How do I get my Credit Report?
www.annualcreditreport.com or call +1 (877)322-8228
Check the accuracy of your credit report when you get it:
- Is your full name, birth date, and address correct?
- Are employers, creditors, or home addresses listed that do not belong to you?
- Are your accounts correctly reported as open, closed or delinquent?
- Do judgments, such as liens or bankruptcies, appear correctly?
If there are any inaccuracies, contact the credit reporting agency and creditor that furnished that information to get it corrected and to file a dispute. If they do not fix your report, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
Credit Scores:
A credit score is a number that lenders and other companies use to evaluate your credit risk, at any given point in time. Scores range between 300 and 850. The higher your score, the less risk you present to creditors.
Student Loan Information
Not all student loans are the same, especially federal and private loans. Federal student loans are offered through the U.S. Department of Education. Private loans are offered by banks, credit unions, or schools. Federal loans tend to offer loans at lower interest rate than private loans.
What is a default student loan?
A default student loan means you failed to make scheduled payments on a loan. Your loan becomes delinquent the first day after you miss a payment. However, the loan is not in default until 270 days have passed without a payment. The consequences of default can include:
- The entire unpaid balance of your loan and any interest is immediately due and payable.
- Your loan account is assigned to a collection agency.
Student Loan Resources:
Blended Retirement System
On January 1, 2018 the military retirement system changed to the new Blended Retirement system. It has three components: The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), continuation pay, and an annuity.
Visit web site for training:
http://jko.jten.mil
Visit web site for more information about BRS:
http://militarypay.defense.gov/BlendedRetirement
Service Members who joined after 2006 but before January 1, 2018 will have the choice to stay with the existing system or to opt in to the new system. Those who joined before 2006 will stay with their current system.
Department of War (DoW) will:
Contribute 1% of your basic pay to his or her TSP 60 days after entering into service. Match your contributions (up to an additional 4% when you contribute at least 5%) at the start of your third year of service.
Continuation Pay:
After 12 years of service, you will receive a cash payment if you opt to stay for 4 more years. The payment will be two and a half months of basic pay for Active component members and half a month's basic pay for Reserve members.
Annuity:
The Blended Retirement system annuity is a defined benefit (monthly annuity) similar to the 20-year retirement system now in place. Members who retire will still get their monthly annuity pay, but at a reduced amount of 2% instead of 2.5%.
Example:
2.0% x Years Served x Retired Pay Base
Check out the links below for additional BRS resources:
- BRS Infographic (PDF)
- Introduction to Blended Retirement (PDF)
- DoW Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
- Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Information
What is TSP? TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the Uniformed Services, including the Ready Reserve. TSP offers the same type of savings and tax benefits that many private corporations offer their employees under 401(k) plans.
- Automatic payroll deductions
- Choice of traditional (pretax) or Roth (after-tax) contributions
- Very low administrative and investment expenses
- Ability to transfer money from other eligible accounts into your TSP or Roth TSP
Military Members can contribute at least 1% from basic pay, or 1% to 100% of any incentive pay, special pay or bonus pay
Civilian personnel have the options to contribute a percentage of their pay or a dollar amount.
Contribution elections must be stated as whole percents. The dollar amount that is withdrawn will be adjusted if the amount of your pay changes.
Resources for Civilian Employees:
Service Member Civil Relief Act Questions
The Service Member Civil Relief Act (SCRA) extends consumers rights to service personnel; there is added protection from default judgements as well as the ability to cancel contracts and leases. Visit: https://scra.dmdc.osd.mil/scra/#/home for more information.
E-Benefits National Resource Directory:
www.nrd.gov. The National Resource Directory (NRD) is a partnership of the Departments of War and Veterans Affairs. This online directory connects service members and veterans with resources to benefit them and their families.
Creating a Budget
Complete Monthly Budget upon arrival using the fillable PDF form below:
ACS Budget Calculator (PDF)
Forms and Publications
- ACS Budget Calculator (PDF)
- PCS - First Duty Station: Training Instructions
- Blended Retirement System Information Sheet (PDF)
- Credit Report Information Sheet (PDF)
- Student Loan Information Sheet (PDF)
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Information Sheet (PDF)
- The Service Member Civil Relief Act Information Sheet (PDF)
