A CBO Paper: Educational Attainment and Compensation of Enlisted Personnel
Abstract
Summary and Introduction The educational attainment of the military's enlisted force like that of civilian young people as a whole is on the rise. That increase has raised concerns within the Department of Defense (DoD) about the adequacy of compensation for midcareer enlisted personnel. From 2000 through 2004, such concerns led DoD to target annual raises in basic pay to those personnel (as well as to senior enlisted service members to keep their pay above that of midcareer personnel). DoD will have to budget roughly $1.6 billion in 2004 to cover those targeted pay raises. Additional targeted pay raises, which would increase the annual cost to $2 billion, were in DoD's budget plans for 2005 and 2006 but have not been included in the President's budget request for 2005. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has analyzed the relationship between educational attainment and retention among enlisted personnel. The analysis suggests that targeted pay raises are not necessary to support DoD's ability to compete with private employers for high-quality personnel. Although the percentage of the enlisted force with education above the high school level is rising at each pay grade and year of service, that trend may not mean that higher military pay is needed to compete with the private sector. Instead, it could indicate that rising in-kind and cash benefits have made a military career financially attractive not only to people with high school degrees but also to many with some college education. education. If that interpretation is correct, the resources devoted to targeted pay raises might be freed to address other personnel concerns including compensation for active and reserve members who are undergoing frequent or hazardous deployments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA447676
Entities
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office