{"id":51916,"date":"2018-10-15T19:53:52","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T19:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/15\/new-or-old-military-retirement-system-take-this-survey-about-how-and-why-you-made-your-choice\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:47:25","slug":"new-or-old-military-retirement-system-take-this-survey-about-how-and-why-you-made-your-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2018\/10\/15\/new-or-old-military-retirement-system-take-this-survey-about-how-and-why-you-made-your-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"New or old military retirement system? Take this survey about how and why you made your choice."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re among the 1.6 million service members who are eligible to choose between the old or new retirement<\/a> systems, an advocacy organization wants you to take a survey<\/a> about why you made the choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service members eligible to opt in to the new Blended Retirement System<\/a> or stay with the legacy system are active duty members who had fewer than 12 years of service \u2014 and reserve-component members in a paid status with fewer than 4,320 retirement points \u2014 as of Dec. 31, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those with more time in the military automatically stay with the legacy system; those entering on or after Jan. 1, 2018, are automatically enrolled in the BRS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deadline for this eligible group to opt in to the new system is Dec. 31, 2018, and the Military Officers Association of America is seeking input from those who have already made the choice. If you\u2019re not eligible to make the decision, you won\u2019t be able to take the survey. If you haven\u2019t yet made a decision, it doesn\u2019t give you the option of noting that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anonymous, short survey<\/a> will be available online through mid-December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It includes 21 questions, and takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. The questions are all multiple choice, with eight questions related to demographics such as branch of service and age. It includes questions about past and present career plans, sources that had the most impact on the choice, the Thrift Savings Plan, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOAA officials want to know what factors played into service members\u2019 decisions, said Mike Barron, a retired Army colonel who is MOAA\u2019s director of government relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to get a good feel in this opt-in year for why people made the decisions they made,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all a personal choice, but a lot of information goes into that very personal decision of whether they should opt in to the new retirement system or stay with what they have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of those factors include the spouse, and whether they think they\u2019ll be able to stay in the military until retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOAA also wants to know whether you think the information provided by the Defense Department and the services has been useful to you in making the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\t