§402b Basic Needs Allowance for Members on Active Service in the Armed Forces

Summary

The Secretary must pay a monthly basic needs allowance to active-duty members who finished initial entry training, whose household income in the most recent calendar year did not exceed 200 percent of the HHS Federal poverty guideline for their location and household size, who are not otherwise ineligible, and who do not choose in writing to opt out. The monthly amount is calculated by taking 200 percent of the HHS poverty guideline for the member’s location and household size for the year, subtracting the member’s gross household income from the prior calendar year, and dividing the result by 12. Members assigned outside the United States use the continental U.S. poverty guideline for these calculations. Members without dependents and certain cadets or midshipmen cannot get the allowance. If a household has more than one eligible member, only one payment may be made, chosen by those members. A promotion or other permanent pay increase that raises annualized household income above the 200 percent limit ends eligibility and payments will stop within a reasonable time under Defense rules. A member whose prior-year income dropped only because of disciplinary fines, forfeitures, or rank reductions is not eligible just for that reason. Members must apply to receive the allowance and update the application at least yearly; applying is voluntary but failing to apply within a reasonable time is treated as ineligible. The Secretary will screen members, decide eligibility in writing, and provide information about financial help. The Secretary of Defense must write implementing rules within one year after the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 was enacted. Payments begin for months starting one year after that enactment date and may not be made for any month beginning after December 31, 2027. Gross household income means all household income (minus any housing allowance amount the Secretary elects to exclude in certain high-cost areas), and household means the member plus dependents enrolled in DEERS.