§1016 — Title 37 Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must give service members, with each pay statement, a short plain-language explanation for every kind of pay, allowance, and deduction shown. Each explanation must say the law or rule that allows it, its purpose, who can get it, when it could change, stop, or expire, and must be on a website members can access and print and written so nonexperts can understand.

Title 37, §1016

Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Defense shall make available contemporaneously with each pay statement provided to a member of the Armed Forces, for each type of pay, allowance, and deduction listed on the statement, a brief and plain-language description of—

(1)the statutory or regulatory authority under which a pay, allowance, or deduction is made;

(2)the purpose of a pay, allowance, or deduction;

(3)the criteria for determining eligibility of members for a pay, allowance, or deduction; and

(4)possible changes in the eligibility of the member for a pay, allowance, or deduction, including the circumstances under which a pay, allowance, or deduction may be suspended or modified or may expire.

(b)The descriptions required to be made available with a pay statement under paragraph (1) shall be—

(1)published on a website accessible by a member and printable with the pay statement of the member; and

(2)presented in language easily understood by individuals without specialized knowledge of military finance, accounting, or law.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title VI, § 661(b), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 914, provided that: “The requirements of section 1016 of title 37, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to pay statements issued on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 18, 2025].”

§1016 Pay Statements: Descriptions of Types of Pay

Summary

Title 37, §1016

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata