Breaking News

Here Is The 2025 Pay Raise For Disabled Veterans And Military Retirees

(Mhecaela J. Watts/U.S. Marine Corps)

Military retirees and disabled veterans will receive 2.5% increases to their monthly paychecks for 2025, thanks to the annual Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, tied to inflation.

To read more, please click here.

Prep Courses, Policy Tweaks Largely Drove The Military's Recruiting Success In 2024

(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Patrick Evenson)

After years of negative recruiting news and headlines, all the military branches managed to eke out wins this year and meet their recruiting goals -- largely aided by new programs and policies that allowed them to sign up recruits who would have been disqualified in previous years.

To read more, please click here.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Veterans Benefits Appeals Rules

(Mariam Zuhaib/AP)

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a veterans benefits case which could have wide-ranging impact on applicants’ options to appeal decisions denying them payouts.

To read more, please click here.

AFSA On The Hill

It's officially the week of AFSA's Legislative Awareness Week 2024 (LAW). 

​AFSA Legislative Awareness​ Week is scheduled for Sunday, October 13th through Saturday, October 19, 2024. The AFSA International President and Chief Executive Director and the HQ Legislative Team invite you to join us to learn more about AFSA-sponsored legislative initiatives, our platforms, and ways that you can engage as a member, a Chapter or one of our 7 Divisions.  

If you haven't had a chance to participate in Law Day 1: M&G Team Introduction, Law Day 2: Written Informed Consent, Law Day 3: NDAA Intro, and Law Day 4: Pay and Compensation, please do so by clicking here: https://www.hqafsa.org/law24.html 

To reach our team with questions, please email to: milgov3@hqafsa.org.

Legislative Action Center

Support the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act of 2023!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/Campaigns/107499/Respond

Legislation Summary

• Modifies the extension of dependent coverage under TRICARE by allowing a dependent at the age of 26 to be covered without an additional premium.  
• Authorizes such coverage of dependents without a premium regardless of whether they are eligible to enroll in an employer-sponsored plan.

Support the Mental Health For Military Children Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/Campaigns/107509/Respond

Legislation Summary

• Would direct the DoD to establish a pilot program to provide routine mental health screenings or check-ups for common disorders for children ages 3-17, including questions about patients' mood, emotional state, habits, and behaviors.
• To ensure that children of military families who are at a greater risk for mental and behavioral health problems than the general population, have access to mental health screenings and check-ups at Department of Defense Education Activity schools (DoDEA). 

Support the Revisit Pay Equity Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/Campaigns/107467/Respond

Legislation Summary

• Increases the rate of the differential wage payment tax credit from 20% to 50% and requires that the maximum dollar amount of such credit be adjusted for inflation after 2023. 
• The credit is allowed to employers for their employees who are active duty members of the uniformed services. 

Support the Military Spouse Hiring Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/Campaigns/103707/Respond

Legislation Summary

• The Military Spouse Hiring Act would encourage companies to employ military spouses, who frequently face disproportionate impediments in the job market, by extending the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include them. 
• Intends to help military spouses find better work opportunities. 

Support the Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/Campaigns/93860/Respond

Legislation Summary

• Authorizes veterans with a service-connected disability of less than 50% to concurrently receive both retired pay and disability compensation. 
• Makes qualified disability retirees with less than 20 years of retirement-creditable service eligible for concurrent receipt, subject to specified reductions in retired pay.

Support the Major Richard Star Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/Campaigns/93862/Respond

Legislation Summary

• Qualify approximately 42,000 military retirees with combat-related injuries to concurrently receive both military retired pay and Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation. 
• Provide total offset relief to veterans who suffered combat injuries or illnesses who were medically retired with less than twenty years of service.

Support the Retired Pay Restoration Act!

Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/Campaigns/92798/Respond

Legislation Summary

• Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability.
• Extends full concurrent receipt eligibility to individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability.

If you have any questions, please reach out to AFSA's Military and Government Relations team at milgov3@hqafsa.org.

Have you called to verify, update, and correct your membership contact information? If you received a postcard asking you to call in, please take a few moments to call to update your info, and learn about the AFSA Oral Historical Project 2023. Learn more here now... 

Please click here to view

Please Update Your Contact Information Today!

Dear Air Force Sergeants Association Member,

In order for the AFSA to effectively communicate with our members, it is essential to ensure we have your current and / or valid e-mail address. 
 
We are in the process of updating our records and need your help! Please take a moment to ensure that we have your most current mail and email address (no .mil's); and accurate membership listing information.

We've made it easy, as you can update your information in either one of three ways: 

1. Call Member & Field Relations team directly at 800-638-0594 x 288 (Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST)
2. Email to: msvcs@hqafsa.org
3. Visit www.hqafsa.org and select the UPDATE button on the right

We thank you in advance for your support and prompt updates.

And That's The Way It Is...

In sum, while 2.5% may appear modest in comparison to recent years' COLA adjustments of 3.2% (2024), 8.7% (2023), and 5.9% (2022), it remains close to the decade-long average of roughly 2.6%. The Social Security Administration announced the COLA hike on Thursday. Most government disability and retirement payments must grow by the same amount each year to adjust for inflation.

The yearly COLA is determined by the Department of Labor using the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, which is a broad sample of the cost of consumer products and costs. The CPI is compared to the prior year. If there is an increase, there will be a COLA. If there is no rise, there is no COLA, and benefits remain unchanged; they do not fall.

Additionally, despite their successes this year, the services may still be in peril due to lofty targets for 2025 and deeper concerns with Generation Z. The tale of this year's recruiting accomplishments boils down to two major improvements that all the services implemented in some form: lowering the criteria on who might join and boosting the number of recruiters.

This past year, both the Army and the Navy achieved success, owing largely to initiatives geared solely at permitting otherwise rejected applicants to sign up and serve. While the programs were introduced as early as 2022, this was the first year in which both branches' programs could display their full potential.

Lastly, justices are unlikely to rule on the case, Bufkin v. McDonough, for several months. However, due to the probable adjustments required by the eventual ruling, veterans groups and Department of Veterans Affairs authorities are keenly monitoring the issues at hand. 

The question is how the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and other judicial review bodies should interpret the "benefit of the doubt" rule in veterans disability claims. Under federal law, VA adjudicators must find in favor of veterans seeking benefits support "when there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence."

And that's the way it is for Thursday, October 17, 2024.

Stay tuned for our next M&G-B, where we will continue to keep you in the loop on all things pertinent to the coronavirus, veterans, active-duty members, guards and reservists, and military family members. Stay happy, and stay healthy!