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$1,000 free from Uncle Sam

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brok McCarthy
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The government wants to give you up to $1,000 just for being a deployed servicemember. All you need to do to get the money is enroll in the U.S. Savings Deposit Program. 

"The Savings Deposit Program is a savings account deployed members can deposit up to $10,000 into," said Staff Sgt. Justin Hughes, 379th Expeditionary Comptroller Squadron NCO in charge of customer service. "Anything you deposit will earn interest for your entire deployment plus 90 days after you return, and that's 10 percent annually." 

He said interest is compounded quarterly at a rate of 2.5 percent per quarter, so the most money a person could earn in one year from interest is $1,000. 

"It's easy to enroll, you just have to fill out the paperwork," said Senior Airman Sarah Vroman, a 379 ECPTS budget analyst deployed here from Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. "It took me maybe 10 minutes to do everything to open my account." 

In order to enroll in the program, a person must be receiving hostile fire pay and have been deployed for at least 30 consecutive days, or one day in each of three consecutive months. 

"The way you contribute is bring in a copy of your CED orders and ID (to finance) and we'll fill out the proper forms and get you started," said Sergeant Hughes who is deployed from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. 

Once an account is open, people may deposit any dollar amount up to their net take home pay in $5 increments. 

"Say you take home $3,000 a month, then that's all you can deposit that month," Sergeant Hughes said. "If you get a commanders signature on our paperwork, you can do two months of your net pay." 

Money can be deposited into an account in one of three ways: check, Eagle Cash, or via allotment. Sergeant Hughes noted, regardless of how money is deposited, only one deposit can be made per month. 

"Normally you have to wait the 30 days to make the initial deposit," Sergeant Hughes said. "But if you were to have just gotten here, you can start an allotment, because it wouldn't pay out until the end of the month, which would be after the 30 day mark." 

Once a member deposits money into their account, the money must remain there until he or she has left the combat zone, he said. This is waverable by the commander, but only in instances when the health and welfare of the member or his or her dependants would be in danger if the money wasn't used. 

"You just can't find better a better deal," said Sergeant Hughes. It's a great opportunity to save, especially with everyone getting the extra pay and entitlements. (People) wouldn't even see the difference if they started putting that away." 

Airman Vroman, who's been enrolled in the program since November, agreed with the staff sergeant. 

"I enrolled to get the extra interest on my money," said Airman Vroman. "It's better than anything else out there that I've seen." 

For more information on the USSDP, an interest calculator and the enrollment form, visit the 379th Expeditionary Comptroller Squadron Web site at http://intranet/organizations/379ecpts/Index.html.