As of today, (5/13/2018) ANYONE who joins the US Military will do so under the new retirement plan, the "Blended Retirement System".
As someone who served 3+ years on active duty in the infantry and another 4 in the National Guard, I am fond of the new rules.
After all, the VAST majority of servicemen and women do NOT stay the full 20 years and receive NO benefits at all upon separating from service. (Yes, they get the VA Loan and college benefits but no medical or retirement benefits.)
The new system will reward service personnel for completing their first tour or two without having to commit to remaining the service for another decade and a half or so. This is good.
Also, as an incentive to keep senior personnel who've served 12 years, think NCO's, they will receive a Continuation Bonus when they sign on for another 4 years.
These NCO's are the backbone of our fighting force and we need for them to continue to serve. They are irreplaceable.
So, giving them bonuses as an incentive to re-up is good for them, and for our country.
Yeah, there will be a reduced pension for those who stay in for 20 yrs or more. But that COULD be more than made up by 5% match on the TSP.
That's a trade-off I'd take in a heartbeat.
On a secondary topic, I discuss pensioners in their decision to take the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) or not.
The SBP is nothing more than a premium payment the retiree makes to allow for his/her surviving spouse to receive 55% of the retiree's benefit at death.
The premium isn't cheap. So, it's imperative the retiree consider ALL options before signing on OR rejecting the offer.
Some folks will opt to not take the SBP and instead buy a life insurance policy. This MAY work. But if it doesn't you could be leaving your surviving spouse in a world of hurt if you die.
Proceed. With. Caution here folks. Understand the ins and outs of ALL options.
http://militarypay.defense.gov/BlendedRetirement/
https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/insurance_life_military_benefits?akredirect=true
