Author Description

"In 2007, Congress extended the military's basic pay tables to 40 years to provide an incentive for the most-experienced members to continue to serve. In 2015, the Senate Armed Services Committee requested that the U.S. Department of Defense review the 40-year pay table and report on whether it is still necessary for retaining experienced personnel or whether such retention could be equally achieved with a 30-year pay table. RAND researchers were asked to assist in this review, and this report documents their analysis. Using a multimethod approach, including semistructured interviews and RAND's Dynamic Retention Model, researchers found that while both a 40-year and 30-year table could be equally effective in sustaining retention (as long as the services would have adequate special pay to manage retention under a 30-year table), continuing with the 40-year table is preferred. It performs well, and its financial cost is relatively small; in contrast, reverting to the 30-year table could adversely affect morale and perceptions about the stability and value of military compensation overall"--Back cover.