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6/22/2012

FRA Backs Effort to Support ERB Sailors

FRA is adding its support to Rep, Scott Rigell’s (Va.) effort to provide retirement benefits for an additional 172 Sailors cut from the Navy by last year’s Enlisted Retention Boards (ERB).  Nearly 3,000 Sailors have been selected for involuntarily separation from the Navy, but less than 10 percent of them qualify for retirement benefits.  Only those who will complete 15 years of service before September 1, 2012, will be eligible for recently-authorized Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) benefits.

Rigell is a member of the House Armed Services Committee who represents Virginia’s 2^nd Congressional District and a sizable Navy population. He is asking the Navy to extend the TERA retirement option for an additional year to include those who will hit the 15-year mark by September 30, 2013. In a recent letter to Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, Chief of Naval Personnel, Rigell asks that a one-year extension be applied, so more ERB Sailors “may be eligible to apply for TERA benefits … [and have the] opportunity to apply for the maximum benefits allowable by law.” 

National Executive Director Joe Barnes thanked Rep. Rigell for his effort to assist these additional Sailors who are in the senior enlisted grades of E-6 and E-7 and would benefit from the policy extension. “Given the widespread concern throughout the Fleet regarding how the ERB process was managed, anxiety about the possibility of similar actions in the near term and the number of affected personnel, FRA believes extending the involuntary separation deadline is the right thing to do.” He added, “This action would go a long way in reassuring career enlisted Sailors that the Navy understand these concerns.”