Service members enrolled in the Blended Retirement System (BRS) may be eligible to receive a one-time, mid-career bonus payment in exchange for an agreement to perform additional obligated service. This one-time bonus payment is in addition to any other career field-specific incentives or retention bonuses.
Continuation pay is a direct cash payout, like a bonus, available to service members enrolled in the BRS. It is targeted at the mid-career mark, payable between completion of ten years of service, but no more than 12 years of service (calculated from a service member’s Pay Entry Base Date). Most service members will be eligible for continuation pay, but the timing and the amount is determined by your service.
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Eligibility. This one-time payout is available to active duty, National Guard and Reserve service members enrolled in the BRS who are able to enter into an agreement to perform additional obligated service.
Amount. Active duty service members (including Active Guard Reserve (AGR)/Full Time Support (FTS)) personnel may be eligible for a continuation pay multiplier of 2.5 to 13 times your monthly basic pay. Members of the National Guard or Reserve in a drilling status may be eligible to receive a multiplier of 0.5 to six times their monthly basic pay (as if serving on active-duty).
Pay rates. Pay-rate multipliers may be based on service-specific retention needs, specialty skills and hard-to-fill positions, similar to career field incentives and re-enlistment bonuses. Each service determines and publishes its own guidance on continuation pay.
Investing. Continuation pay, along with other specialty pays, bonuses and incentives, can be invested into your Thrift Savings Plan account, up to the annual maximum allowed by the IRS. Note that if you hit the maximum too quickly, you could lose out on government automatic and matching contributions.