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With no finish to the federal government shutdown in sight, Airmen, Guardians, and protection civilians face rising uncertainty about whether or not or not they are going to be paid—and make ends meet if they aren’t.
The following navy paychecks are due Oct. 31, when the subsequent month’s lease, mortgage, childcare, and automobile funds can even come due.
The Pentagon discovered funds for the primary payday after the shutdown, Oct. 15, tapping $8 billion in funds appropriated for analysis, improvement, take a look at, and analysis. Officers look forward to finding further unspent cash to fund Oct. 31 paychecks.
Past that, nonetheless, the outlook is unsure, as neither Republicans nor Democrats present any signal of wavering resolve over the shutdown. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Oct. 26 that ought to the shutdown lengthen to the Nov. 15 payday, troops received’t be paid.
Retired Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, chief government officer on the Air Power Assist Society, is watching these plans intently. “It’s a dynamic state of affairs,” he stated. “What we’re significantly involved about is the mid-month paycheck. If the federal government shutdown just isn’t resolved earlier than we get to Nov. 15, we’re deeply involved that service members might miss a paycheck.”
Most protection civilians aren’t being paid, and lots of contract personnel are additionally not receiving pay throughout the shutdown. Some federal civilians obtained partial paychecks because the fiscal yr ran out on the finish of September.
Many two-income navy households are working on only one verify in consequence. A 2021 Authorities Accountability Workplace examine estimated that some 69,000 navy spouses work for the Division of Protection or a associated entity, or about one in 4 of an estimated 270,000 navy spouses employed full-or part-time. A 2025 analysis report from Syracuse College’s Institute for Veterans and Navy Households estimated that 10.3 p.c of some 901,000 navy spouses—or roughly 93,000—labored for the federal authorities, “a charge 11.864 occasions increased than that of civilian spouses.”
For these navy households, monetary hardship is already right here. And the possibility that each paychecks might cease poses a nonetheless extra severe risk.
“It might be a double hit for a lot of,” stated Thomas.
Reduction Packages
Monetary establishments catering to navy and federal staff are providing a wide range of shutdown reduction applications, together with paycheck advances loans and deferred fee choices. However these aren’t open to all.
Each PenFed Credit score Union and USAA provide paycheck loans as much as $6,000 per pay interval to qualifying federal and navy members. To qualify, members will need to have direct deposit arrange and meet credit score necessities.
USAA has already issued 91,000 such no-interest loans, stated JJ Montanaro, a monetary recommendation director at USAA.
PenFed has an identical program; So long as members have a direct deposit that receives a paycheck from the federal authorities, stated Govt Vice President of member operations and international mounted belongings Jamie Gayton, “we are able to exchange that paycheck, as much as $6,000, after which what occurs is, after the shutdown ends and so they get repaid, then we’ll return in and pull that cash out.”
For automobile and bank card payments, PenFed has accepted 2,240 purposes for members to skip a month-to-month fee, Gayton stated.
Whether or not furloughed employees receives a commission later is unclear. President Donald Trump has threatened to not present backpay, however Congress has persistently accepted backpay after previous shutdowns.
“The regulation says that they are going to obtain backpay for any of the funds that they don’t obtain,” stated Gayton, a retired U.S. Military colonel. “That’s what occurred previously … so we’re very comfy taking good care of our members after which working by means of that course of down the highway.”
USAA has additionally likewise accepted “tens of 1000’s” of {dollars} in bank card fee reduction for members affected by the shutdown, Montanaro stated.
Different banks even have applications. Members struggling ought to contact their monetary establishments, Thomas stated. And people who don’t qualify could possibly get assist elsewhere.
“Not everyone qualifies for these” financial institution applications, Thomas stated. “There are necessities that include these, so what I’d inform you is there’s not one place outdoors of the federal authorities that may remedy this drawback for our Airmen and Guardians.”
Thus far, base companies reminiscent of childcare and libraries are funded by non-appropriated funds and nonetheless working, an Air Power spokesperson advised Air & Area Forces Journal.
The Air Power put out steerage for Airmen, Guardians, and spouses on Sept. 30 to assist climate the uncertainty of the shutdown.
But a few of that steerage might quickly be outdated or unclear.
For instance, it recommends service members look into the Division of Agriculture’s Supplemental Vitamin Help Program, or SNAP, however President Trump has said that these advantages won’t be accessible as of Nov. 1. In accordance with media studies, a number of states are planning to sue over the administration’ resolution, however November advantages are unlikely to be accessible.
Thomas suggested that navy members ought to preserve checking for updates on accessible sources because the shutdown continues.
For instance, the Air Power Assist Society’s web site states that it’s “at the moment not accepting purposes for monetary help associated to the federal government shutdown.”
“As soon as the [Trump] administration made assurances that navy members can be paid, we stopped accepting purposes from lively responsibility,” Thomas defined. “Nonetheless, we’ve got paid out greater than $1 million to assist service members and their households which were below pressure from the federal government shutdown. That features Lively, Guard, and Reserve.”
Thomas stated the assertion on the AFAS web site shall be up to date because the state of affairs unfolds.
Audio of this text is delivered to you by the Air & Area Forces Affiliation, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their households. Discover out extra at afa.org