Quite a few factors affect a Service Members pay and allowances. The actual amount that a service member will receive is based on several things. The military specialty, the rank of the Servicemember, assignment location, single or with dependents, length of time in grade or time in service, and the location that the member is deployed are all factors that affect pay and allowances. Despite these issues it is important for different family members to be aware of how things work to be able to make good decisions about financial matters. The first step is to help define what each element of Military pay is, and what it does.
Entitlements
A payment or a benefit that the law says is allowed is usually what an entitlement is defined as. As a member of the military, there are several types of pay, entitlements and allowances that make up the compensation and pay mixture. This is roughly equal to pay and salary that one might find in the civilian world. When people talk about military pay and compensation, it is this combination of base pay and allowances that they are referring to. An allowance is a type of specific payment that is provided by law for a special need, such as housing, health care, or food.
Pay Types
It can get confusing, as there are over forty different types of pay that a member of the U.S. Military may receive, but most Service members only receive a basic few types during their careers. The basics of military pay can be broken down into the ones found most often: Basic Allowance Subsistence, Basic Allowance Housing, and Basic Pay.
Basic Subsistence Allowance
Basic Allowance for Subsistence is to pay for meals for a Servicemember. The BAS is a rate adjusted each year that helps a Servicemember pay for their food. Enlisted BAS rate for 2007 was $192.74, while Officers received $279.88 monthly in 2007.
Basic Pay
The largest part of a Servicemembers pay and compensation is the base bay. It’s based on the number or years of service, the Rank of the Servicemember, and is an amount adjusted yearly and set by Congress based on these factors.
Basic Housing Allowance
Basic Allowance for Housing is an allowance to help pay for housing. It is also determined by duty assignment, rank, and whether there family members or dependents. This is just an overview, but these are the basic types of pay and allowances that all Servicemembers receive some version of.
