B-125163, NOV. 29, 1955

B-125163, NOV. 29, 1955

TO MR. EDWARD C. W. SEMBACH:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER POSTMARKED SEPTEMBER 24, 1955, AND TO PRIOR CORRESPONDENCE, IN EFFECT REQUESTING REVIEW OF OUR SETTLEMENT DATED DECEMBER 16, 1954, ALLOWING ONLY $69.72 (REFERRED TO BY YOU AS $60) OF THE SUM OF $560 CLAIMED TO BE DUE YOU AS PAY, OR DUE YOUR WIFE AS FAMILY ALLOWANCE, INCIDENT TO YOUR ARMY SERVICE FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JUNE 23, 1950, THE DATE OF YOUR DISCHARGE.

YOU SAY THAT THERE WERE FOUR MONTHS FOR WHICH YOUR WIFE DID NOT RECEIVE A FAMILY ALLOWANCE CHECK ALTHOUGH SHE WAS ENTITLED TO $140 A MONTH FOR HERSELF AND YOUR OTHER DEPENDENTS; THAT THE MONEY WAS "PAID" TO YOU AT FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, IN 1948; AND THAT BEFORE YOU WERE DISCHARGED THE SUM OF $360 HAD BEEN TAKEN OUT OF YOUR PAY TO COMPENSATE FOR THIS. ALSO YOU STATE THAT SINCE YOUR DISCHARGE YOU HAVE PAID THE BALANCE OF $200 AND THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS DUE YOU THE SUM OF $560 WHICH YOU HAD TO PAY BACK BUT WHICH YOUR WIFE SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AS FAMILY ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS.

IT APPEARS THAT YOUR CLAIM INVOLVES THE FAMILY ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS MADE TO YOUR WIFE DURING THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 1, 1949, TO JUNE 23, 1950, AND YOUR ENTITLEMENT TO PAY FOR THAT PERIOD UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CAREER COMPENSATION ACT OF 1949, 63 STAT. 802, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 1949. UNDER THE SAVING PROVISIONS OF SUBSECTION (B) OF SECTION 515 OF THAT ACT, AN ENLISTED MEMBER OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES WAS NOT TO SUFFER ANY REDUCTION, BY REASON OF SUCH ACT, IN THE TOTAL COMPENSATION WHICH HE WAS ENTITLED TO RECEIVE UNDER ANY PROVISION OF LAW IN EFFECT ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1949. THAT SUBSECTION FURTHER PROVIDES, HOWEVER, THAT THE SAVING PROVISIONS SHALL CEASE TO APPLY TO ANY PART OF SUCH TOTAL COMPENSATION UPON THE FAILURE OF THE MEMBER OR HIS DEPENDENTS TO QUALIFY FOR IT, OR TO BE ENTITLED TO SUCH AMOUNT. THE RECORDS SHOW THAT AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 1949, UNDER LAWS THEN IN EFFECT, YOU WERE BEING CREDITED, AS A SERGEANT WITH OVER THREE YEARS OF SERVICE, WITH MONTHLY PAY OF $120.75 AND YOUR CLASS A DEPENDENTS--- YOUR WIFE AND YOUR FOUR STEPCHILDREN--- WERE RECEIVING A MONTHLY FAMILY ALLOWANCE OF $140, CONSISTING OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION OF $22 AND THE GOVERNMENT'S CONTRIBUTION OF $118. THUS, FOR COMPARATIVE PURPOSES YOUR TOTAL MONTHLY COMPENSATION AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 1949, WAS $238.75 ($120.75 PLUS $118). AS OF OCTOBER 1, 1949, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CAREER COMPENSATION ACT OF 1949, YOUR TOTAL COMPENSATION ($154.35 A MONTH AS THE PAY OF A SERGEANT WITH OVER FOUR YEARS OF SERVICE AND $67.50 A MONTH AS BASIC ALLOWANCE IN LIEU OF QUARTERS FOR DEPENDENTS) WAS ONLY $221.85 A MONTH. THUS, YOU CONTINUED TO BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE THE HIGHER COMPENSATION OF $238.75 AND YOUR DEPENDENTS CONTINUED TO BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE MONTHLY FAMILY ALLOWANCE BENEFITS. YOU COMPLETED SIX YEARS OF SERVICE ON FEBRUARY 24, 1950, THUS INCREASING YOUR MONTHLY RATE OF PAY UNDER THE CAREER COMPENSATION ACT OF 1949 FROM $154.35 TO $161.70 AND YOUR TOTAL MONTHLY COMPENSATION UNDER THAT ACT TO $229.20, WHICH WAS STILL LESS THAN YOUR TOTAL SAVED COMPENSATION OF $238.75. THUS, FOR THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 1, 1949, TO JUNE 23, 1950, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN CREDITED WITH PAY OF $120.75 A MONTH (A TOTAL OF $1,058.58 FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD) AND $118 A MONTH (A TOTAL OF $1,062 FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD) AS THE GOVERNMENT'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE FAMILY ALLOWANCE. YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN CREDITED AT THE RATE OF $120.75 FOR FIVE DAYS OF UNUSED LEAVE AT DATE OF DISCHARGE IN THE AMOUNT OF $20.13.

YOUR MILITARY PAY RECORDS FOR THE PERIOD INVOLVED SHOW THAT YOU WERE CREDITED WITH PAY OF $154.35 A MONTH FROM OCTOBER 1, 1949, TO FEBRUARY 24, 1950, A TOTAL OF $740.88; WITH PAY AT THE RATE OF $161.70 A MONTH FROM FEBRUARY 25 TO JUNE 23, 1950, A TOTAL OF $641.41; AND WITH PAY AT THE RATE OF $161.70 A MONTH FOR FIVE DAYS OF UNUSED LEAVE, IN THE AMOUNT OF $26.95. MONTHLY FAMILY ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS OF $140 WERE MADE FOR OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 1949 AND JANUARY 1950, A TOTAL OF $560. AS FAMILY ALLOWANCE DEDUCTIONS AMOUNTING TO ONLY $360 WERE MADE FROM YOUR PAY FOR THE PERIOD INVOLVED, THERE WAS AN UNDERDEDUCTION OF $200. NO FAMILY ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS WERE MADE FOR THE PERIOD BEGINNING WITH FEBRUARY 1, 1950, ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO SHOWING THAT YOUR DEPENDENTS WERE NOT ENTITLED TO SUCH PAYMENTS. ALTHOUGH YOU SAY THAT YOU HAVE REMITTED THE SUM OF $200 ON ACCOUNT OF THE UNDERDEDUCTION OF THAT AMOUNT IN CONNECTION WITH THE FAMILY ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS MADE FOR THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 1, 1949, TO JANUARY 31, 1950, THE RECORDS SHOW THAT YOU HAVE MADE ONLY 13 PAYMENTS OF $10 EACH, AMOUNTING TO $130.

A SUMMATION OF THE VARIOUS CREDITS AND CHARGES WHICH ARE FOR CONSIDERATION IN CORRECTLY ADJUSTING YOUR PAY ACCOUNT FOR THE PERIOD INVOLVED IS AS FOLLOWS:

TABLE

CREDITS PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF UNDERDEDUCTION

FOR FAMILY ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS $ 130.00 GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION TO THE FAMILY

ALLOWANCE, OCTOBER 1, 1949, THROUGH

JUNE 1950, AT $118 A MONTH 1,062.00 $1,192.00

CHARGES OVERCREDIT OF PAY ($1,382.29

LESS $1,058.58) $323.71 OVERCREDIT OF PAY FOR ACCRUED

LEAVE ($26.95 LESS $20.13) 6.82 ERRONEOUS CREDIT OF BASIC ALLOWANCE FOR

QUARTERS, OCTOBER 1, 1949, TO JUNE 23,

1950, AT $67.50 A MONTH 591.75 UNDERDEDUCTION FOR FAMILY ALLOWANCE

($560 LESS $360) 200.00 $1,122.28 NET UNDERPAYMENT

$ 69.72

IT WILL BE SEEN FROM THE FOREGOING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN CREDITED WITH THE GOVERNMENT'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE FAMILY ALLOWANCE FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 1, 1949, THROUGH JUNE 1950, IN THE COMPUTATION OF THE BALANCE OF $69.72 DUE. THAT AMOUNT WAS ALLOWED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF DECEMBER 16, 1954. HENCE, THERE IS NO FURTHER AMOUNT DUE, EITHER TO YOU OR TO YOUR WIFE. ACCORDINGLY, THAT SETTLEMENT IS SUSTAINED.