Ta-da! Back to the world where paydays come on a less-confusing schedule!
The next regular, active duty military payday is Thursday, 15 January 2015. Service members might have their pay deposited earlier, based on the policies and practices of their bank or credit union. When might you see your pay?
One Business Day Early
Many military-friendly banks and credit unions offer early direct deposit of military pay, and the most common policy is to deposit military pay one business day prior to the actual military payday. USAA does this for its bjillions of customers, as does Pacific Marine Credit Union (PMCU) and some other institutions. The business day prior to this payday is Wednesday, 14 January 2015. Pay can be deposited at any time during this day - don't panic if it isn't there at the moment you expect, or at the time it was deposited last pay period.
Navy Federal Credit Union
In order to know when to expect your pay in your Navy Federal Credit Union account, you need to know what type of checking account you have selected to use for your direct deposit. Only Active Duty checking accounts offer early direct deposit, all other checking account types have their pay deposited on the regular pay day. Just because you are on active duty does not mean that you have an Active Duty checking account. You may have chosen something else when you were setting up your account.
Members using an Active Duty checking account may see their pay "pending" on Tuesday, 13 January 2015, and it will post overnight to be available for use on Wednesday, 14 January 2015.
Members using any other type of checking account may see their pay "pending" on Wednesday, 14 January 2015, and it will post overnight to be available for use on Thursday, 15 January 2015.
Service Credit Union
Service Credit Union has changed the way they phrase their early direct deposit policies. Here's the current language: "If you are a military member, your pay should be available two business days prior to your post date (post date for military is the 1st and the 15th of every month). If that day should fall on a holiday or weekend, it should be available to you on the first business day prior to the weekend or holiday."
So, for the next payday, Service Credit Union members should expect to have their active duty military pay available on Tuesday, 13 January 2015. Note that this is not guaranteed!
Pay deposits can occur at any time on the designated day. Please don't be worried or upset if your pay isn't in your account at the exact time that you expect it. 99% of missing pay questions are resolved with a few hours of patience.
However, if your pay is truly missing, you can use these steps to track down the source of the problem.
Understanding the pay system helps keep your stress level low. If something confuses you, let me know and I'll try to answer your questions.
