Analysis of a Time-In-Grade Pay Table for Military Personnel and Policy Alternatives

Federal law mandates that every four years the Secretary of Defense conduct an assessment of the military compensation system, resulting in a Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC). In response to this request articulated in Section 603 of the Senate Armed Services Committee version of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, the 13th QRMC is providing an assessment of the effects of a time-in-grade pay table for military personnel, particularly on readiness. A time-in-grade pay table would set pay based on pay grade and years of service within a grade, in contrast to the current time-in-service pay table, which sets pay based on pay grade and years of service inthe military.