Every pay period, I get tons of comments and emails from people who are concerned because their pay hasn't been deposited. There is a logical progression of steps to take if you haven't received your pay as expected.
1. Make sure you know what day is payday. This is often confusing for people. Check out my list here: 2017 Active Duty Military Pay Days.
2. Wait. Don't panic if your pay isn't showing up at midnight, or 6 am, or even 9 am. The act of posting hundreds or thousands of military pay deposits takes time. 98% of the time, the people who write me find that their pay is deposited within a few hours of their writing.
3. Log into your MyPay account and check your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) (end of month pay) or Net Pay Advice (mid-month pay). First, ensure that there is pay due. Second, check that your bank account information is accurate.
Unfortunately, mid-month pay doesn't come with a full breakdown, just an amount. If it says zero, you'll have to skip step 4 and go right to your finance people for help.
4. Call your bank. If you've waited, and your LES or net pay advice shows a payment due, and your account information is correct, then call your bank to see what they say.
5. Check with your finance department. If your LES or net pay advice shows a payment due, the account information is correct, and your bank can not find a problem, then it is time to check with your finance folks.
These five steps are the easiest and most effective ways to track down the cause of a missing pay deposit. Don't forget, waiting solves most of the problems without lots of stress or worry.
In the meantime, if you're stuck, you may be able to get an interest-free, short-term loan from your branch's relief society (Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Air Force Aid Society, or Army Emergency Relief.)
Once your pay situation has been resolved, here are a few steps you can take to prevent issues in the future:
- Check your LES every month. If you see a payment that you don't recognize, be sure to put that money aside. The military will eventually figure out that they've overpaid you, and they'll want that money back.
- Build an emergency fund. This is useful for pay issues, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) expenses, and all sorts of other emergencies.
- Have some available credit. If you already have credit, keep the balances at zero so that you can use the credit in a pinch.
Pay problems are no fun, but knowing how to tackle them makes the situation a little less frustrating. I hope this list will help when you're trying to figure out, "Why hasn't my pay been deposited?"
