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Military
Pay Changes When Adding Dependents
We've
all heard people say that some soldiers marry a "random" girl
just for the higher pay or they have children expecting a huge increase
in their paycheck. Where do these rumors start? So, here I am to debunk
the myth! Marriage When a
soldier gets married, this authorizes him (in most cases) to live off
post. At the very least, he'll be authorized family housing on post. At
this point, he either begins to receive BAH (housing allowance) or lives
in "free" housing on post. So the housing allowance is a
definite increase. But keep in mind, it also comes with an increase in
bills since he's now paying a mortgage or rent along with utilities,
etc. so in most case it is a wash. If the soldier was already living off
post and receiving BAH, he will receive an increase when he marries as
he will then receive BAH at the "with dependents" rate. For
our duty station, the increase is roughly $150. When
the soldier moves out of the barracks and into housing (on or off post),
he will no longer be eating in the chow hall on the Army's dime.
Instead, he will receive BAS since the Army is no longer providing
"three squares a day". Once again, this is an increase in pay
and once again, it comes with an increase in expense...so a wash. There
is no increase in base pay for extra dependents. Unless the soldier is
living overseas, BAH and BAS are the only pays that will change when a
soldier adds his first dependent. Again, have I mentioned how much I
hate the word dependent? I
should also mention that if a soldier who is married deploys or is in
training for more than 30 days, he will receive family separation
allowance, which is currently $250 a month. So there's your increase in
pay. The catch is you have to live without your husband to get it! Children If the
soldier is already married when he has children, there will be no
increases to his pay. No increase in base pay, no increase in BAH and no
increase in BAS. NONE. The Army does not pay additional for additional
dependents beyond the first. If the
soldier is stationed overseas, pay rates can differ based on his home
country and there may be special allowances. This information provided
above assumes the soldier is stationed CONUS. I'm
willing to bet I missed something when laying out the pay differences.
So if you notice an error, by all means let me know! :-)
RELATED LINKS:
All About The Army Benefits For Soldiers and Family Members Find out about the benefits that are afforded to your soldier, yourself as an Army wife and your children.
Learn how to read the Leave Earnings Statement (LES) line by line.
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