The Coast Guard's Salary Range
The Coast Guard is administered by the Department of Homeland Security -- in wartime it may be coordinated by the Department of the Navy -- and it serves more of a policing function than one for national defense. Guardsmen receive the same salary and benefits as members of other uniformed services, with equivalent pay grades and experience raises. Additionally, retirement plans and other benefits are akin to those provided to other branches of the armed forces.
Other People Are Reading
-
Enlisted Salary Range
-
Although a few advancement opportunities from the ranks to officer positions are available, most enlisted members of the Coast Guard serve their entire career as enlisted guardsmen. Because of this, a wide salary range across all ranks ranges from $1,467.60 monthly for a seaman recruit -- pay grade E-1 -- with less than two years in the Guard, to $7,195.80 for a master chief petty officer with 40 or more years of experience in the Guard. Salaries are calculated by a combination of rank and time in service, with ranks receiving an in-grade pay increase every two years of service.
Officer Salary Range
-
Officers tend to make much more than most enlisted personnel, although the Coast Guard also pays a wide range of salaries to its officer corps. For example, an ensign with less than two years in the service earns $2,784 each month, while an admiral -- pay grade O-10 -- with 40 or more years in the service earns $18,936.90 monthly. As with other branches of the uniformed services, advancement to the upper echelons of the Coast Guard must follow an appointment from Congress rather than from standard merit-based advancement.
-
Allowances
-
Because housing costs vary widely among the cities in which a guardsman may be deployed, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service provides a tax-deductible allowance for housing to all guardsmen who live outside of Coast Guard-provided housing. This allowance varies from city to city, and increases with rank. Guardsmen who have dependents receive a larger allowance than those without dependents at a similar rank. An additional cost of living allowance is provided to troops stationed in areas with high costs of living to help raise their real earning power to that of other areas in the country.
Retirement Plans
-
Members of the Coast Guard who serve at least 20 years are eligible for Department of Defense-funded retirement packages. Retirement plan options vary by enlistment date and, in some cases, a retiree's preferences. After 20 years, retirees are entitled to pensions of 40 to 50 percent of their final pay or average pay for their final three years. Pensions increase for each year a guardsman remains in the service past 20 years, up to 40 years, at which pensions are capped at 75 percent of terminal pay in all three retirement plans.
-
References
- Photo Credit coast guard on patrol image by Elmo Palmer from Fotolia.com
