Local Service members to receive COLA increase By MC1 Tony Curtis NAS Sigonella Public Affairs NAS SIGONELLA, Sicily - Service members stationed in Sigonella will see an increase in their paycheck starting on September 1. Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) will be raised due to the latest results of the Defense Travel Management Offices (DTMO) periodic survey. The overseas COLA calculator can be found online at: defensetravel.dod.mil/site/colaCalc.cfm To see the COLA changes, compare the 2014 August 1st to 15th period to the 2014 August 16th to end of month period in the calculator. The calculator takes into account location, pay grade, years of service, the number of dependents, and if someone lives in the barracks or not. “The number of dependents does affect the equation but only up to five dependents,” said Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Phyo Myo. “The COLA maxes out at five dependents.” This COLA adjustment does not pertain to DoD civilians. With the new rates, an E-5 with six years of active duty service and one dependent would see a daily COLA rate increase of about $1.56, raising the pay period allowance total by $54.64, and $109.28 for the month. Under the same criteria, an O-3 would see a daily increase of about $2.07, pay period raise of $72.53, monthly raise of $145.06. “The COLA index for Sigonella raised by 2 points from 0.38 to 0.4,” said Myo. “That leads to about a dollar a day increase or more depending on the service member’s family structure.” According to the Defense Travel Management Office website, overseas COLA is intended to equalize purchasing power so that service members can purchase the same level of goods and services overseas as they could if they were stationed in CONUS. It is calculated by comparing the prices of goods and services overseas with average prices for equivalent goods and services in CONUS. The result of this comparison is an index that reflects a cost of living. If prices in CONUS are rising at a greater rate than those overseas, COLA will decrease. If prices overseas are rising at a greater rate than those in CONUS, COLA will increase. Similarly, if overseas prices rise or fall at the same rate as CONUS prices, COLA will stay the same. Additionally, to figure out the COLA index, two surveys are used to determine the relative cost of living overseas compared with CONUS. The Living Pattern Survey (LPS), conducted every three years, captures input from service members and their families to establish where and how they purchase goods and services. The Retail Price Schedule (RPS), conducted every year, collects prices for a market basket of approximately 120 goods and services. Service members play a critical role by participating in the surveys. The raw data collected through the surveys is then sent to the Per Diem, Travel, and Transportation Allowance Committee in Washington, D.C. Based on this years data, the committee determined changes were due for Sigonella. “The bottom line is that everyone is making more money and that makes for happy Sailors,” said Myo.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 07:39:22 +0000
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