The holidays always confuse people, and I get even more emails asking when the military will get paid. The next military payday is Thursday, 1 December 2011. When you will actually have the money in your account depends on the policies and practices of your bank or credit union.
Most banking institutions release military pay funds sometime early in the day on the actual payday. However, there is no requirement that it be paid at a specific time. Many variables may make your deposit be processed at different times on different pay days.
Some banks and credit unions, including USAA and Pacific Marine Credit Union, offer early release of pay funds for some or all of their customers. If your pay is deposited into an account with a bank that pays early, you should see your deposit posted some time on Wednesday, 30 November 2011. Again, there is no certain time at which this will happen.
If you bank with Navy Federal Credit Union, you need to know what sort of account you have. Early direct deposit is offered to customers with an Active Duty Checking Account. Because of the way that Navy Federal does their processing, the payments will show as pending on or before 29 November 2011 and process overnight, to be available for use on 30 November 2011. All other customers will see their payments pending on or before 30 November 2011 and process overnight to be available for use on 1 December 2011.
Concerned about your pay? First, don't panic until the day is done. Second, check your Leave and Earnings Statement to be sure that everything looks OK there. Ensure that there is pay due, and that the bank account information is correct. If your LES shows pay due, and it doesn't appear in your account by the end of the business day on the 1st, then contact your bank to see if they have information. The next stop would be your finance department to figure out what might have happened. If there has been a pay error, your branch's relief society would be glad to help you with a loan until the problem is sorted out.
First and the fifteenth, unless that day falls on a weekend or a holiday, and then it is the previous business day. A simple formula that works every time!
