Pay, pay raises, pay allowances, pay charts - Air Force Times

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Pay and allowances


The section is your one-stop source for information on the dozens of pays and allowances the Defense Department maintains for service members. From the Basic Allowance for Housing to the Thrift Savings Plan, you can find out what you need to know here.

Pay


  • Pay, benefits need overhaul now, panel says
    The military faces a potentially severe personnel and readiness crisis if it does not undertake radical reform of its personnel, pay and retirement systems, says a member of the Commission on the...
  • GI Bill pay for on-the-job training drops by $100
    GI Bill payments for on-the-job and apprenticeship training have dropped by more than $100 a month because Congress failed to extend a two-year-old pilot program that provided higher rates.
  • Army delays temp duty limits for reservists
    The Army has delayed a policy that would place limits on temporary duty for Reserve and National Guard members.
  • Vet-turned-lawmaker pushes legal safeguards
    An Iraq war veteran elected to Congress last fall wants to put some teeth into the financial and legal protections for deployed and mobilized service members.
  • Troops could lose leave due to administrative snag
    Active and reserve troops who stand to earn extra days of administrative leave for long deployments and mobilizations and are just now coming off those tours of duty could have a nasty surprise in...
  • Commissaries
    Commissaries are military supermarkets, with all items sold at cost plus a 5 percent surcharge. The Defense Commissary Agency oversees 263 stores worldwide on Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps...
  • Exchanges
    An exchange is the military’s version of a department store. Soldiers call it a PX, for post exchange. Airmen say BX, for base exchange. Sailors call it a ship’s store when afloat and NEX...
  • Life insurance
    Active-duty service members automatically are insured for $400,000 under the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance program.
  • Death benefits
    Most military installations have casualty assistance officers to help families of service members who die on active duty. The officers are responsible for notifying the family of the death and the...
  • Basic Pay
    Basic pay, which is taxable, makes up the largest portion of most service members’ paychecks. In 2007, basic pay starts at $1,203.90 a month for enlisted people with less than four months of...
  • Basic Allowance for Housing
    Basic Allowance for Housing is the modern version of a military program dating from 1878 under which service members are provided government quarters or a cash substitute when quarters are...
  • Subsistence Allowance
    Basic Allowance for Subsistence is a nontaxable allowance to defray a portion of the cost of service members’ subsistence, essentially food. Rates increase each Jan. 1 to match an Agriculture...
  • Foreign Language Proficiency
    In a major push to expand language capabilities, the services now offer up to $1,000 a month for active-duty members and up to $6,000 a year for reservists with needed language skills. The highest...
  • Hardship Duty Pay
    There are two types of hardship-duty pay: HDP-L for serving in a hardship location, and HDP-M for serving on special hardship missions.
  • Hazardous Duty/Parachute
    People in especially dangerous jobs, such as those who handle toxic chemicals, are entitled to hazardous-duty incentive pay. Officers and enlisted personnel in such positions collect an extra $150...
  • Imminent-Danger or Hostile-Fire Pay
    When military personnel serve on land, aboard ship or in aircraft within an officially declared “imminent-danger area,” they are entitled to an extra $225 a month.
  • Medical Personnel
    Special pay for medical personnel is intended to narrow the gap between military and civilian salaries for medical professionals and provide a means to attract and retain beyond initial obligation.
  • Nuclear Duty
    Navy officers with critical skills in the nuclear field are eligible for several kinds of special pay:
  • Overseas Tour Extension
    The services have authority to pay bonuses to service members with certain skills to extend their overseas tours in certain locations. Those who qualify can choose one of four options:
  • Sea Pay Premium
    Sailors in paygrades E-4 and below are entitled to an extra $100 a month in sea pay after serving three consecutive years on sea duty. The extra benefit is built into regular sea pay for E-5s through...
  • Selective Reenlistment Bonus
    To keep some experienced, highly skilled people in uniform, the military can offer re-enlistment bonuses.
  • Submarine Duty
    This is incentive for submariners in addition to sea pay, based on rank and years of service.
  • Adoption Subsidy
    The military adoption subsidy, a $2,000 reimbursement per child (with a maximum of $5,000 per calendar year for multiple adoptions) for certain adoption expenses, is available if you use a nonprofit...
  • Assignment Incentive Pay
    There are several uses for assignment incentive pay, which can be up to $3,000 a month.
  • Career Status Bonus
    Those who entered the military after Aug. 1, 1986, may take a one-time bonus of $30,000, payable in a lump sum or annual installments, when they reach their 15th anniversary of service, in return for...
  • Diving
    The risk associated with diving merits extra pay. The maximum rate of $340 a month goes to master divers, with varying lesser rates going to divers with other skills and experience levels.
  • Enlistment Bonus
    Enlistment bonuses go to new recruits as an incentive to join. Often, part of the bonus is a lump sum, with the remainder paid in installments. Each service has its own program. The maximum...
  • Flight Pay
    Flight pay is intended to keep pilots, navigators and other aviators in the military.
  • Overseas Housing Allowance
    About 44,000 people stationed overseas and living off base receive the Overseas Housing Allowance, which is based on rental cost surveys generally conducted every six months and then adjusted...
  • Earned Income Tax Credit
    The EITC helps offset Social Security and Medicare contributions from the lowest-income wage earners. The size of the credit and qualifying income thresholds change each year.
  • Automatic Withholdings
    The following are details on common withholdings and tax issues for service members.
  • Federal Income Tax
    Service members pay federal income tax on basic pay, bonuses and most special pays, and they also pay state income taxes. Military allowances, including housing and subsistence allowances, generally...
  • Garnishment
    Up to 25 percent of a service member’s paycheck can be attached by private creditors to pay overdue debts incurred while on active duty. Creditors can lay claim to bank accounts or personal...
  • Life Insurance
    Life insurance premiums are automatically deducted from pay. You must submit a written request to refuse coverage or choose partial coverage.
  • Social Security
    Social Security and Medicare taxes are paid by troops and the federal government. Both pay a tax equal to 7.65 percent of the member’s pay.
  • Storms may have spurred jump in food-stamp use
    A 10-percent spike in food-stamp redemptions at military commissaries is likely a lingering aftereffect of Hurricane Katrina and other storms, commissary officials said.

Allowances


  • Clothing
    Officers get a one-time payment of $400 after commissioning to buy uniforms and insignia.
  • Travel
    The government pays for official travel on airplanes, trains, cars and ships, but with some restrictions. In general, the type of transportation used must be the least expensive option that is timely...
  • Dislocation
    Government-paid moves and travel allowances often fall short of actual costs of permanent change-of-station moves. The nontaxable dislocation allowance covers some of that extra expense. For 2007,...
  • Cost-of-Living Allowance
    A cost-of-living allowance is paid to military personnel assigned to high-cost locations in the continental U.S., defined as the 48 contiguous states and excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
  • Family Separation Pay
    Service members assigned or deployed to places outside the U.S. or to Alaska, where the government will not move families, face dozens of extra expenses, from the cost of minor home repairs and yard...
  • Thrift Savings Plan
    The federal Thrift Savings Plan allows participants to place a portion of their monthly pay into an account similar to a 401(k) investment plan for private-sector workers. The contributions are in...
  • Per Diem
    Per diem is a daily allotment for the cost of food and lodging for service members on government business or temporary duty away from their home station. The military also pays per diem for lodging...
  • Savings Deposit Program
    Service members deployed to designated combat zones can earn a guaranteed 10 percent interest rate on their savings under this little-known program created during the Vietnam War era.
  • Temporary Lodging
    Covers the cost of temporary housing occupied outside the continental U.S. when moving to or from an overseas assignment. It varies by location and is based on the per diem rate set for the service...

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