By the Numbers - January 28, 2013
$150 billion
The amount requested by the Department of Defense (DoD) "to fund the pay and benefits of current and retired members of the military" for FY 2013, according to a report last fall from the Congressional Budget Office, Costs of Military Pay and Benefits in the Defense Budget. Of this amount -- roughly one-fourth of the entire military budget -- more than $90 million covers "basic pay, food and housing allowances, bonuses, and various types of special pay." Roughly $16 billion funds "accrual payments that account for the future pensions of current service members who will retire from the military." What's left -- about $40 billion -- goes toward health benefits.
According to the report, there are about 1.4 million active duty military members, but nearly 10 million people total are eligible for military health benefits. These include eligible family members of active duty service members, "retired military personnel and their eligible family members, survivors of service members who died while on active duty, and some members of the reserves and National Guard."
$150 billion
The amount requested by the Department of Defense (DoD) "to fund the pay and benefits of current and retired members of the military" for FY 2013, according to a report last fall from the Congressional Budget Office, Costs of Military Pay and Benefits in the Defense Budget. Of this amount -- roughly one-fourth of the entire military budget -- more than $90 million covers "basic pay, food and housing allowances, bonuses, and various types of special pay." Roughly $16 billion funds "accrual payments that account for the future pensions of current service members who will retire from the military." What's left -- about $40 billion -- goes toward health benefits.
According to the report, there are about 1.4 million active duty military members, but nearly 10 million people total are eligible for military health benefits. These include eligible family members of active duty service members, "retired military personnel and their eligible family members, survivors of service members who died while on active duty, and some members of the reserves and National Guard."