Forces Pay and Allowances

Forces Pay and Allowances

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul?

The MoD is struggling to tackle a £1billion a year budget deficit.
Currently all members of the Parachute Regiment’s 16 Air Assault Brigade learn how to parachute, including engineers, artillery experts and medics, as well as soldiers.
It means 4,756 soldiers currently get the supplement because of the specialist training, but the MoD wants to cut that number so they can avoid paying the bonus.
The wage cut has already been agreed by army chiefs, but the number of soldiers it is likely to affect has not been decided. some sources have suggested as many as 4,000 could lose the bonus, hitting privates who earn little more than £12,000 a year after tax the hardest.

"Taking it away would be tight-fisted and could have terrible ramifications.

"It isn't seen as a nice little earner. It's in recognition of a qualification. Being parachute-trained is at the core of what they do."

REDUCTION TO ALLOWANCES ALREADY IN PLACE

Soldiers serving on the front line in Afghanistan were told that while their operational bonus of £4,800 would be preserved when they returned home this would be swallowed up by allowance cutbacks.

Private soldiers serving in Germany and other foreign postings are going to be particularly hard hit suffering a £660 a year cut to their Overseas Allowance in addition to other reductions.

Officers and men serving in London have also been targeted with some experiencing a reduction of more than £2,800 as part of the £250 million reduction to the Armed Forces allowances bill.

It’s quite a hit to ALL Our Forces.When you add it all up it’s pretty drastic.

Sailors who return home from serving on board ships will now have to pay for some trips home after their annual number of free travel passes were cut from 12 to 10.

In some instances Navy ratings can be Drafted to a northern Scottish port such as Faslane and if they live in Portsmouth or Plymouth they will be faced with a substantial travel bill.

The first of the cuts to the 19 separate allowances will be made this April and then phased in over the next two years.

Families have already been hit by the £20 million cuts to boarding schools allowances who want to visit their children at school will face ever higher petrol bills with after the mileage they can begin claiming for doubled to 100 miles per single trip.


Examples of Cuts
Get You Home pay (Early Years)
Enables young service Personnel to get home to family and friends
No longer payable over age of 18 (used to be up to 21)
Saving: £2 million

Local Overseas Allowance
To cover additional cost of living abroad.
15 per cent reduction. Private soldier £10.01 to £8.15
Saving: £30 million

Recruitment and Retention Allowance (London)
Contribution to higher costs of living in London.
Removed from all over rank of corporal
Saving: £2.9 million

Food and Incidentals Allowance.
Paid to personnel on trips without access to service accommodation.
Reduced from £12.41 to £8.50 per day.
Saving: £11 million

Specialist Pay Reserve Banding
Specialists such as pilots, submariners receive allowance even when not operational.
Period it’s paid between non-operational postings reduced from six to three years
Saving: £10 million

In one breath the Government says how much it regards the Armed Forces then in another, albeit in times of stringency, it demands a reduction to their remunerations amounting to a £1,400 cut in income for every soldier, sailor and airman.

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These Incentives/Allowances and Pay are like everything else are subject to Review and have for years been reduced or replaced.The Pension System recently has come under Scrutiny as well.

Get you home pay  ... Mileage Allowance ... Travel Warrants ... and other Allowances Have all been Reduced over the Years.

Will they Reduce Submariners Specialist Pay as well ? They Have !

Specialists pay which submariners receive when not operational. Has been reduced  ... the Period it’s paid between non-operational postings has been reduced from six to three years.The Question at some time will have to be asked "How long are these Lads going to put up with this" ?

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Allowances

Allowances are not designed for profit or as 'perks', nor are they to increase pay by 'other' means but are to make sure that Service personnel get extra money, which their salary doesn't cover, if special circumstances demand it.

Service personnel requiring assistance or information on issues regarding Pay, Pensions or Allowances should contact their Unit Personnel Office or the Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC)

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