COLA amount and back pay... - Military Benefits

Brialee · 09-25-2009, 01:51 PM

They just recently discovered that we haven't been getting the right amount of COLA. We found this out about 3 weeks ago and were told that we would be getting the back pay. Wellllllll....we got the back pay but it's for a nice big chunk and I just want to make sure it's right. Because we've never recieved COLA anywhere else, we assumed that what they were giving us was correct and we never looked into it so this came as a BIG surprise.

My question is, if anybody minds telling me, just how much are you supposed to get in COLA per CHECK? My husband is E6 in for 10 yrs with 2 dependants and we've been getting $250 a month which is $125 a check. I've tried looking up the COLA calculator but it's confusing. Would anybody mind telling me (I know it's tacky) or at least giving me a ballpark on how much we're supposed to be recieving. The backpay is on his next check and I'd REALLY like to think that all that money is ours haha!

BubMunkeyBles · 09-25-2009, 01:56 PM

It depends on where you live. Like what DH gets in Italy is different than Germany, Guam, Hawaii, Alaska etc... His at single rate (since I'm stateside) is about $358 this pay period (so from the 15-30). So monthly its about $700. That's at E-6 with 12 years.

Brialee · 09-25-2009, 01:57 PM

oops, should of mentioned we're in Hawaii!

Steph* · 09-25-2009, 02:00 PM

Around $700, E-6/10 years in

BubMunkeyBles · 09-25-2009, 02:00 PM

With one dependent I calculated out 360 a pay period, E-6 with 10 years for the island.

Brialee · 09-25-2009, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by Steph*

Around $700, E-6/10 years in

Well, looks like that nice chunk of change IS ours!!!! I guess when he first came here, because he arrived alone they assumed he was going to be geobaching here they put him down as a geobachelor living in barracks?

I have friends that put ALL their COLA in savings and they kept saying that after 4 yrs it really adds up but I kept thinking that at $250 a month it wouldn't be THAT big of a savings but now I totally get it! We've only been getting about 1/3 of it.

Steph* · 09-25-2009, 02:08 PM

Yep! We've been saving it all too!

Brialee · 09-25-2009, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by BubMunkeyBles

With one dependent I calculated out 360 a pay period, E-6 with 10 years for the island.

That's what I had calculated too but it was such a big difference from what we were getting paid that I thought I wasn't understanding it correctly.

gunsgirl · 09-26-2009, 07:03 AM

we saved all of our COLA while living in AK for 4 yrs at 700 dollars a month-

we used the money to buy our forever home!

Navgirl · 09-27-2009, 04:08 AM

I used our OCOLA (Seoul, Korea) to pay off a **** load of debt with it. When we first got to Korea in Jan 2007, our OCOLA was $1400 a month!

That was like BAH with no rent! Then after a couple months it went down to $1000/month until Nov 2008 it dropped big time, there was short period of time we had $0 OCOLA. Now it's inching back up since the won is getting stronger, about $500/mo.

09-25-2009, 01:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
Brialee Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,455 Classifieds: (0) Activity: 21% Longevity: 71%	COLA amount and back pay... They just recently discovered that we haven't been getting the right amount of COLA. We found this out about 3 weeks ago and were told that we would be getting the back pay. Wellllllll....we got the back pay but it's for a nice big chunk and I just want to make sure it's right. Because we've never recieved COLA anywhere else, we assumed that what they were giving us was correct and we never looked into it so this came as a BIG surprise. My question is, if anybody minds telling me, just how much are you supposed to get in COLA per CHECK? My husband is E6 in for 10 yrs with 2 dependants and we've been getting $250 a month which is $125 a check. I've tried looking up the COLA calculator but it's confusing. Would anybody mind telling me (I know it's tacky) or at least giving me a ballpark on how much we're supposed to be recieving. The backpay is on his next check and I'd REALLY like to think that all that money is ours haha!

09-25-2009, 01:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
BubMunkeyBles MilitarySOS Jewel Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Me- Tampa, FL, DH- Aviano AB Italy Posts: 6,558 Classifieds: (0) Activity: 85% Longevity: 29%	It depends on where you live. Like what DH gets in Italy is different than Germany, Guam, Hawaii, Alaska etc... His at single rate (since I'm stateside) is about $358 this pay period (so from the 15-30). So monthly its about $700. That's at E-6 with 12 years. __________________ Stephanie

09-25-2009, 02:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
Steph* aloha aku, aloha mai Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: hawai'i Posts: 13,058 Classifieds: (0) Activity: 22% Longevity: 34%	Around $700, E-6/10 years in __________________ aloha, ahui ho, malama pono

09-25-2009, 02:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
BubMunkeyBles MilitarySOS Jewel Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Me- Tampa, FL, DH- Aviano AB Italy Posts: 6,558 Classifieds: (0) Activity: 85% Longevity: 29%	With one dependent I calculated out 360 a pay period, E-6 with 10 years for the island. __________________ Stephanie

09-25-2009, 02:08 PM	#7 (permalink)
Steph* aloha aku, aloha mai Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: hawai'i Posts: 13,058 Classifieds: (0) Activity: 22% Longevity: 34%	Yep! We've been saving it all too! __________________ aloha, ahui ho, malama pono

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09-25-2009, 01:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
Brialee Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,455 Classifieds: (0) Activity: 21% Longevity: 71%	oops, should of mentioned we're in Hawaii!

09-26-2009, 07:03 AM	#9 (permalink)
gunsgirl I love cats Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: kingsland GA/ HITRON JAX Posts: 4,376 Classifieds: (3) Activity: 62% Longevity: 39%	we saved all of our COLA while living in AK for 4 yrs at 700 dollars a month- we used the money to buy our forever home! __________________ GA licensed Realtor Dawn

09-27-2009, 04:08 AM	#10 (permalink)
Navgirl Aviation Addict Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Korea Posts: 6,205 Classifieds: (0) Activity: 60% Longevity: 33%	I used our OCOLA (Seoul, Korea) to pay off a **** load of debt with it. When we first got to Korea in Jan 2007, our OCOLA was $1400 a month! That was like BAH with no rent! Then after a couple months it went down to $1000/month until Nov 2008 it dropped big time, there was short period of time we had $0 OCOLA. Now it's inching back up since the won is getting stronger, about $500/mo. __________________