Securing the Frontline's Future: A Qualitative Study on Military Retirement Benefits as Strategic Incentives for Recruitment, Retention, and Post-Service Well-Being in Malaysia

A strong armed forces workforce is essential for national security, but the increasing liabilities in public pensions create financial strain on government spending. This study examines military retirement benefits, administered through public pensions and the Armed Forces Fund Board, as strategic incentives seeking to augment recruitment, retention, and the welfare of military service members' well-being after serving in military service in Malaysia. Unlike public service retirees, who retire at 60 years old, military personnel must leave service in their late 30s to mid-40s, creating a gap of 15 to 25 years before they can access senior social welfare programs. Many retirees realize their LTAT benefits are exhausted within 3 to 5 years owing to limited financial literacy and dependence on lump-sum payments, as well as escalating living expenses. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Life-Cycle Consumption Model, this study takes a qualitative, phenomenological approach, using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with active service members, non-Bumiputra recruits, and retirees, which will be assessed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis. These findings are projected to indicate that retirement benefits are very important psychological incentives to recruit and retain personnel and also to increase levels of workforce diversity while simultaneously highlighting the risks of retirement living off lump-sum payments which would jeopardize post-service stability

LTAT, Theory of Planned Behaviour, non-bumiputera

1. Ahmad, M. Y., Nawi, H. M., Abdullah, M. N., & Ariffin, Z. Z. (2025). Financial planning of Malaysian military households: The mediating role of retirement awareness. Social Security Management Journal, 15(10), 1480–1496. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Alias, A., & Foziah, N. H. M. (2022). Analysis towards the factor of inadequacy retirement fund among EPF members: A review paper. International Journal of Law Policy and Governance, 1(2), 111–118. https://doi.org/10.54099/ijlpg.v1i2.440 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Kassim, Z., Suhaimi, Z. S., Subramaniam, S. A., Zahari, H. M., & Yahaya, M. N. (2024). Military spending and spillover effect on social welfare. Environment and Social Psychology, 9(2), Article 1990. https://doi.org/10.54097/esp.v9i2.1990 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Mohd Hisham, A. H. (2022). Attitude, subjective norms and intention to enlist non-Bumiputra in the Malaysian Army: Moderating effect of self-efficacy (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Nasruddin, N. S., & Halizahari, M. (2025). The impact of work-life benefit, career growth opportunities and job security on the job attractiveness of women in joining the Malaysian Armed Forces. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(3), 1155–1165. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v15-i3/24593 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. O'Keefe, P., & Rongen, G. (2025). Should Malaysia expand its social pension? Global evidence, design issues and options (Social Protection & Labor Discussion Paper No. 2605). World Bank Group. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Radzi, E. M. (2024). Examining the impact of social security programs on military personnel and veterans: A scientometric and scoping review. Social Security Management Journal, 1(2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.32890/ssmj2024.1.2.1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Rahman, M. I. A., & Lau, W. Y. (2024). Pension at stake: Issues and solutions to defined benefit pension scheme in Malaysia. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-2324-9 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Yu-Long Chao (2012) Predicting people’s environmental behaviour: theory of planned behaviour and model of responsible environmental behaviour, Environmental Education Research, 18:4, 437-461, [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Mob Violence and The Rule of Law in Liberia: Rebuilding Public Trust in the Formal Judicial System Through a Comparative Legal Lens