When the Blended Retirement System was created more than five years ago, one of its primary goals was to help service members set themselves up financially for the future, even if they didn't stay for 20 years and retire. That aim is being met, according to defense officials. Before BRS, under the legacy retirement system, fewer than 20 percent of troops served long enough to receive military retired pay. Today, the majority of active duty service members participate in the Blended Retirement System and will receive a government retirement benefit if they serve at least two years, even if they don't qualify for a full retirement The setup is called "blended" because if s a blend of the long-standing annuity provision for those who retire from service, plus matching contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan and other features. The TSP, a retirement savings and investment plan for uniformed service members and federal government employees, is similar to 401k plans in the civilian sector.
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