{"id":76516,"date":"2024-03-12T17:18:20","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T17:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/03\/12\/more-troops-would-be-eligible-for-new-allowance-under-dod-proposal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:17:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:17:16","slug":"more-troops-would-be-eligible-for-new-allowance-under-dod-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2024\/03\/12\/more-troops-would-be-eligible-for-new-allowance-under-dod-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"More troops would be eligible for new allowance under DOD proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More military families could become eligible for the Pentagon\u2019s Basic Needs Allowance<\/a> under a proposal included in the Defense Department\u2019s fiscal year 2025 budget request on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan to grow the program comes as fewer than 100 troops across three services have begun receiving the need-based stipend, created as a financial safety net for low-income troops with at least one dependent. If enacted, it would mark the initiative\u2019s second expansion since it became law in late 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On average, BNA participants in the Army, Navy and Air Force currently receive between $17,100 and $27,000 in taxable aid a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense officials want to expand the pool of people who may qualify for the financial aid initiative to include families who earn a gross household income of up to 200% of the annual federal poverty level, Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord said during a Monday budget briefing. That cutoff currently stands at 150%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe FY 2025 budget request includes $245 million to raise the income eligibility threshold for the Basic Needs Allowance,\u201d according to Pentagon budget documents. \u201cThis proposal would help ensure that service members would not have to rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The income ceiling varies based on a household\u2019s size and location. For instance, the 150% cap currently stands at $30,660 for a family of two, or $79,080 for a family of eight, in the 48 contiguous states. If expanded to 200%, the Basic Needs Allowance would become available to those making $40,880 for a family of two, or $105,440 for a family of eight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family advocates support any expansion of the Basic Needs Allowance \u201cto help ensure that it reaches military families who need it,\u201d said Eileen Huck, the senior deputy director for government relations at the National Military Family Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure how many families would benefit from increasing the ceiling to 200% of federal poverty guidelines, but we commend the [Biden] administration for recognizing that more needs to be done to support struggling military families,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The monthly payments are calculated by taking 150% of the current year\u2019s federal poverty baseline and subtracting the previous year\u2019s gross household income, then dividing that total by 12, according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To dole out the stipend, service officials first screen all military members and notify them if they are potentially eligible to benefit from the program, signed into law as part of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then it\u2019s up to troops to apply for the money by providing information about their gross household income. Service members can apply even if they aren\u2019t told they might qualify. People are most often deemed ineligible because their gross household income, including their spouse\u2019s earnings, exceeds 150% of the federal poverty level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service members who receive the aid must recertify each year that they still qualify, or notify officials when changes occur that may affect their eligibility, like an increase in gross household income or change in household size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raising the bar for eligibility by thousands of dollars could help bring more families into a program that has struggled to attract those who need help the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just 77 military families across the Air Force, Army and Navy received the Basic Needs Allowance in 2023 \u2014 about 1% of almost 6,000 troops deemed potentially eligible for the program, and far less than 1% of the nearly 450,000 active duty enlisted troops with families in those branches, spokespeople for each service told Military Times. Enlisted troops typically make about half or less of what commissioned officers earn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recipients get an average stipend of more than $1,000 each month. They include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n