JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Alaska’s service members can now complete a Living Pattern Survey, which runs through Dec. 31, giving them the chance to provide critical data that may counter decreases in their future Overseas Cost-of-Living Allowance.
Recent reductions in OCOLA include a four-point decrease for service members in Anchorage. This reduction equates to hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in a state with notoriously high costs of living. Other areas in Alaska such as coastal communities with service members saw an even higher reduction in OCOLA, which significantly impacts their financial quality of life.
“I’m an E-3 and a first-time parent, so covering the basic needs of my infant absorbs so much of our budget already,” said Airman 1st Class Dustin Smyth, a firefighter assigned to the 673d Civil Engineer Squadron. “My family relies on things like COLA because we are a single-income household and we need to have someone home because of my irregular shifts.”
After the first two points of a four-point decrease in OCOLA was implemented on Nov. 16, beneficiaries now have the opportunity to counteract the reduction and potentially increase their purchasing power in the future if enough people participate in the survey.
OCOLA is a non-taxable allowance designed to help service members stationed outside the contiguous United States maintain equal purchasing power to those stationed in the Lower 48 states.
These surveys are held every three years, and this year's results will be the basis for COLA rates through 2025, affecting current and future service members until the next survey in 2026.
Military leadership across Alaska are urging service members to participate in the survey to gather accurate, up-to-date information on the state’s cost of living, and to help provide financial relief to the local community.
The survey can be found here.
For more information on the previous OCOLA reduction for Alaska service members, click here.