Benefits are paid for two reasons: fair compensation for service and incentive for others.
Incentives are for two reasons: motivate the current recipient and motivate others who might join or extend their service. The latter reasons for both pay and incentives are the drivers. Pleasing retirees does not buy measurable readiness!! That is really the end of the story, but for perspective, the military got significant pay raises during the late '90's to make up for previous low pay raises, but for someone who got those low raises and retired in say 1995-97 (and was probably a Vietnam vet) did not get any form of RECOMP, becasue paying a retiree more any past service does NOT BUY READINESS. That is how it is and concertizing all our overall benefits, we should be proud enough to not snivel.