Army News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Army Times

Pay and benefits 2008

The 2008 military pay and benefits plan approved by Congress would — if enacted — tackle past, present and future needs.

In terms of the past, lawmakers took big steps in the 2008 defense authorization bill to close gaps in benefits coverage for disabled military retirees who were left out of previous initiatives to allow concurrent receipt of full military retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation.

Lawmakers also took a small but symbolic step toward allowing eligible survivors to get their full share of both benefits.

To address current needs, the bill, HR 1585, would include an all-ranks pay raise slightly higher than private-sector wage growth. The 3.5 percent raise, effective Jan. 1, was approved over White House and Pentagon objections that an extra half-percentage point increase is overly generous.

Joseph Barnes, executive director of the Fleet Reserve Association and co-chairman of the Military Coalition, a group of more than 30 military-related advocacy groups, said the bigger pay raise “is very important, as it sends a strong message about the value of military service.”

Discuss

The 2008 authorization bill

Several initiatives are aimed at trying to reduce or eliminate differences in active and reserve benefits, such as education benefits and housing allowances.

Lawmakers also continued to block a Pentagon initiative to pass along a larger portion of rising health care costs to people who use the military’s Tricare health insurance plan. Under the bill, for at least another year there would be no hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles or co-pays for Tricare insurance or pharmacy benefits.

Lawmakers have set the stage for a major overhaul of bonuses and special and incentive pays to take effect in 2009. The plan has two parts: streamlining benefits to reduce confusion, and giving the services more flexibility to set eligibility rules and payments to ensure the incentives stay competitive.

Congressional negotiators agreed on details of the bill Dec. 6, and the House approved the measure Dec. 12. Senate leaders promised to get the bill to the White House for Bush’s signature before Christmas. While there had been warnings that the bill could be vetoed for a variety of reasons, disagreements between the White House and Congress appear to be resolved.

Retired Air Force Col. Steve Strobridge, government relations director for the Military Officers Association of America, said the 2008 pay plan “has just a ton of initiatives that provide a lot of help.

“The range of initiatives is as broad as any bill I have seen in a decade,” he said. “I think it has been an excellent year. Congress deserves a lot of credit for making progress on a lot of fronts.”

Barnes, a retired Navy master chief, said the bill may not do everything that military groups sought on behalf of active, reserve and retired service members and their families, but “it is huge.”

A rundown of the major pay and benefits initiatives in the bill:

Basic pay

What: Basic pay and drill pay would increase 3.5 percent, slightly more than the 3 percent proposed by the White House.

The 3.5 percent increase is half a percentage point above the 2006 increase in average private-sector wages. As a result, the gap between military and private-sector pay, measured by comparing increases since 1980, would drop from the current 4 percent to about 3.5 percent.

A House-passed proposal that would have required military pay raises for 2009 through 2012 to also be half a percentage point greater than average private-sector increases was not adopted as part of the final bill.

Who: All ranks, both active and Selected Reserve, will receive the same increase.

When: Effective Jan. 1; first appears in mid-January checks.

Thrift Savings Plan deductions

What: For troops enrolled in the federal Thrift Savings Plan, monthly contributions would be deducted from both mid-month and end-of-month paychecks, instead of one check per month. This would eliminate wide swings in take-home pay.

Who: About 20 percent of the military is enrolled in TSP.

When: The change won’t take effect until the military’s payroll system is ready.

BAH for reservists

What: Reservists without dependents would receive basic allowance for housing during accession training if they have a permanent residence. Previously, housing allowances were limited to recruits and officers attending initial training who had a spouse or children at home. The average payment is expected to be about $840 a month for the typical 4½ months of training.

Who: About 30,000 people per year.

When: Applies to months starting on or after the date the bill is signed.

Temporary Lodging Expenses

What: The maximum number of days a service member can get Temporary Lodging Expense payments, now capped at 20 days, would increase to 60 days under unusual circumstances. The longer entitlement to the $180 daily allowance would apply after a major disaster or when an installation has a sudden spike in arriving personnel.

Who: Nobody can predict disaster, but as the Army moves troops from Germany to domestic bases, the provision could be a big help if temporary housing shortages occur.

When: Effective when the bill is signed into law, but the services would have to invoke emergency rules for the extra days to apply.

Income replacement

What: Thresholds for mobilized reserve members to get income replacement payments would change under a clarification requested by the Pentagon. The change counts days, rather than months, to determine eligibility, and also authorizes income replacement payments to continue if a service member is retained on active duty for medical treatment or to be evaluated for a disability.

Under revised rules, involuntarily mobilized National Guard or reserve members would be eligible for income help if they meet one of three thresholds: completing 547 continuous days of active service; completing 730 cumulative days of service in a 1,826-day period; or being called up for involuntary mobilization of 180 days or longer within 180 days of a previous involuntary mobilization that lasted 180 days or longer.

Who: About one-third of mobilized reservists would make less money when mobilized than in civilian life, but few would qualify because most mobilizations are for fewer than than 547 days.

When: Effective when the bill is signed. The income replacement program is currently set to expire Dec. 31, 2008.

Bonus/special pay extensions

What: Twenty-four bonuses and special pays that expire Dec. 31 would be extended for a year, including enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses, accession bonuses for officers, and bonuses for new or continued service by active and reserve health professionals, nuclear-qualified officers, pilots and other people in critically needed specialties.

Who: Depending on retention levels, about one-third of military personnel would receive enlistment or retention incentives.

When: The incentive programs would be extended to Dec. 31, 2008.

Hardship-duty pay

What: Hardship duty pay would rise to a new maximum of $1,500 a month, and lump sums could be offered instead of monthly payments. The current maximum payment is $150 per month.

Who: The Army wants to launch a Warrior Pay program based on hardship-duty pay.

When: Effective when the bill is signed, but it would be up to each service to decide whether to use the new payment rates.

Sea pay for LCS crews

What: Career sea pay, which ranges from $70 to $730 based on the number of years of sea duty, would be authorized for the off-crews of multicrew ships.

Who: The provision is aimed at crews of Littoral Combat Ships.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Nuclear officer continuation bonus

What: Nuclear-qualified officers with more than 26 years of service would be eligible to continue receiving continuation bonuses until their 30th year of service. An officer who agrees to serve an additional three years can receive $22,000 a year, and an officer who agrees to a four- or five-year commitment can receive $25,000 a year.

Who: Navy submarine officers.

When: Effective when the bill is signed. Officers with existing commitments would be allowed to revise them to get more pay by promising to serve longer.

Reserve re-enlistment bonus

What: An existing tiered bonus program that bases rates on the length of re-enlistment for drilling reservists would be replaced by a more flexible plan with a bonus of up to $15,000.

Who: National Guard and reserve members in critical specialties.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Critical skills retention bonus

What: Up to $200,000 would become available to enlisted members or officers with more than 25 years of service. Previously, 25 years was the time-in-service limit for payment of this bonus.

Who: Special operations troops are most likely to be offered the bonus.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Medical bonus increases

What: The maximum multiyear retention bonus and incentive special pay for medical officers would increase by $25,000 to a new maximum of $75,000. For dental officers, the maximum special pay increases to $10,000 for those with fewer than three years of service and $12,000 for more than three, up from the previous $4,000 and $6,000 rates.

Who: About 2,000 people would qualify.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Assignment incentive pay

What: Mobilized reservists who served at least 22 cumulative months in the Afghanistan and Iraq combat zones between Jan. 1, 2003, and Jan. 19, 2007, could receive $1,000 in assignment incentive pay for each month served beyond 22. Voluntary and involuntary mobilizations would count.

Who: Only Army reservists are expected to qualify. About 3,700 Army National Guard and Army Reserve members are expected to get payments averaging $4,000.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Drill travel allowance

What: Some reservists would be reimbursed for traveling to monthly drills. At the discretion of each service, reimbursement of up to $300 per drill weekend could be provided to those who commute long distances, have critically needed skills, are assigned to a unit that’s critically short of people, are in a paygrade that is critically short, or are assigned to a unit being relocated or disestablished by base closings or realignments.

Who: The services have not indicated how they would use the allowance.

When: Effective when the bill is signed; would expire Dec. 31, 2010.

Funeral travel

What: Travel expenses for the burial ceremonies of service members who die on active duty would be extended to include the children and siblings of the deceased, regardless of their age. Stepchildren and adopted children would be covered. If a person designated by a service member to be responsible for his funeral is not otherwise covered under the travel policy, that individual also would be eligible for reimbursement, up to the government rates for official travel by members.

Who: Families of people who die on active duty.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Concurrent receipt

What: Two major expansions of concurrent receipt — receiving, without offset, full military retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation — were approved by negotiators.

One change would allow people medically retired from the military with fewer than 20 years of service to get Combat Related Special Compensation, something currently denied them. This does not cover everyone who retired on disability — only those with combat-related disabilities.

The second change is aimed at those whose Department of Veterans Affairs disability rating is based, in part, on the fact that their condition prevents them from working. VA policy allows someone with a disability rated as low as 60 percent to be considered 100 percent disabled if he is unable to hold down a job, but the Defense Department has refused to consider the portion of a rating related to employability when calculating concurrent receipt payments.

Who: About 100,000 retirees are considered unemployable as a result of disability.

When: Effective Jan. 1 for those medically retired with fewer than 20 years of service. Veterans whose employability is a factor in their disability ratings would be authorized additional payment retroactive to Jan. 1, 2005, but would not receive the money until Oct. 1, 2008.

Reserve retirement

What: Two changes are included for reserve retired pay.

One would allow some reservists to receive retired pay earlier than age 60, when payments now begin. For every 90-day period of mobilization in support of a contingency operation, retirement could be received 90 days earlier than age 60. There are two key limits: The minimum age for retirement is 50, and only time spent on active duty after the bill is signed into law would count.

The second change would allow accumulation of 130 retirement points per year, an increase over the current 90. The number of accumulated points is used to calculate retirement pay.

Who: All reservists could potentially benefit.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Commissary/exchange privileges

What: People involuntarily separated from the military could continue using commissaries and exchanges for up to two years as a transition benefit.

Who: Active-duty and Selected Reserve members in any branch of the military.

When: Effective when the bill is signed; terminates Dec. 31, 2012.

Rest and recuperative leave

What: The number of days of rest and recuperative leave granted to service members deployed overseas for more than 12 months would permanently increase to 20 days from the current 15.

Who: Defense and service officials would continue to have authority to decide when and under what circumstances the leave is provided. People on deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq are most likely to benefit.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Excess leave

What: Temporary policies to help service members manage accumulated leave would allow up to 75 days to be rolled over from one year to the next — 15 more than current law — and would allow enlisted members who have more than 120 days of leave a one-time chance to cash in up to 30 days.

Who: Many service members who have spent excessive time deployed earn more leave than they can use.

When: Effective when the bill is signed. The rollover of extra days expires Dec. 31, 2010.

Parental deployment deferral

What: Single parents or dual-military couples with minor children could request a deferral of deployment to a combat zone if their child-care plans fall through. Procedures for applying would be determined as part of an overhaul of the Defense Department’s family care policy.

Who: Single parents and dual-service couples in all services, active and reserve, would be eligible.

When: The Pentagon would have to write rules before anyone could apply for a deferral.

GI Bill for reservists

What: Reservists called to active duty could earn active-duty GI Bill education benefits with as few as three cumulative years of mobilized active-duty service, a lower threshold than previously required. Reservists who earn extra GI Bill benefits through mobilization also could receive accelerated payments for technical courses and, like active-duty members, could obtain additional benefits through the so-called “buy-up” program.

Who: Only a few reservists — mainly those with critical, high-demand skills — would have the three years of service needed to qualify.

When: Accelerated benefits take effect Oct. 1, and the other two changes apply as soon as the bill becomes law.

Tricare fees

What: Premiums, deductibles and co-payments for Tricare Prime, Standard and Reserve Select would be frozen for one year to prevent the Pentagon from implementing increases.

Who: Retirees, reservists and their families.

When: Effective immediately; expires Sept. 30.

Pharmacy co-pays

What: Co-payments for using the Tricare retail pharmacy benefit would be capped at $3 for generic drugs, $9 for brand-name drugs on what is known as the formulary list, and $22 for brand names not on the formulary.

Who: Family members of active-duty troops, retirees and reservists enrolled in Tricare.

When: Effective when the bill is signed.

Survivors’ allowance

What: A new survivors’ allowance of $50 a month was approved for surviving spouses eligible to receive both military survivor benefits and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation from the VA. The allowance is intended to partly make up for the dollar-for-dollar offset in the military benefit required of those who also get the veterans’ payment. Only spouses of deceased troops who were entitled to retired pay at the time of death, including reservists who were not yet old enough to draw retired pay, would be eligible. Payments would begin at $50 and increase by $10 each year until 2013, capping at $100 a month.

Who: Spouses of retirees who die of service-related causes.

When: Effective Oct. 1, with increases Oct. 1 in each of the following five years.

Death gratuity beneficiary

What: Service members would have more latitude in selecting who can be the beneficiary of the $100,000 death gratuity payable upon their death. In increments of 10 percent, they could allot percentages for partial payment to someone other their immediate family.

However, spouses who are not designated as the beneficiary must be notified of that in writing.

Who: All service members would have the chance to change their beneficiary.

When: No later than July 1.