Pentagon proposals to overhaul the military retirement system are gaining support among America’s career military families, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index released Tuesday.

Almost half (46 percent) of middle-class military families are in favor of Department of Defense proposals that would provide smaller monthly retirement checks but would also include a lump-sum payment immediately upon retirement, First Command says.

The Department of Defense in March proposed several options that would be available with an initial lump-sum payment. At that time, the idea received 13 percent support from military families, says First Command, a financial services organization for military families.

The index focuses on senior non-comissioned and commissioned officers with household incomes of at least $50,000.

The latest index shows an equal number, 46 percent, oppose the changes and 8 percent are unsure.

“The relative openness of career service members to alternative retirement options is a good indication of their desire to seek solutions for an uncertain financial future,” says Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command Financial Services Inc.