U.S. Air Force to Deny Early Retirement Benefits to Some Transgender Service Members
The U.S. Air Force announced on August 7, 2025, that it will deny early retirement options under the Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) to transgender service members with 15 to 18 years of service, opting instead to separate them without retirement benefits. According to a memo dated August 4, 2025, reviewed by Reuters, these service members face the same choice as more junior personnel: accept a lump-sum separation payment or be involuntarily discharged. This decision affects approximately a dozen transgender airmen who were initially notified their TERA applications were approved, only to have those approvals reversed after higher-level review, as confirmed by an Air Force spokesperson.
The policy stems from the Trump administration’s broader initiative to bar transgender individuals from military service, following a Supreme Court ruling in May 2025 that allowed the Pentagon to implement a ban. The Pentagon justifies the policy by claiming transgender individuals are “medically unfit,” a stance civil rights activists, including lawyer Shannon Leary, call discriminatory and arbitrary, arguing it contradicts the Americans with Disabilities Act, which recognizes gender dysphoria as a protected disability. Affected service members, like Master Sergeant Logan Ireland with 15 years of service, including an Afghanistan deployment, have described the process as “dehumanizing” and “cruel,” with some reporting emotional distress from having service records reverted to their birth gender.
The financial impact is significant, with denied benefits potentially costing individuals hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetimes. As of December 9, 2024, the Pentagon identified 4,240 troops with a gender dysphoria diagnosis, though the actual number of transgender service members may be higher. Legal challenges are expected, with critics like Representative Sara Jacobs arguing the policy harms military readiness. Public sentiment, per a February 2025 Gallup poll, shows 58% of Americans support transgender military service, down from 71% in 2019. For further details, visit Reuters, AP News, or Military.com.