in the Senate. Click the TAKE ACTION button to contact elected officials to increase their awareness on this issue of fixing early retirement.
 

Senators who have already Cosponsored - (19)
Thank those Senators who have already signed on

Sen Alexander, Lamar [TN] - 8/5/2009 Sen Begich, Mark [AK] - 7/16/2009
Sen Bennett, Robert F. [UT] - 6/2/2009 Sen Brownback, Sam [KS] - 7/6/2009
Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] - 4/20/2009 Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME] - 4/20/2009
Sen Graham, Lindsey [SC] - 5/13/2009 Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 4/28/2009
Sen Isakson, Johnny [GA] - 4/20/2009 Sen Johnson, Tim [SD] - 4/20/2009
Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] - 4/20/2009 Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 4/20/2009
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] - 4/20/2009 Sen Lincoln, Blanche L. [AR] - 4/20/2009
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [MD] - 6/9/2009 Sen Pryor, Mark L. [AR] - 4/20/2009
Sen Roberts, Pat [KS] - 4/20/2009 Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] - 5/5/2009
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 4/20/2009

  

arrow_right_red Sens. Kerry and Chambliss letter to colleagues (pdf)
arrow_right_red ROA's Position Paper on Early Retirement
arrow_right_red ROA's Early Retirement Resolution 09-08


Service Without Benefit
Marine Corps on patrol 

Congress misfires on
Early Retirement.
     The clarification ROA received on early retirement was, “Effective, date of enactment it is not retroactive due to the extremely high cost.”  Only those serving on contingency operations after Jan 28, 2008 get credit toward earlier retirement. The Congressional Budget Office calculated that the cost over 10 years would be $2.1 billion dollars, if the bill was retoractive to when Guard and Reserve members were first called up. 
     It allows Reserve Component members to earn a reduction in their retirement age by three months for every 90 days they will spend in support of a contingency operation.  While Congress had a fiscal incentive for making enactment the effective date, it just isn't fair to more than 600,000 Guard and Reserve members who have served since September 11, 2001 who are inelibible for the new benefit.
     ROA began conversations with several Capitol Hill offices seeking corrective legislation to restore retroactive eligiblity for those who served earlier.  In 2009, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) reintroduced legislation to correct the eligibility date to September 11, 2001.  While the bill was not included in the mark-up of the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Bill (S.1390), Sens. Kerry and Chambliss were successful at adding it as an amendment. The Senate passed the NDAA on July 23, 2009.  It was sent to the House for consideration.