Unspent military retirement funds will be tapped to help build border wall

Pentagon officials found extra money in military retirement accounts that will be diverted to help fund construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Defense Department budget experts found an extra $224 million from the military’s new Blended Retirement System because fewer service members than expected opted into the new system in 2018, leaving some of that money unspent, according to the newspaper.

The shift in money out of the retirement accounts will not impact any military benefits for current service members or retirees.

In total, according to the Journal, $6.1 billion in military funds will be diverted for the border wall. The other sources include:

• $604 million that was supposed to support Afghan security forces.
• $251 million in Pentagon funds for destroying chemical weapons.
• $343 million “in spending from Air Force weapons programs where officials have negotiated reductions or canceled systems,” The Journal said.
• Some other military construction funding for military bases may also be used to fund the border wall.
• Funding initially slated for construction projects for military bases across the world could also go toward the border wall.

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