I'd be interested to see what our retirement costs the gov't per retiree and again per member.
For the retiree, sure, you've got your flag officers, and you've got some retirees that live to be 100+. But for survivor benefits there is a signifigant contribution from the member; a sort of insurance premium.
Per member, I think the gov't is doing quite well for itself given the percentage of those who get out before 20, and members that pass with only a few retirement years without survivor benefits.
I for one would be happy to trade in our FERS system for the pension. Unfortunately when the math is done, I think we're going to get a significantly watered down result when the benefits are spread over all members, not just the 20+ crowd.
Nearly every "adjustment" in benefits I've seen in my lifetime: Champus-->TRICARE, Final Pay-->High-3-->Choice/REDUX, (notable exception: MGIB-->P911GIB), has been [gov't savings driven]-->[member net benefit reduction].
Right thing to do? Maybe. We can all passionately argue why these are deserved benefits. But has the quality of our force survived previous reductions? I think so. It will again if this latest idea gains traction.