21 January: Higher tax bill may loom for some troops, retirees
Higher tax payments or lower refunds could await some troops and retirees as a result of a tax credit that went into effect last spring in conjunction with the Obama administration’s 2009 economic recovery plan. Read more of the article on Air Force Times.

5 November: USAA now open to honorably discharged vets. USAA has expanded its customer base to include all honorably discharged veterans and their families, making about 35 million more people eligible for membership. USAA’s services include insurance, financial planning, investments and banking products. Read more online at the Army Times.

8 October: Senate passes retroactive injury payments. An omnibus veterans bill passed late Wednesday by the Senate includes the promise of retroactive insurance payments to about 2,500 severely injured service members.

If the bill, S 728, becomes law, payments are expected to average $68,700 for the veterans who suffered a noncombat injury between Oct. 7, 2001, and Nov. 30, 2005, a period when Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, known as TSGLI, applied only to those injured in the combat theater. Read the online article at the Air Force Times.

22 September: The right way to unretire - "Has a portfolio swoon put a crimp in your comfortable lifestyle? Maybe it's time to get a job." Read more online at CNN Money.

18 September: VA warns veterans to be wary of phone scam
The Veterans Affairs Department has issued a warning about a phone scam in which con artists claim to be updating veterans’ prescription drug information in VA’s files. VA officials caution veterans not to give credit card numbers over the phone if they receive such a call. Read more online at the Air Force Times.

U.S. Military (Ret.): If inflation rate is negative, retirees won’t get annual COLA increase
By Alex Keenan - Courtesy of the Air Force Times

The fiscal year ended Sept. 30, which means we will soon know whether the inflation rate for fiscal 2009 ended in negative territory.

If that happens, military retirees would see no annual cost-of-living adjustment in their retired pay, something that has not happened in a generation.

Every year has seen an increase since at least 1975, when the current COLA system began. The highest increase was 14.3 percent in 1980; the lowest was 1.3 percent in 1986 and 1998. Last year, retirees got a 5.8 percent bump, well above the recent historical average.

The formula for the retiree COLA is based on the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W.

The COLA represents the difference between the average inflation in the final three months of one fiscal year — July, August and September — compared with the same three months of the previous year.

The inflation rate fell 2.2 percent in July and 1.9 percent in August — so it was actually a deflation rate. The final piece of the puzzle, the figure for September, won’t be released until mid-October, but the trend does not look good.

If there’s any good news to be found, it’s that military retiree pay — or Social Security adjustments or any other COLA-type benefits — will never be cut if the inflation rate ends in negative territory; the worst that can happen is no increase.

But there is one other piece of news on this front: Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., has introduced a bill, HR 3557, to apply a 3 percent COLA increase effective Dec. 1 to various government benefits — including military retired pay — regardless of what the final CPI numbers indicate.

“The government may have good reasons to hold down spending on entitlements given the deficit, with military retiree issues being one — but don’t say it’s because of deflation,” wrote retired Cmdr. Peter Gregory. “Been to the gas pump? Go food shopping? Pay college tuition? Buy health care?”

With an election year coming in 2010, he said, “hopefully Congress will find the money” for at least a modest retiree COLA.
It’s too early to tell whether Jones’ legislation will receive full approval from Congress, but it couldn’t hurt to contact your lawmakers and let them know how you feel.

Source: http://www.airforcetimes.com/money/retirement/offduty_retired_101209w/

Retired Air Force personnel and their eligible family members are able to receive Air Force Aid Society assistance, but not on a continuing basis, and based on a case-by-case review.

Air Force Aid Society emergency assistance is available to Airmen and their eligible family members to meet immediate needs in an emergency situation.

The Society provides interest free loans and grants based on the individual situation for needs such as:

• Basic Living Expenses
• Emergency Travel
• Vehicle Expenses
• Funeral Expenses
• Medical/Dental
• Child Care/Respite
• Moving Expenses
• Miscellaneous Expenses

Visit our Air Force Aid Society section for more information or visit the Air Force Aid Society web site at www.afas.org