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COLA and Post Allowance Dropping
You’ll soon have a little less money in your wallet because of falling post allowance and cost-of-living allowance rates. The decreases are attributed to the dollar gaining value against the euro. Overseas COLA is provided to servicemembers outside the United States to help with buying goods and services on the economy. Post allowance is the cost-of-living allowance given to American civilians in some overseas areas. On Friday, COLA rates went down in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, according to a Defense Department Web site. In several localities throughout Germany, the COLA for an E-5 with four years’ service and three dependents drops from $389 a pay period to $353 a pay period. The post allowance changes are based on currency exchange rate information reported to the State Department’s Office of Allowances as of Jan. 8, according to the State Department’s Web site. The post allowance, paid to U.S. civilians working overseas, did not change in the United Kingdom, however it fell in Belgium and Italy. For nearly all locations in Germany, post allowance fell Sunday from 42 percent to 35 percent. If you’re single, making between $28,000 and $29,999 a year and working in Germany, you’ll get about $90 less each month. In Vicenza, Italy, those making between $39,000 and $41,999 with three dependents will see $165 less a month. |
About Stars and Stripes
This article is provided courtesy of Stars & Stripes, which got its start as a newspaper for Union troops during the Civil War, and has been published continuously since 1942 in Europe and 1945 in the Pacific. Stripes reporters have been in the field with American soldiers, sailors and airmen in World War II, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo, and are now on assignment in the Middle East.Stars and Stripes has one of the widest distribution ranges of any newspaper in the world. Between the Pacific and European editions, Stars & Stripes services over 50 countries where there are bases, posts, service members, ships, or embassies. Stars & Stripes Website What's Hot |