Military Pay Raise Gap

Military pay raises should track with wage growth in the private sector, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Cost Index (ECI). The chart below tracks the growth of the military pay gap by comparing military raises with wage growth in the private sector (ECI). For budget reasons, pay raises have been capped most years since 1982, when military pay was last deemed "reasonably comparable" with the private sector. The cumulative pay gap widened to 13.5% by 1999, with serious retention and readiness consequences. In 1999, Congress acted to set military pay raises at ECI plus .5% each year for the period 2000 to 2006. Congress subsequently authorized higher pay raises in 2000, 2001, and 2002, including extra "targeted" increases for members with specific grade and longevity combinations (mostly mid-grade and career NCOs and officers).

In 2007 through 2010, Congress continued to provide raises in excess of the ECI in the interest of continuing to close the gap. For 2010, Congress called for a 3.4% raise -- .5% higher than the Administration's ECI-based budget request.

MOAA and The Military Coalition are urging Congress to provide the further increases necessary to fully eliminate the remaining comparability gap as soon as possible.