Blended Retirement System - Continuation Pay

Home

 

ABOUT BRS-CP

Blended Retirement System - Continuation Pay

Get the answers from an expert.  Call 512-782-5115 press option 4 or mailng.tx.txarng.mbx.incentives@army.mil

 

Service members enrolled in the Blended Retirement System (BRS) may be eligible to receive a one-time, mid-career bonus payment in exchange for an agreement to perform additional obligated service. This one-time bonus payment is in addition to any other career field-specific incentives or retention bonuses.           

Continuation pay is a direct cash payout, like a bonus, available to service members enrolled in the BRS. It is targeted at the mid-career mark, payable between completion of 8 years of service, but before completion of 12 years of service (calculated from a service member’s Pay Entry Base Date). Most service members will be eligible for continuation pay, but the timing and the amount is determined by your service.     

Benefits can be secured within the timeframe of 8 years to 11 years and 364 days of service. If a request is submitted precisely at the 12-year mark or later, it will necessitate an appeal to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR).

 

For CP Rates please reference the BRS-CP Policy Chapters 5-6. (see below)

Checklist and Forms


Eligibility:

  • The Service Member must be covered under the Blended Retirement System.
  • They must have completed a minimum of eight and a maximum of 12 years of service, calculated from the Soldier’s Pay Entry Basic Date (PEBD).
  • They must have an adequate remaining service obligation or must extend their current service obligation using DA Form 4836 (Oath of Extension of Enlistment or Reenlistment).
  • They must have completed the required financial training through the Army Family Web Portal’s Online Learning Management System (https://olms.armyfamilywebportal.com/).

Amount & Pay Rates:

 

  • Continuation Pay (CP) Amount: Eligible soldiers may receive a continuation pay amount equivalent to 2.5 times their active duty monthly basic pay. This amount will be determined based on the soldier's current pay grade and years of service, as outlined in the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) monthly basic pay table that is in effect on the date the soldier signs the Blended Retirement System Continuation Pay (BRS-CP) Election Form.

 

  • Pay Rates: Pay rate multipliers may be influenced by each service's specific retention requirements, specialty skills, and hard-to-fill positions, including career field incentives and re-enlistment bonuses. Each branch of service establishes and publishes its own guidelines regarding continuation pay.

 

  • Investing: Continuation pay, along with other specialty pays, bonuses, and incentives, can be invested in your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account, up to the maximum annual contribution limit established by the IRS. Please note that once you reach this maximum, further contributions may not be

Training must be completed as distributed learning via the Army Family Web Portal’s Online Learning Management System

(https://olms.armyfamilywebportal.com/).

 

To access this training, please follow these steps:

 

  1. Navigate to Home | OLMS and click the login button located in the upper right corner.

 

 a. If you have not previously registered for AFWP, click the "Don't have an account? Register here" link and complete the registration process.

 

b. If you have not created an account on OLMS, you will be prompted to complete your profile. (Please note that AFWP and OLMS have separate registration processes, but email addresses and passwords are shared between them.)

 

  1. On the main page labeled AFWP Online Learning, scroll down and click the arrow next to "Public Trainings," then select "Financial Readiness Touchpoints."

 

  1. Choose the entitlement for Continuation Pay.

 

  1. Click the "Enroll Me" button.

 

  1. Click on the SCORM package and then select "Enter."

 

  1. Complete the course as instructed.

 

  1. Upon completion, you will receive a certificate which can also be accessed through the course dashboard—this is the same page where you initially clicked on the SCORM package in step 5.7. Once complete you will be given a certificate, or you can open it via the course dashboard, this is the same page you initially clicked on the Scorm package in step 5.​

 

  1. Once complete turn in certificate to unit admin for upload to DTMS. ​

It must be uploaded in DTMS in order to get issued a contract.

 

It is essential that training completion is recorded in the Digital Training Management System (DTMS) by the DTMS Manager, using the following task identification number: G09-COM-0006, “Prepare Finances for Continuation Pay under the Blended Retirement System.”