DoD Proposes Another BRAC Round

Here’s another reminder why you must begin managing your money and retirement today if you are in the service or work in the military as a civilian:

The Pentagon is calling for another round of base realignments and closures (BRAC) as part of more sweeping efforts to cut back on costs.

If you’ve worked for the military or have served the country, you know all too well what BRAC means. Beginning in the 1960s and as the Cold War unwound, BRAC may have saved the government money, but it also resulted in massive layoffs, pay cuts and workforce relocations.

Nothing is immune: bases, installations, airfields, depots, ammunition plans, forts and even laboratories. Whatever the brass, top-officials at the Department of Defense and the politicians in Washington want happens, regardless of your career and your financial needs.

According to FierceGovernment, DoD Acting Secretary John Conger told a Congressional committee this month that this round of BRAC is targeting cost-cutting rather than rebalancing military resources.

“We look at the next round as an efficiency-driven one,” Conger told the committee, according to FierceGovernment. “In such a budget environment as we have today, it only makes sense to avoid spending money on excess.”

“When we want to save money with BRAC,” Conger said. “We do.”

Congress, however, has the final say on the matter.

With all that said, we recommend taking a close look at your pay and benefits structure today. As you well know, we don’t know what Congress or the DoD will do regarding BRAC or really anything for that matter. And your financial and retirement security is more than likely not factored into their cost-cutting equation.

Contact one of our benefits specialists today for a free consultation.