All military retirees are required to have their retirement paychecks sent by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to a financial institution.
Retirement Paychecks are always electronically deposited on the first business day of the month. In addition, International Direct Deposit (IDD) is available to U.S. military retirees and annuitants living in certain overseas locations. The following is a summary of retired payment information:
Military Retirement & Survivor Benefit Plan Payments
If you are receiving military retirement or Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity payments, the fastest and easiest way to change your direct deposit account information is through the Defense Finance and Accounting System (DFAS) myPay online account access system.
If you don't already have a myPay account, it can take a little effort to set one up, but the benefit is worth the effort. You'll have 24 hour a day, 7 day a week access to your account details, annual account statements, the ability to change your direct deposit account, change your mailing address, and print tax statements.
If you are unable to set up a myPay account, or do not want to, then you will need to change your direct deposit information using the paper Direct Deposit Enrollment Form (FMS 2231), and mailing it to:
| Defense Finance and Accounting Service |
| 8899 E. 56 Street |
| Indianapolis, IN 46249 |
Paper forms may take up to 60 days to be processed.
As always, if you have problems, you can always call DFAS at 800-321-1080 for help.
Overseas Retirees
If you are living overseas and want your government payments directly deposited into an American bank, you follow the instructions above, if you want them deposited into a foreign bank it can be a bit trickier.
Normally, the deposit will be in U.S. Dollars, the bank will convert it to the local currency, you may have to pay a conversion fee. If you are in Canada you have the option to be paid in U.S. Dollars or Canadian Dollars.
Currently the U.S. Treasury allows your military retirement to be directly deposited into foreign banks in 56 countries.
To sign up for direct deposit into a foreign bank you will need to submit an International Direct Deposit Enrollment SF 1199-I) and submit it by mail to the proper agency above.
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