BLENDED RETIREMENT SYSTEM ENROLLMENT PERIOD AND CONTINUATION PAY

[Tony]

UNCLASSIFIED
ROUTINE
R 021520Z JUL 18
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
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UNCLAS

NAVADMIN 158/18

PASS TO OFFICE CODES:
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/JUL//

SUBJ/BLENDED RETIREMENT SYSTEM ENROLLMENT PERIOD AND CONTINUATION PAY//

REF/A/DOC/NDAA/13APR15//
REF/B/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/271444ZSEP16//
REF/C/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/281546ZNOV16//
REF/D/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/311929ZJAN17//
REF/E/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/062134ZJUN17//
REF/F/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/201541ZDEC17//
REF/G/DOC/COMNAVPERSCOM/20DEC17//
NARR/REF A IS SECTIONS 631 THROUGH 635 OF NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT, 
SUBTITLE D - DISABILITY PAY, RETIRED PAY, AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS.  
REF B IS NAVADMIN 217/16, ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE BLENDED RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR 
THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.  
REF C IS NAVADMIN 259/16, NOTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY TO OPT-IN TO THE 
BLENDED RETIREMENT SYSTEM.  
REF D IS NAVADMIN 020/17, NOTIFICATION OF AVAILABILITY OF THE BLENDED 
RETIREMENT SYSTEM OPT-IN TRAINING.
REF E IS NAVADMIN 133/17, NOTIFICATION OF AVAILABILITY OF THE BLENDED 
RETIREMENT SYSTEM OPT-IN COMPARISON CALCULATOR.  
REF F IS NAVADMIN 302/17, NOTIFICATION OF THE START OF THE BLENDED RETIREMENT 
SYSTEM ENROLLMENT PERIOD AND ENROLLMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPT-IN ELIGIBLE 
SERVICE MEMBERS.  
REF G IS NAVPERS 15560D, NAVAL MILITARY PERSONNEL MANUAL (MILPERSMAN).//

RMKS/1.  This NAVADMIN reminds eligible Sailors that there are only
6 months left in the Blended Retirement System (BRS) enrollment period.  As 
previously announced in references (a) through (f), the BRS enrollment period 
is from 1 January 2018 until 31 December 2018.  During this period, opt-in 
eligible Service members may enroll in the BRS via the *myPay* website.  Opt-
in eligible Service members who do not choose to enroll in BRS will remain in 
the current *legacy* retirement system.  If a Service member elects to enroll 
in the BRS, that election is irrevocable.  Reference (g) article 1810-080 
contains additional details on BRS opt-in criteria and procedures.

2.  The BRS mid-career Continuation Pay (CP) rates have been released for 
Calendar Year 2019 (CY19).  Please visit
http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-
npc/support/21st_Century_Sailor/readiness/Pages/Personal-Financial-
Management.aspx, to view the CY19 CP Pay Rates memo.  Sailors that wish to 
opt-in to BRS and want to receive the mid-career CP are reminded that they 
must have opted in to BRS and requested CP before 12 years of service (YOS) 
to receive CP.  The CP election is made via Navy Standard Integrated 
Personnel System (NSIPS).  For Service members who have provided NSIPS with 
an up-to-date email address, NSIPS will send them email notifications of CP 
eligibility at 6 months, 6 months and 90 days prior to 12 YOS.  Opt-in 
eligible Service members who choose to enroll in the BRS, and who will reach
12 YOS within the first 90 days of their enrollment may be required to 
manually elect CP through their Command Career Counselor (CCC) due to systems 
processing time.  This manual process is detailed in reference (g) article 
1810-081, see references (f) and (g) for CP details.

3.  Command leaders are charged with ensuring that our opt-in eligible 
Service members are prepared to make an informed financial decision prior to 
the closure of the opt-in window on 31 December 2018.  Ensuring that Sailors 
have the education and training tools needed to make the right decision for 
their situation is the job of command mentors, one of the six elements of 
being *Brilliant on the Basics* for retention and covered in NAVADMINs 
095/18, 100/18, and 043/08.  This responsibility to educate and train Service 
members continues even after they have made the decision to opt-in.  Current 
reports show that there are some Service members who have opted in to BRS but 
are not making contributions to their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Account and 
are therefore not receiving government matching for their TSP.  Leaders 
should encourage members in this situation to work with their Command 
Financial Specialist or a Financial Counselor to review their personal budget 
options to maximize their TSP contributions.

4.  Commands should notify all opt-in eligible Service members within their 
command that there are 6 months left in the BRS enrollment period.  To enable 
this notification, command administration departments must contact their 
supporting personnel office to certify the list of all opt-in eligible 
Service members is current within their command.

5.  BRS information can be found on the Navy BRS page at
http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-
npc/support/21st_Century_Sailor/readiness/Pages/Personal-Financial-
Management.aspx.

6.  As stated in references (b) through (e), the opt-in decision may be the 
most important financial decision of an eligible Service member, their 
family, and Navy career.  A concerted effort by the Navy Total Force must be 
made to ensure that opt-in eligible Service members understand the opt-in 
decision and are equipped to make this decision prior to the closure of the 
opt-in period on 31 December 2018.

7.  Released by Vice Admiral R. P. Burke, N1.//

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