Association of Military Banks of America

New DoD Blended Retirement System – Top Five Things You Need to Know Today

Picture1The Department of Defense is very busy getting the information, education, tools and resources out and into the hands of leadership, troops and their families to make sure the entire community understands the new Blended Retirement System or BRS.  Here are the top five things you need to know to begin to understand the new system.*

  1. You will be hearing a lot about BRS in the next 18 months. It will be good to memorize that new acronym.
  2. On June 1, 2016 DoD released their Leader Course on the BRS. This course, although geared toward leadership (at all levels), is available for anyone to take on the Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) system without having to login with a Common Access Card (CAC).  Check it out – there is some great information in the course and I really like the way it is laid out.
  3. DoD also released a 3-minute video that will fit into anyone’s busy schedule to highlight the basic fundamentals of the new BRS.
  4. 2017 is the year of the BRS. Watch for more information coming in January 2017 from the Department of Defense.  This will include more training, education opportunities and requirements and tools to help you make your decision.
  5. AMBA is here to help. Over the next several weeks AMBA along with help from its member banks and other partners will provide a series of blogs about retirement and saving to help you understand these topics better.

*Military personnel with less than 12 years in service, who entered the military between January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2017, will have the opportunity to opt-in to the BRS or stay in the current retirement plan.

These individuals and their families are the ones most affected by the roll-out of the BRS.  They have to make the decision in calendar year 2017.  If no decision is made, they will automatically stay on the “old” system, not move to the BRS.

Stay tuned for more from AMBA…