Evaluating the Military Retirement System: An Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint Analysis Approach

The article discusses historical aspects in building a system of pension provision for military servicemen representing a specific social institution which in modern realia is of critical importance in addressing the issues of national security of Ukraine. A retrospective analysis of the historical genesis of the military retirement system demonstrates that the government efforts to ensure social protection of ex-servicemen have laid a solid foundation for shaping a common institution for social security provision to population. The study reveals the nature of economic and social significance of the military retirement system. In the context of the modern stage of military retirement system reform, pension as an economic category is understood as a cash benefit, the right to receive which is established by the government according to the current legislation for citizens who meet certain requirements of the national pension system provision. The research findings also reveal that as a social category, after retirement, the pension acts as a guarantor of economic stability of ex-servicemen and members of their families. The efficiency of the three-tier pension system has been substantiated. The study provides evidence on the existence of a normative legal framework in Ukraine regulating the pension provision to servicemen and their families, the implementation of which however is hampered by the lack of a secure comprehensive system that ensures relevant programs for retired servicemen pension maintenance. Apart from the lack of viable mechanisms for the implementation of ex-servicemen pension plans, Ukraine is currently facing a whole range of internal and external barriers to ensuring decent financial security in military retirement. Among such challenges are the high social risks of the current imbalance between the number of retirees and the number of working-age population. In addition, the replenishment pattern of the Ukrainian national pension system is based on the government subsidies by almost 50%, which in the long run may translate into further increase in the tax burden on business, and as a consequence, will lead to its further shadowing. The study suggests creating a robust regulatory system and an action plan aimed at step-by-step waiver of the solidarity-based military retirement system and shifting to a compulsory two-tier accumulation system of mandatory social contributions through the scheme of deductions from salaries and incomes, thus ensuring a relevant financial support mechanism to facilitate appropriate labor remuneration to ex-servicemen.

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