US Air Force Denies Early Retirement Benefits To Transgender Personnel

On Thursday, August 7, the U.S. Air Force declared that transgender military personnel who have served between 15 and 18 years will be prohibited from taking early retirement with full benefits.

Instead, these service members will be discharged without receiving retirement compensation.

This policy change eliminates what previously served as a possible option for transgender personnel in the middle of their careers to maintain certain long-term benefits.

The new directive requires these individuals to either take a one-time separation payment — a benefit normally given to junior personnel — or face involuntary discharge from military service.

Speaking to The Associated Press, an Air Force representative confirmed that while service members within this tenure bracket could submit requests for policy exceptions, no such requests received approval.

Related: Transgender Military Officers Lament As Trump’s Ban Takes Full Effect

Approximately twelve military personnel had received “premature notification” that they would be permitted to retire before the Air Force reversed this determination. The representative requested anonymity when discussing internal policy discussions.

The separation of all transgender Air Force personnel is occurring under policies that originated during the Trump administration.

A Monday memorandum, which the AP reviewed, indicated that the determination was reached “after careful consideration of the individual applications.”

This policy modification comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s May decision that permitted the Pentagon to proceed with prohibiting transgender individuals from military service.

Shortly afterward, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth established a procedure that gives openly transgender troops the choice to voluntarily depart with a single payment or face mandatory separation at a later time.

During that period, a Pentagon representative emphasized that the policy would handle those impacted “with dignity and respect.”

Nevertheless, in late July, multiple transgender airmen informed Military.com that the procedure, which involved changing service records back to their birth gender, seemed “dehumanizing” and constituted “open cruelty.”