The Blended Retirement System (BRS) went into effect on 1 January 2018. The BRS applies to all service members who entered the Uniformed Services with a Date of Initial Entry into Military Service (DIEMS) of 1 January 2018 or later. The BRS is a combination of a defined benefit plan, similar to predecessor plans that pay monthly retired pay, plus defined contributions and service matching to the Federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).

Implementation of 5% Automatic Enrollment Percentage for Thrift Savings Plan Participants

On 1 October 2020, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) increased the automatic enrollment percentage from 3% to 5% of pay for all Blended Retirement System (BRS) participants who are automatically enrolled in the TSP on or after 1 October 2020, and for BRS participants automatically re-enrolled in the TSP on or after 1 January 2021, per 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 1600.34 and 1600.37. This change will not affect the contribution rates in place for BRS participants who were automatically enrolled prior to 1 October 2020 and did not terminate their contributions. Click here for more information.

Service members who entered the Uniformed Services on or after 1 January 2018 will be automatically enrolled in the Blended Retirement System. Service members with less than 12 years of active-duty service as of 31 December 2017 were afforded the opportunity to opt-in to the Blended Retirement System through 31 December 2018, or remain grandfathered in their current retired pay plan.

Under the Blended Retirement System, service members will receive monthly retired pay upon completion of 20 years of service, plus the balance of their accumulated Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) accounts.

Monthly Retired Pay: Monthly retired pay under the Blended Retirement System will be calculated by multiplying the years of creditable service by 2%, times the average of the Service member's highest 36 months of basic pay, after 20 or more years of service. At the time of retired pay eligibility, service members may choose to receive their full monthly retired pay or request a reduced monthly retired pay along with a lump sum payment of 25% or 50%. The lump sum payment will be calculated based on the Present Value of their retired pay scheduled to be paid until their Full Retirement Age (FRA) for Social Security, usually age 67. It is important to note that the lump sum payment is fully taxable. Members choosing the lump sum option will receive reduced retired pay. Lump sum calculations will consider anticipated cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) between the date of retirement and FRA and will be based upon a personal discount rate to be determined by the Department of Defense (DoD). At FRA, retirees' monthly retired pay will increase back to 100% of their full entitlement.

Thrift Savings Plan: The DoD will automatically contribute an amount equal to 1% of a Service member's active duty basic pay to their TSP beginning 60 days after they enter active duty and continue through their 26th year of service. In addition, after a Service member's second full year of service, the DoD will match service members' voluntary contributions to their TSP accounts up to an additional 4%, bringing total DoD automatic and matching contributions to 5% of basic pay. Service members are fully vested in (entitled to) their TSP accounts after the completion of two years of service. NOTE: Automatic contributions and service matching begins immediately for those who opted-in.

Continuation Pay: Service members enrolled in the Blended Retirement System will be eligible for continuation pay between completion of their 8^th year of service but before completion of 12 years of service (time varies depending on guidance published) in return for a service commitment of four additional years. The amount payable for CY 23 under guidance published by the Secretary of the Army, is 2.5 times the Service member's monthly basic pay for active service members, to include Regular Army (RA), Active Guard Reserve (AGR) and Full Time National Guard Duty (FTNGD). Continuation pay amounts are at the discretion of the Service Secretary. Check back later for CY 24 rates.

Reentry into Service: Service members with less than 12 years of service as of 31 December 2017 who were released from active duty or active status prior to 1 January 2018 and returned after 31 December 2018, may opt-in to the Blended Retirement System within 30 days after reentering service.

Service members who did not opt-in to the Blended Retirement System in 2018 remain grandfathered under the High-36 Retirement System. They may participate in the TSP, but they will not receive matching or automatic contributions from DoD.

West Point Cadets Opt-In: The Blended Retirement System enrollment period for newly commissioned officers is 90 days after their first day of duty following commissioning, after receiving a Blended Retirement System opt-in eligible notification via official government email account.

Access the MyArmyBenefits calculator to calculate your retired pay under the Final Pay, High-36 and BRS Retired Pay Plans:
https://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/Benefit-Calculators/Retirement

Access the MyArmyBenefits Blended Retirement Calculator: 
https://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/Benefit-Calculators/BRS-Comparison-Calculator

NOTE: The MyArmyBenefits calculator pulls the Soldier’s current data to provide the comparison of future retired pay outcomes under both the systems.

Education on the Blended Retirement System is available to all members of the Uniformed Services.

Leader Training to Introduce the Blended Retirement System (BRS) For the Uniformed Services (.5 hr)
https://jkodirect.jten.mil/Atlas2/page/coi/externalCourseAccess.jsf?v=1597693001325&course_prefix=J3O&course_number=P-US1330

Blended Retirement System (BRS) OPT-IN Course (2 hrs)
https://jkodirect.jten.mil/Atlas2/page/coi/externalCourseAccess.jsf?v=1597693048691&course_prefix=J3O&course_number=P-US1332

For more detailed information on retired pay, visit the nearest Army Retirement Services Office (RSO):
https://soldierforlife.army.mil/Retirement/contact-us

Army Human Resources Command My Record Portal:
https://www.hrcapps.army.mil/portal/

Defense Finance and Accounting Service site:
https://www.dfas.mil

DoD Blended Retirement Resources:
https://militarypay.defense.gov/BlendedRetirement/