Military Pay

Newsletter Archives: April 2006 | August 2006
Military Pay Links: DFAS myPay | Military Pay Charts (DoD)
MILITARY PAY NEWSLETTER MAY 2007

Fiscal Year 2007 Clothing Monetary Allowances

Last year’s Clothing Monetary Allowances tables have been updated to reflect the rate changes for Fiscal Year 2007, effective October 1, 2006.

Below are links to the memos that issued these changes. Once opened, the tables can be found by scrolling down within the memos.

The rates supersede the Fiscal Year 2006 clothing monetary allowance rates prescribed by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness (OUSD, P&R) and will be provided in a subsequent change to the DoDFMR, Volume 7A. Presently they only appear in the ‘Recently Published Changes’ section of the DoDFMR so they are easily overlooked.

The tables updating the Initial Clothing Allowances, Cash Clothing Replacement Allowances, and Civilian Clothing Allowanced for Officers and Enlisted Members can be found at http://www.dod.mil/comptroller/fmr/07a/07AIC41-06.pdf.

The tables updating Supplemental Clothing Allowances can be found at http://www.dod.mil/comptroller/fmr/07a/07AIC40-06.pdf.

For any additional questions regarding these changes, please contact your servicing finance and accounting office or your chain of command.

Thrift Savings Plan Limits for 2007

Contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) fall into two different categories. Knowing which is “tax-deferred” and “tax-exempt” can help participants plan their future tax liability.

Tax-deferred contributions are made from a member’s taxable pay, such as military basic pay and various special or incentive pays. For members serving in a tax-exempt status, such as a designated combat zone, contributions made from pay earned while located in that area are tax-exempt.

The Internal Revenue Service limits for calendar year 2007 are $15,000.00 for tax-deferred contributions and $45,000.00 for tax-exempt contributions. The total amount of TSP contributions for 2007 (tax-exempt and tax-deferred) cannot exceed $45,000.00.

For officers, tax-exempt contributions have the same limitations as tax-exempt pay. That is, officers' tax-exempt contributions are limited to the highest enlisted member's pay in the service. For 2007, the maximum monthly amount of tax-exempt contributions for officers is $6,499.50 if they are not receiving Imminent Danger/Hostile Fire Pay (ID/HFP), and $6,724.50 if they are receiving ID/HFP. If the monthly TSP contribution while in a combat zone is higher than the limit, the amount above the limit will be tax-deferred.

Additional information can be found on the TSP Web site at http://www.tsp.gov/curinfo/qsas-limits.html#Q1 .

Limits Set for Some Debt Repayments

No one likes unanticipated debt, especially when it results in payday deductions.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (PL 109-364), was signed into law by the President on October 17, 2006. It changed involuntary recovery of overpayments from a cap of two-thirds of disposable pay to 20 percent. This change applies to overpayments caused through no fault of the service member, such as those caused by administrative, clerical or system errors.

The two-thirds cap on disposable pay still applies to debts incurred through the service member’s own actions or inactions.

Disposable pay is defined by the DoD Financial Management Regulations (FMR) as gross pay minus certain mandatory and voluntary pay deductions. These include Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), federal and state income tax withholding, and Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) plans.

The DoD FMR does allow service members to establish their own repayment schedule with their disbursing officers before involuntary collections begin. This means that service members may elect to have more than 20% deducted to repay a debt more quickly, but no less than 20% of disposable pay may be elected.

The law also stipulates that no deduction from pay can be made from members who have been wounded in action or who have incurred an illness while in a combat operation or combat zone until 90 days after the member is notified of the overpayment.

To read more about Public Law 109-364, or any other public law or pending legislation, (and much more), visit the Library of Congress’s legislation Web site at http://Thomas.loc.gov .

The DoD Financial Management Regulations (Volume 7A, Chapter 50) on stoppages and collections is available online at http://www.dod.mil/comptroller/fmr/07a/07a_50.pdf .

Protecting Your Home Computer Helps Protect Your myPay Account

WASHINGTON , March 23, 2007 – Defense Department officials have launched an investigation into recent computer hackings of servicemembers’ home computers that compromised personal information and led to the redirection of funds from their military pay accounts.

Over the past eight months, nearly two dozen Defense Finance and Accounting Service “myPay” participants have had their accounts accessed by unauthorized personnel, officials said. The myPay program allows DFAS users to manage pay information, leave and earnings statements and W-2s online.

The compromise likely came from personal information being stolen from home computers via spyware and keystroke-logging viruses, DFAS officials said.

A hacker redirected one servicemember’s pay to a credit card vendor by changing account information the day before pay day, Tom LaRock, DFAS spokesman, said. However, he added, DFAS quickly worked with his bank to have funds returned to his account within two days.

When suspicious activity is detected under the current system used by DFAS, LaRock explained, financial institutions are immediately notified so reversals can be made to servicemember’s accounts. DFAS plans to launch a new program soon that will increase the ability to detect unauthorized changes prior to processing by pay systems. This will make the system for myPay’s 3.7 million users even more responsive, LaRock said.

“This won’t completely stop compromises,” he said, “but it will help alert us more quickly so appropriate actions can be taken.”

Key-logging software often is installed on systems when an individual simply views e-mails or clicks links that look and seem like reputable sites. Hackers then are able to detect passwords and other personal information, DFAS officials said.

The organization is reminding customers that they have a responsibility to take measures to protect their personal information from scams and identity theft.

DFAS warns that a variety of methods can be used to attack home computers, including phishing, malicious software and outside takeovers via bad software configurations. Users are encouraged to install and continually update anti-virus and firewall software.

DFAS offers tips for security and protection to its users on its Web site, https://mypay.dfas.mil/PersonalData.htm .

By using a government computer, one with a ".mil" address or that is common access card enabled, users may download and save programs from the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations Web site, https://www.jtfgno.mil/antivirus/home_use.htm , for use on their home computers, Tim Madden, JTFGNO spokesman, said.

JTFNGO is responsible for directing the operation and defense of the DoD global information grid.

Preparations for the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System (DIMHRS)

The Department of Defense (DoD) is no stranger to change and transformation. Many have seen the evolution of weapon systems over the past decades and have been faced with ever-increasing technological change. These system and technological advances have allowed our war fighting capability to be second to none. But some do not know that a change is on the way that will result in an unparalleled revolution in personnel and pay systems that support service members and their families. DoD is leading an unprecedented transformation of military personnel and pay to provide the 21st century warfighter a 21st century human resources (HR) system that maintains the records of service, benefits and pay, while operating at "warp" speed. The Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System (DIMHRS), will be a fully integrated personnel and pay system supporting every Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine. Check out http://www.dimhrs.mil/ for the full story.
The Military Pay Newsletter is brought to you by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. MilitarySpot.com is not affiliated with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.