Military not paying up

david_n_cole · November 2010

My DH went into the AF Reserves almost 2 years ago and we are still waiting on his signing bonus to start. He signed up for a job that was paying a good signing bonus and it was something he had done in the Navy so sort of a no brainer. It took over a year for the AF to send him to tech school which is why we were told we hadn't seen the start of the bonus. He's been back over 6 months now and still nothing. His unit can't tell him anything more than all the codes are correct in the system. I think they are trying to keep from paying up. Has anyone else encountered a similar problem with getting a signing bonus? How was/has it been resolved?

TIA

SoldiersGreenBean · November 2010

You could try contacting the IG.

vlewis84 · November 2010

Check with his personnelist for his unit. I worked in finance AD and anytime someone came in with bonus issues, we always had to refer the to personnel because they hadn't loaded the payment information into the system for us to release.

iluvmytxrgr · November 2010

I think he needs to read over his paperwork again. Not all bonuses are paid right away. My bonus was paid out in sections. The first payment came about 6 months after I finished school. The second payment came at my two year mark and the final payment came at my 4 yr mark.

One of my Privates didn't realize his had been put into his contract in a similar payment schedule. He only cared that the bonus was $10k. He came in raising hell every month. I had him bring in his paperwork and pointed out the pay schedule to him. Look into it.

oh_maria · November 2010

agis:

Look through all the paperwork to see if there is a time given for when the bonus should be received. Also, i would definitely talk to an attorney (military or civilian) if you think there is a breach of contract.

The AF Reserve website says:

Question: When is my bonus paid and how is it paid?

nswer:

Having successfully completed your Basic and Technical Training, and assuming you will fulfill your military service obligation (MSO), you receive a bonus payment every year up to your 6th year of service, on the anniversaries of your enlistment.

There is an alternative to the attorney route. Contact your U.S. Senator and ask to speak to constituent services. Each U.S. Senator has a staffer (in the home state, not D.C.) that handles military and veterans affairs for situations like this (and many others). It's a free service to you as a resident of your state. I'm not military, but I worked for a U.S. Senator in constituent services and we saw cases like this a few times. A good friend of mine actually handled the military/veterans affairs and did a great job helping out families with situations like this. I'm not saying it's better than using an attorney- it's just another idea to consider that I've seen used successfully.

historygirl1863 · November 2010

I dont know exactly how AF reserves works but I know with me (Im Army reserves) I got my first half of my bonus right after my training and I just got another piece this spring and Ive been in for 4 years so far. ( I was suppose to get mine every 2 years) I check with our financial people and they said everything was in order. So it could possibly just mistake somewhere in the system. I would review his contract and speak with finance. If they cant solve it then I would speak with a military attorney.

kass08 · November 2010

It's only been 6 months. I know it's frustrating but things in the military take time. Don't contact a senator or an attorney or IG. Not yet. Like Tx said it depends on how his contract is written. Mine was written so I got half after training(about 8 months I think) then I got the other half at my 4 year anniversary. If he's been home 6 months, chances are they filed the paperwork at his first drill back, then it had to go up. These things take a bit of time. He needs to read his contract and sit down with his chain of command to make sure they're aware if it is indeed super late. His chain of command should be pushing the issue. And as somone who has worked as full time staff for a NG unit, we usually don't know about issues until we a) see you at drill weekend or b) someone in your chain of command lets us know. There is entirely too much to do to track everyone's stuff for them.

david_n_cole · November 2010

I will see if I can find the paperwork and double check, but this is what his command and finance confirmed when we spoke at his 1 year anniversary. They said he would get half after completion of his technincal school (finished over 6 months ago). They indicated a two to three month timeframe for all to go through and for us to see payment (less taxes). They indicated that he would also be retro paided for the years since he signed for the remaining half was to be stretched annually over 5 years (if I remember correctly) for signing a six year contract. I have personally spoken to the person (finance)that has been researching this (DH was referred to her by his commander) and she said that all codes (meaning different requirements have been met) are in and that everything from her end is good. Said she was just waiting for a release (not sure what that means). She also said she was looking into it more, but we've heard nothing since that. DH is not exactly aggressive to pursue the issue since he's still trying to fit into the AF world when he came from the Navy (different mentality?) plus he abhors confrontations. I will try to look over the paperwork, but it seems like this step was done by commander, DH, and finance person. I was just trying to keep him out of this as much as possible and fill in all the blanks before I send him back to try to resolve this. Thank you for your feedback.

AlouetteBeans · November 2010

david_n_cole:
I was just trying to keep him out of this as much as possible and fill in all the blanks before I send him back to try to resolve this. Thank you for your feedback.

Hmm

JMO, but I would let MH deal with this, not keeping him out of it as much as possible. It should be the opposite.

kass08 · November 2010

JillyWtP:
david_n_cole:
I was just trying to keep him out of this as much as possible and fill in all the blanks before I send him back to try to resolve this. Thank you for your feedback.

JMO, but I would let MH deal with this, not keeping him out of it as much as possible. It should be the opposite.

*sigh* This. He's the SM, not you. If a wife ever called me about my Soldiers bonus....well I'm not going to go there.

If she said they're waiting for the funds to be released, it is just that. The people who are in charge of funding bonuses haven't gotten around to him and said "yep, he's good, here's his money." They deal with thousands of bonuses a day, it takes time. Especially with the holidays coming up, people are going to be taking time off work. I'd say give it to the first or later.

david_n_cole · November 2010

Guess that statement was misunderstood. I didn't mean that I would be calling anyone on his behalf. I meant that I would look through his paperwork and try to understand what could be holding things up (ie, the above mentioned conditions) and write down some questions for him to ask since he wants me to supply him with what we are trying to find out (his request not my demand). His commander and the financial personnel he's been dealing with are just as perplexed as we are as to why he had not received a portion of his bonus. I was just curious since it has been over three months since we've heard anything. I guess we're the only ones dealing with this atm. He just voiced a concern over this being an issue and I thought I would check here. Thanks for the imput.

Military not paying up

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