It’s Your Money; Come and Get It

Don’t leave anything on the table!

The Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay deadline for eligible military personnel to submit their claims for this special pay is Oct. 21, 2010. The average benefit is $3,800, and there are over 145,000 eligible service members and veterans. (Only 58,000 claims have been paid.)

DoD and the Services are working hard to remind folks to submit claims!  It’s not a scam. And it’s not a joke. It’s YOUR money, so go get it.

Just in case you had forgotten, the 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act authorized retroactive stop loss special pay of $500 for every month/partial month served in stop loss status. Servicemembers, veterans, and beneficiaries of servicemembers who were involuntarily extended under stop loss between 9/11 and September 30th 2009 are eligible.

The Congress set aside $534.4 million to pay out those funds, but as of the end of last month only $219 million in claims have been paid. Qualifying individuals have served — or are still serving — their country nobly and deserve to be paid the money they’ve earned.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , says: The application process is simple and straightforward. No strings attached. But once the deadline passes, by law it cannot be extended. So jump online and check it out here. at: http://www.defense.gov/stoploss.