The Senate will be bringing military pensions back to the drawing board later this month in an effort to undo the recent cuts to the cost-of-living adjustments for working-age military retirees.
According to USA Today, a hearing slated for Jan. 28 will discuss military pensions and the recent changes made to the military retirement system. The hearing comes shortly after the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which was approved by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in late December. The bill authorized 1 percent cuts to the COLA payments of former servicemembers under the age of 62. However, these reductions will not begin until December 2015. A higher rate will apply once the retirees reach age 62.
While the Department of Defense approved the 1 percent cut to COLA, many veterans organizations and lawmakers opposed the reductions. According to The Washington Post, an omnibus Veteran Affairs bill that was introduced in the Senate last week includes a provision that will repeal the COLA reductions. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the bill, stating that it "delivers on the promises that we have made to our service members," the news source reported.