Hawaii Military COLA Rates to See Changes
Hawaii Military COLA Rates to See Changes
Hawaii Military COLA Rates to See Changes
Story Number: NNS040602-12
Release Date: 6/2/2004 9:27:00 PM
From U.S. Pacific Command Public Affairs
CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii (NNS) -- Some service members stationed in the state of Hawaii will be seeing changes in their Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) as of July 1. The changes include increases for service members stationed on the islands of Oahu and Maui. There is no change in the COLA rate for service members stationed on the Big Island and Kauai.
With the new rates, an E-5 stationed on Oahu with eight years of federal active service and three dependents would see an approximate increase of $45 a month in COLA. An O-3, under the same criteria, would see a $61 dollar increase, according to Eddie Fowler, a personnel policy analyst in U.S. Pacific Command's (USPACOM) Manpower, Personnel and Administration Directorate.
The changes to Oahu and Maui’s COLA rates are the result of this year’s COLA Retail Price Survey, which is based on the results of a COLA Living Pattern Survey. The Living Pattern Survey, conducted in January 2003, established where military personnel shop. USPACOM then conducts a Retail Price Survey each year for the next three years at the retail locations identified in the Living Pattern Survey.
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 year’s data, the committee determined changes were due for Oahu and Maui.
“What made the difference in January 2003 was the fact that people took the time to fill out the Living Pattern Survey correctly, showing us where they shop in their local community,” said Army Maj. Eric Hunke, of USPACOM's Personnel Programs Branch.
“We [in the military] seem to spend a lot of money in the commissaries and exchanges out of necessity, but we also do about 40 percent of our shopping at local markets out of convenience," said Hunke.
More information about COLA, including calculators and explanations on how COLA is determined, can be found at the Per Diem Web site at www.dtic.mil/perdiem/index.html.
For more news from around the fleet, visit the Navy NewsStand at www.news.navy.mil.
Hawaii Military COLA Rates to See Changes
Story Number: NNS040602-12
Release Date: 6/2/2004 9:27:00 PM
From U.S. Pacific Command Public Affairs
CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii (NNS) -- Some service members stationed in the state of Hawaii will be seeing changes in their Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) as of July 1. The changes include increases for service members stationed on the islands of Oahu and Maui. There is no change in the COLA rate for service members stationed on the Big Island and Kauai.
With the new rates, an E-5 stationed on Oahu with eight years of federal active service and three dependents would see an approximate increase of $45 a month in COLA. An O-3, under the same criteria, would see a $61 dollar increase, according to Eddie Fowler, a personnel policy analyst in U.S. Pacific Command's (USPACOM) Manpower, Personnel and Administration Directorate.
The changes to Oahu and Maui’s COLA rates are the result of this year’s COLA Retail Price Survey, which is based on the results of a COLA Living Pattern Survey. The Living Pattern Survey, conducted in January 2003, established where military personnel shop. USPACOM then conducts a Retail Price Survey each year for the next three years at the retail locations identified in the Living Pattern Survey.
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 year’s data, the committee determined changes were due for Oahu and Maui.
“What made the difference in January 2003 was the fact that people took the time to fill out the Living Pattern Survey correctly, showing us where they shop in their local community,” said Army Maj. Eric Hunke, of USPACOM's Personnel Programs Branch.
“We [in the military] seem to spend a lot of money in the commissaries and exchanges out of necessity, but we also do about 40 percent of our shopping at local markets out of convenience," said Hunke.
More information about COLA, including calculators and explanations on how COLA is determined, can be found at the Per Diem Web site at www.dtic.mil/perdiem/index.html.
For more news from around the fleet, visit the Navy NewsStand at www.news.navy.mil.
posted by DP at 4:25 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home