I'm no fan of getting a smaller pension but we need to face a few facts. The figures quoted earlier for the percentage of our salaries the MoD pays for our pensions are actually too low. No civilian employer pays anything like this and we pay nothing (well, maybe the AFPRB abate our pay a little - but it is only a little). And that money is not at the mercy of the financial markets as we have a defined benefit scheme which can only be changed by legislation. Given that the Armed Forces have a few friends and a pretty good rep I know which one I would rather take my chances with.
Now it happens that our employer can no longer afford to pay quite such staggeringly generous amounts, and Lord Hutton (a Labour peer by the way) has told them that they shouldn't be trying to any more. So we are going to get less in future, which isn't great, but we need to wake up and smell a bit of coffee here. I've noticed the world economy teetering on the brink of disaster, which is a teeny bit relevant. We have been told that those currently serving will keep whatever benefits they have earned from the current scheme, and maybe this new '10 year' promise will make things less painful still. And you can be damn sure if you jump ship over this, the new deck you land on will be lower than the one you left.
Happy retiring!