Tag Archives: budget

Military Advance Pay – It’s not a Payday loan

Posted on June 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

A little known provision of military pay is called “advance pay.” Advance pay is neither an entitlement nor a guarantee, but may be an option your service member can request before or shortly after a PCS (permanent change of station) if there is a need. Advance pay is a type of pay that is used to help offset the cost of the move and cover extraordinary expenses such as, loss of a spouse’s income, down payment on a home, or cost of maintaining two households. Advance pay is just that – an advance of your service member’s basic pay.

DoD Instruction 1340.18 provides the nitty, gritty details about advance pay. A service member may be eligible to apply for 1 – 3 months of advance pay. The repayment period ranges from 12 – 24 months. A service member can make a request to receive advance pay 30 days prior to a PCS or 60 days after a PCS. The service member’s administrative department can help process the necessary paperwork, form DD 2560. A service member must be able to demonstrate why the funds are needed and a shopping spree or a new pool does not count as an unmet need. For example, the service member may be asked to complete a budget or financial worksheet outlining the additional costs related to the move. The service member must also be able to show that other pay entitlements do not cover these additional out-of-pocket costs of the move. If the service member requests more than one month of basic pay, the request will need to be reviewed by the service member’s immediate command. Likewise, if the service member requests a repayment period exceeding 12 months, the service member must justify the extended payback period.

Cautionary notes:

Advance pay is an interest-free advance of the service member’s basic pay and must be repaid. This means the service member’s pay will be reduced each month during the repayment period.
Advance pay must be repaid even if the service member voluntarily or involuntarily separates from the service. You borrowed against your future earnings and must pay it back.
Your advance pay is taxable income and may impact your income taxes. Be sure to consult with a tax professional to review your specific situation.

Personal stories from families who have applied for advance pay suggest having your justification and supporting paperwork ready. Many families are able to receive one month of basic pay with a 12 month repayment period. Anything beyond one month of pay and a 12 month repayment may not only involve the service member’s command but may also require financial counseling. Be sure to fully understand the cautionary notes before you request this benefit.

Have you requested advance pay? How did it impact your family’s budget?

by Katie Savant, Government Relations Information Manager

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Posted in Your benefits

Tagged budget, financial readiness, military families

Infographic: sequestration + military families

Posted on March 21, 2013 | 1 Comment

Throughout the process of anticipating and now feeling the effects of sequestration, military families have had many questions and concerns. Our Association staff has worked hard to address a lot of the rumors around the situation, but another way to speak out is to continue to talk about the way our leaders’ hesitance will cut military families to the core.

We’ve written open letters to the President and to Congress, but one of the most effective ways we’ve spread this message is our online community sharing important facts with their own networks of military and civilian friends.

Here are all our infographics in one place. Let’s continue to share these startling facts and keep the conversation going. We won’t stop talking about it until our leaders reach an agreement and keep the promises made to military families and we hope you won’t either!

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Posted in Speaking up

Tagged budget, Congress, sequestration

Military Saves: Set a Goal. Make a Plan. Save Automatically.

Posted on February 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

The theme for Military Saves Week 2013 is more than just a theme; it’s the essence of a sound approach to savings, designed to help individuals take financial action. Set a Goal. Make a Plan. Save Automatically. Knowing what you want to save for, how to achieve it, and then automating the savings process will allow you to reach your savings goal.

Set a Goal

You can save more by having a specific goal in mind. Visualizing what you want to save for gives your savings a purpose. You may be tempted to spend your savings if it has no purpose. But once you have a goal in place, you know that taking money out of your savings is taking away from that ultimate goal. So what are you saving for? An emergency fund, a home, retirement, a car? Go viral with your savings goal! Take a photo of your goal and post it on our Association’s Facebook page or tweet it using the hashtag #MSW2013.

Make a Plan

Once you have your goal in place, make a plan of how you are going to save. To start, cut down on your spending and reduce high-cost debt. Next, keep track of what you spend and make a budget. Once you know where your money is going each month, you can cut down on unneeded spending and save the difference.
Don’t forget to keep your savings safe, secure, and growing. Banks, credit unions, and even the government offer a variety of financial products that can help you save.

Save Automatically

It can be hard to put aside money for savings. But there is an easy way to save money without ever missing it. Once you know how much you can save, make saving automatic. Use an allotment or automatically transfer a portion of your paycheck into a savings account.

We want to hear from you! Have you already set a goal? Made a plan or budget? Do you save automatically? Share what has worked for your family.

Posted by Christine Gallagher, Government Relations Deputy Director at the National Military Family Association

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Posted in Events, Resources + Information

Tagged budget, financial readiness, Military Saves, money

Military Saves Week: Starting to save

Posted on February 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

I remember when my husband and I made our first concerted effort to save. He had just left for his first deployment and I decided I wanted to sign up for the Savings Deposit Program (SDP). Fresh off a pre-deployment brief, I wanted to put my newly found knowledge to good use and take advantage of this great savings opportunity.

A military member can deposit funds into a SDP account once he or she has been deployed for 30 days. The military member must be receiving Hostile Fire Pay. A total of $10,000 may be deposited during each deployment and will earn 10% interest annually. This sounded like an attractive option for us.

Although my intentions were good, we didn’t get a chance to set up the account before my husband deployed. I went to our local finance office and learned I would need a special power of attorney to set up the SDP account on my husband’s behalf. (My general power of attorney wouldn’t work.)

I didn’t let this setback derail us from our long-term savings plans. Instead, I researched products available through military banks and credit unions and settled on a money market account. Every other week I would take my paper paycheck (yes, I worked for a small employer who did not use direct deposit) and deposit half of my paycheck into our new money market account. I calculated that about half of my paycheck was the additional funds we received while my husband was deployed, which included the family separation allowance, hostile fire pay, and tax benefit.

By the end of the deployment, we had a good savings foundation! The most valuable lesson we learned was about financial discipline and how to save money. We successfully accounted for savings in our budget. It was no longer an afterthought, but a regular habit.

During Military Saves Week I encourage you to take the saver’s pledge and put that pledge into action.

My husband and I are faithful savers today. I look forward to the messages I receive from the Military Saves campaign in order to help find new ways to save and to stay on track.

What helped your family start to save?

Posted by Katie Savant, Government Relations Information Manager at the National Military Family Association and blogger at www.MilitaryFamilyCents.com, where this post originally appeared

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Posted in Events

Tagged budget, financial readiness, Military Saves, money

5 Easy Ways to Get Involved in Military Saves Week and Save Successfully

Posted on February 25, 2013 | 1 Comment

Military Saves Week (February 25 – March 2, 2013) is a chance for individuals to evaluate their saving status, take financial action to reach goals, and become part of a supportive environment of military savers. Everyone can take the Military Saves pledge, and if you’ve pledged in the past, you can renew your pledge and commitment to saving. Studies reveal that having a savings plan with specific goals can have beneficial financial effects, regardless of income level.

Here are 5 easy ways to get involved in Military Saves Week:

1. Take the Military Saves Pledge
Pledge or re-pledge today! Those with a savings plan are twice as likely to save for emergencies and retirement as those without a plan. Join over 310,000 people who have already committed to save.

2. Assess Your Savings
Find out if you are saving in all the right places with this 12 step savings assessment.

3. Test Your Savings Knowledge
Take this savings quiz to reveal how much you understand about the realities of saving in America.

4. Share Savings Tips and Advice with Family and Friends
On Twitter and Facebook? Share your pledge and your best savings and financial tips with your family and friends. On Twitter, use hashtag #MSW2013. Get everyone to become a saver!

5. Share Your Savings Goal
We want to hear from you! What are you saving for? Post or tweet a photo of you with your savings goal to Facebook or Twitter. Download the “I’m Saving For…” sign and share your photo and savings goal today!

Military Saves Week is coordinated by Military Saves and is part of the Department of Defense’s Financial Readiness Campaign. Started in 2007, Military Saves Week is an annual opportunity for organizations to promote good savings behavior and a chance for individuals to evaluate their own saving status.

Posted by Christine Gallagher, Government Relations Deputy Director at the National Military Family Association

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Posted in Events

Tagged budget, financial readiness, Military Saves, money

We fight for military families: the Association’s 2013 priorities, Part 3

Posted on February 7, 2013 | 2 Comments

This is Part 3 of a series explaining the National Military Family Association’s legislative priorities for 2013. Read Part 1 and Part 2 here.

Some issues affecting military families can only be taken care of through Congressional action. We see most of the work on these issues being addressed through the House and Senate Armed Services Committees in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets the laws and regulations for Department of Defense (DoD) and the Services to follow. The funding of this legislation comes through the House and Senate Appropriations Committees with the Defense Appropriations bill and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill.

Congress did not pass the Appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13), which began on October 1, 2012. They passed a Continuing Resolution or CR, which forced DoD to work on 2013 missions, projects, and programs with 2012 levels of funding. The current Continuing Resolution will expire March 27. While military paychecks are protected for 2013, essential services could shut down if the CR is allowed to expire. This isn’t the first year we have had the threat of a government shutdown.

Pass the NDAA FY14

This is why our first “ask” for Congress is to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for FY14 and the bills that fund this legislation by October 1 in order to eliminate the uncertainty faced by the military community.

Increase Impact Aid

If you have children attending public schools, you should be aware of how important Impact Aid funding is to local school districts that educate large numbers of military children. We’re asking Congress to increase the level of Department of Education Impact Aid funding to meet the Federal obligation to support school districts educating military children and continue to fund the DoD supplemental impact aid and grant program. Impact Aid funding has not kept pace with rising education costs.

Protect surviving spouses

Survivors of service members who have died on active duty or from a service-connected disability are unfairly penalized by having their Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity offset by the Department of Veterans Affairs Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payment. Under current law, survivors who are eligible for both SBP and DIC must forfeit a dollar of their SBP annuity for every dollar of DIC received. Often the offset eliminates the SBP annuity altogether. We ask Congress to end the DIC dollar for dollar offset of SBP payments for surviving spouses. For more details on this issue, visit the Survivors section on our website.

Ease transitions for the whole family

DoD does not always need Congressional approval to improve or change policies. We are asking DoD to address the informational needs of military families transitioning out of the military by expanding the opportunity for spouses to attend transition classes with service members and tailor information to address family transition issues.

Support families with special needs

It can often take DoD a long time to implement programs mandated by Congress. In the NDAA FY13, Congress charged DoD to start a pilot program to provide therapy for some families with special needs. We want DoD to implement the new pilot program to provide Applied Behavior Analysis to ALL eligible TRICARE beneficiaries.

If you have questions about our priorities for 2013 or would like to provide us with information about how these issues will affect you and your family, please leave a comment below. As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog series, we are sharing your stories, your experiences, and your suggestions to improve the quality of life for military families.

These are not the only issues we will be advocating for. When a new challenge surfaces that affects military families, we will make sure it is brought to the attention of the policymakers who can make a difference. We are listening to you and for you. We are your voice.

Posted by Kathleen Moakler, Government Relations Director at the National Military Family Association

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Posted in Speaking up, Your benefits

Tagged ABA therapy, autism, budget, Congress, military families, money, national defense authorization act, special needs, survivors, TRICARE

The year ahead for the Military Family Readiness Council

Posted on January 31, 2013 | 1 Comment

Last week I attended the Congressionally-mandated Department of Defense (DoD) Military Family Readiness Council (MFRC) meeting. Our Association has been invited to have a member sit on the council since its inception in 2009.

The Council consists of senior leadership, senior spouses, and representatives from three military family organizations: Blue Star Families, American Red Cross, and our Association.The MFRC is mandated to meet at least twice a year to review military family policies and programs, monitor implementation, and evaluate the effectiveness of military family readiness programs and the activities of the Defense Department. Each February, the MFRC submits an annual report to Congress highlighting their assessments. The 2012 report will be available after it has been submitted to Congress.

During the meeting, the council members discussed the priorities for 2013. The Council will focus on these areas:

Improving joint-base services. Improving family program integration of Guard and Reserve families
Coordinate efforts with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Cross Functional Teams:
- Assess military family needs, reduce duplication, and enhance program effectiveness
- Strengthen the force and enhance resiliency
- Public awareness, transition gaps, and building community capacity
Exceptional Family Member Program

The MFRC is just one tool that the Defense Department and the Services use to review and evaluate programs. Our Association will follow the interaction between the MFRC and the new DoD-wide Common Services Task Force.

We realize that family programs will be affected by budget cuts and decrease in deployments, but our government officials must remember that, even with a decrease in deployments, military families rely on family programs to help maintain readiness and handle the challenges they face.

Our Association will fight for those programs that are most beneficial for military families; identifying the most effective programs is an essential part of the process. Redundancies and sometimes-bloated overhead impact the most important aspect of family programs – getting military families the resources and tools they need quickly and effectively.

The National Military Family Association is proud to sit on this council and represent your concerns. We look forward to working with the MFRC and the Task Force and hope that together we can identify those programs that are contributing to the strength and resilience of military families.

If you sat on the Military Family Readiness Council, what would your top three priorities for 2013 be?

Posted by Kathleen Moakler, Government Relations Director at the National Military Family Association

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Posted in Speaking up

Tagged budget, Congress, EFMP, special needs

DoD: we’ll protect family programs… “to the extent feasible”

Posted on January 17, 2013 | 2 Comments

When you were a child, how hopeful did you feel when you asked your mom for something and she said “we’ll see”? What’s your reaction when you suggest something to your boss to improve your work place and she says “we’ll try”? How encouraged are you when you ask your spouse to do something and they respond “hold that thought”? When you think about the possibility of checking things off your to-do list, how optimistic are you really if you begin your thoughts with “if the planets align…”?

We’ve talked a lot in this blog space about the budget pressures and uncertainties Department of Defense (DoD) and military families face: from the fiscal cliff to sequestration to the debt ceiling and threatened government shutdown. If you’re as concerned as I am about whether the support programs your military family depends on will be around in the future, then you want reassurance from the DoD. Well here it is, folks.

According to a memo released on January 10 by the Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, DoD will “to the extent feasible, protect family programs.” Secretary Carter’s memo offers needed guidance to the Service Chiefs and DoD agencies on dealing with those challenges and uncertainties, but it doesn’t give me warm fuzzies about how families will fare in this process.

The Secretary’s memo also lists major program and funding areas and guidance on how agencies should allocate scarce funding. The National Military Family Association appreciates the decision to exempt military personnel funding (generally regarded as pay and allowances) from sequestration. The guidance also provides the good news that war operations and wounded warrior programs will be “fully protected.” We’re not quite sure about what it means that military health care wasn’t mentioned in the memo. Should we be reassured or worried?

While we’re pleased that family support programs are mentioned in the guidance, the “to the extent feasible” language makes us uneasy. Where does “feasible” fall on a DoD priority list? How do we measure the success of DoD’s efforts if they’re only saying they’ll try?

What makes this statement even more alarming is that we also know other recommended actions outlined in the memo will hurt family programs. A civilian hiring freeze, furloughs of civilian employees, cuts to base operating funding, and curtailment of travel and training will decrease the viability of military family support programs that, in some cases, have already been subject to personnel downsizing and funding cuts.

Our Association shares the Secretary’s concern about the damage that will be done if a Fiscal Year Defense Appropriations bill is not enacted. (This will mean DoD must continue to operate under a Continuing Resolution.) We know families understand some programs may need to be scaled back to protect funding for the readiness and support of their service member. But we also know service members say they can better focus on their missions in dangerous places when they know their families have the support they need. They don’t do their jobs just “to the extent feasible”!

DoD must not be forced to cut military family programs to the bone at a time when they are still needed by families supporting service members at war. We will continue to keep an eye on the effect of this budget guidance on support for families and let DoD know if efforts “to the extent feasible” fall short of the mark.

Tell us what’s happening to family support programs in your community. Are people trying to do more with less? Have you or families you know had trouble accessing programs and support services you need?

Posted by Joyce Raezer, Executive Director at the National Military Family Association

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Posted in Joyce's Voice

Tagged budget, Congress, family programs, Fiscal Cliff, government

More money for military families in 2013

Posted on December 27, 2012 | 4 Comments

Here’s some good news for the new year, and it’s not even here yet! Some military families will see additional money in their paychecks in 2013. The annual adjustment for BAH and BAS were recently announced. BAH and BAS? While you may not score points in Scrabble with either word, these are important acronyms for military families. BAH means Basic Allowance for Housing, and BAS is the Basic Allowance for Substance.

BAH is a nontaxable allowance provided to eligible service members. The allowance varies worldwide and is based on the median current market rent, average utilities (including electricity, heat, and water/sewer), and average renter’s insurance. BAH is also calculated for each pay grade, both with and without dependents. For 2013 the average increase in BAH for military families is about $60 per month. You can calculate your BAH rate for 2013 before it hits your service member’s paycheck. Remember, BAH is based on your service member’s duty station, which may not be the same zip code where you live. (There are some exceptions to this guideline.)

I used the calculator and noticed the BAH rate for 2013 for our family was actually less than our 2012 rate. Yuck. But not to panic. A key feature of the BAH program is rate protection. This means our BAH will not decrease. This ensures military families who have made long-term housing commitments in the form of a lease or contract are not penalized if the area’s housing costs decrease. However, new families assigned to the area will receive the 2013 rate.

BAS is also a nontaxable allowance and is intended to replace the rations historically provided to service members. BAS rates are tied directly to the United States Department of Agriculture’s calculation of the increasing price of food. This not an allowance to feed your family. It is an allowance to offset the cost of food for the service member only. Enlisted service members will receive $352.27 a month, up from $348.44 per month in 2012. Officers will receive $242.60 a month, up from $239.96 in 2012.

Is this what you expected for the new rates? Are BAH and BAS allowances a key part of your family’s budget?

Posted by Katie Savant, Government Relations Information Manager at the National Military Family Association

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Posted in Resources + Information, Your benefits

Tagged BAH, BAS, budget, money

Tag Archives: budget

Military Advance Pay – It’s not a Payday loan

Infographic: sequestration + military families