What is the BRS? Well, it’s another acronym being added to the long list for the U.S. military community. It represents the new retirement system for the Department of Defense, The Blended Retirement System. There are a lot of different moving parts for the implementation of this new retirement. The first one being, who is eligible for this new retirement system because anyone on active duty with greater than 12 years of service (as of December 31, 2017) is not eligible for the BRS. For Reserve component members the cutoff is greater than 4,320 points by the same date. So that leaves two groups that can/will be in The Blended Retirement System.

1. Service members that join anytime after 1 January 2018 have no choice—you’re in the BRS baby! 
2. Service members with fewer than 12 years of service or 4,320 points (my reserve folks). For this group, you have the choice to select the new retirement system, or you can elect to stay in the old system, A.K.A The Legacy System (I’m not making that up, that’s the real name).

Now that you know who’s eligible, it’s time for the other moving parts, the details. If you’re not confused already by who’s eligible, the years of service, and the dates, adding in all the details of the new retirement system might just do it. To reduce confusion and to help simplify the BRS, I’ve created a video to layout the BRS basics and the main points you need to know. Watch it here ⤵

BRS

Resources

Here are some additional resources for more information: The Blended Retirement System DoD Blended Retirement System Now that you know the basics fo The Blended Retirement System, what do you think? Are you a fan of the new system or would you prefer to keep the old one? Tell me in the comments below because I want to know. If you have a question about money, Tweet me @FinanceLacey or email [email protected] and I’ll answer your what the heck.