What is an LES?
by Stacy Malone
Even the world of military finance has acronyms. Understanding one in particular can be very beneficial to your family. LES means Leave and Earnings Statement. In non-"militaryease," that means a pay stub. This has vital information to be aware of. As a military spouse you probably know it is important to be prepared, so it may be a good thing to know the basics of an LES.
I had been married for a few years when my husband came home with orders hot off the press. He was joining many other Americans called to Desert Shield. In the ton of paperwork to fill out, he handed me this piece of paper that (like all the other government papers seemed to me) had lots of stuff written on it that I did not understand. It was of course his LES. I did not understand why he was suddenly teaching me how to read his pay stub. I mean, if I were going out of town I didn’t have an urge to run home and show him my pay stub, “Hey honey...look at this Federal withholding, and how about that Social Security?”
When he told me that this form would explain a lot in the event there was a problem with the deposit of funds going into our account twice a month-you better believe I listened! The first part says everything about the military member. This is important to check and make sure Captain Jones is not getting Sergeant Jones’ pay. Make sure the name, rank, date they went into the military, Social Security Number (SSN) and home of record (state that takes out taxes) is correct. Inaccuracies need to be addressed immediately with your service member’s unit.
The second part tells you what the base pay is along with the other pay and allowances. A good rule to remember here is if it has the word “pay” it is taxable and if it has the word “allowance” it is not taxable. Next listed is money taken out. If you are signed up for dental insurance, make sure there is money taken out for dependent’s dental. If not, you do not have dental insurance yet.
An LES gives a projection of the following month’s pay. Remember the word projection, because the amounts paid could change if there is any government debt or if there is an event that changes that pay.
If your military member is overpaid remember this: No one gets overpaid and gets to keep the money. Alert their unit and put that extra money to the side. The government will find that overpayment and they will take it out of the next pay. This could result in what is called a “no pay due” (not a pretty picture).
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service offers online 24-hour access to the service member’s LES. Access requires a myPay Personal Identification. Start using myPay now at https://mypay.dfas.mil. Your installation’s financial family support system can provide you with additional finance-related information.