Of Note
MAE 2010 Volume: 5 Issue: 1 (February)
In January, the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) stipends, paid to nearly a million servicemembers living off base in stateside areas, increased by an average of 2.5 percent to keep up with rising rental costs.
The Post-9/11 GI bill’s living stipend is connected to the BAH for an E-5 with dependents. While some may see their stipend increase by as much as 13.6 percent in 2010, the average increase will be more like 2.5 percent.
Each year BAH rates are adjusted for 364 military housing areas based on changes in local rents, utilities and renters’ insurance for the type of housing appropriate for each military pay grade.
“Rates are based on actual housing data, so as the economy has declined, vacancy rates have increased [and] rental prices have declined, which results directly in lower BAH rates in various areas,” Cheryl Anne Woehr, a BAH program analyst for DoD, told American Forces Press Service. In Yuma, Ariz., the decline in BAH rates is considerable, as it follows a 15 to 18 percent increase in 2009, the highest the city has seen in eight years. The rates for E-5s and O-1s with dependents dropped by about $35, while the same rates without dependents increased by $28 and $39 respectively.
BAH rates will be lowered where rental costs have declined, but this has only affected servicemembers who were assigned to these areas on or after January 1. Current BAH rates will remain in effect for those already living in areas where rents have fallen from last year.
Conversely, in areas where rental data indicates that costs have climbed—for example, in Louisville, Ky. (13.6 percent) and West Point, N.Y. (11.4 percent)— BAH rates have increased. Though BAH rates dropped, individual rate protection is ensured, noted Mark Smith, a station housing director in Yuma. Servicemembers already based at Yuma will receive the higher of the two figures for 2009 or 2010 while newcomers, newly promoted and those with a change in dependency status will receive the 2010 allowance.
The DoD, which released the new rates in December, has a grandfathering policy for individual rate protection that prevents the decrease of a BAH rate as long as the servicemember’s status remains unchanged. A veteran student, for instance, should not see a decrease in their living stipend, but new students or those changing their status most likely will.
According to Woehr, BAH recipients unhappy with their new rate can complain to their military housing offices. “In areas where we do have complaints, if housing offices or commands ask us to visit we will, and we’ll look at the housing that has been used,” she said. “A lot of times it results in an education process for the housing office [to] improve their submission. The new rate [for the next year] may be different as a result of our visit.” ♦