Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington

Cost of Living

Cost of Living in the National Capital Region is considerably higher than the U.S. average, particularly in terms of housing costs.   

The FY-2023 National Defense Authorization Act was signed in December 2022 supporting the National Defense Strategy.   One of the line of efforts from the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act that will be implemented in January 2023 is to pay eligible service members with dependents a Basic Needs Allowance (BNA), a supplemental allowance to ensure they are not earning less than 130% of the poverty line based on their location and household size.  If a household contains multiple service members eligible to receive BNA, only one allowance may be received and the household service members must jointly elect which service member will receive the allowance.

Beginning in December 2022, AFPC initiated screening our entire force for service members who potentially qualify for the program and will notify him/her of their eligibility. The notification is designed to advise the service member on how to apply for BNA and identify supporting documentation requirements.

NOTE:   Service members who have not been notified, but believe they are eligible for BNA , please access MyPers https://mypers.af.mil/app/answers/detail/a_id/53668 to view eligibility and access the BNA application, and then send the application and supporting documentation to afpc.dp1ssb.specialpays@us.af.mil <mailto:afpc.dp1ssb.specialpays@us.af.mil.

A Secretary of Defense Memorandum dated 22 September 2022 released guidance titled "Taking Care of Our Service Members and Their Families" stating that the DoD recognizes the challenges within our economy and the significant impact to service members and their families.  As a result, there are immediate and long-term actions being implemented to provide stability.

In an effort to ensure service members and their family's needs are met, the DoD has implemented the following:

 - Review of the 2023 Basic Allowance for Housing tables to ensure that calculations reflect the unusually dynamic fluctuations in the housing market

- Institute automatic increases in BAH for active duty service members for the 28 Military Housing Areas that have experienced an average of more than 20 percent spike in rental costs above this last year’s BAH rates.  These automatic increases were identified to go into effect in October 2022.

- Pay eligible service members a Basic Needs Allowance beginning in January 2023 which is a supplemental allowance for service members who qualify based on their gross household income.

- Permanently increase standard TLE maximum coverage from 10 to 14 days for CONUS moves and allow up to 60 days of TLE if a service member is in a specified Military Housing Area with a housing shortage.  This will give service members and families significantly more flexibility to secure housing during a PCS move.   Standard TLE maximum coverage identified to begin in October 2022.

- Increase the Dislocation Allowance (DLA) for E-1 to E-6 service members to help further offset personal expenses for PCS moves.  DLA payments for all service members will now be paid automatically one nth prior to their move date to preempt out-of-pocket expenses.   Identified to take effect in October 2022.