37 U.S.C. § 325 : US Code - Section 325: Incentive bonus: savings plan for education expenses and other contingencies

Search 37 U.S.C. § 325 : US Code - Section 325: Incentive bonus: savings plan for education expenses and other contingencies

(a) Benefit and Eligibility. - The Secretary concerned may
purchase United States savings bonds under this section for a
member of the armed forces who is eligible as follows:
(1) A member who, before completing three years of service on
active duty, enters into a commitment to perform qualifying
service.
(2) A member who, after completing three years of service on
active duty, but not more than nine years of service on active
duty, enters into a commitment to perform qualifying service.
(3) A member who, after completing nine years of service on
active duty, enters into a commitment to perform qualifying
service.
(b) Qualifying Service. - For the purposes of this section,
qualifying service is service on active duty in a specialty
designated by the Secretary concerned as critical to meet
requirements (whether or not such specialty is designated as
critical to meet wartime or peacetime requirements) for a period
that -
(1) is not less than six years; and
(2) does not include any part of a period for which the member
is obligated to serve on active duty under an enlistment or other
agreement for which a benefit has previously been paid under this
section.
(c) Forms of Commitment to Additional Service. - For the purposes
of this section, a commitment means -
(1) in the case of an enlisted member, a reenlistment; and
(2) in the case of a commissioned officer, an agreement entered
into with the Secretary concerned.
(d) Amounts of Bonds. - The total of the face amounts of the
United States savings bonds authorized to be purchased for a member
under this section for a commitment shall be as follows:
(1) In the case of a purchase for a member under paragraph (1)
of subsection (a), $5,000.
(2) In the case of a purchase for a member under paragraph (2)
of subsection (a), the amount equal to the excess of $15,000 over
the total of the face amounts of any United States savings bonds
previously purchased for the member under this section.
(3) In the case of a purchase for a member under paragraph (3)
of subsection (a), the amount equal to the excess of $30,000 over
the total of the face amounts of any United States savings bonds
previously purchased for the member under this section.
(e) Total Amount of Benefit. - The total amount of the benefit
authorized for a member when United States savings bonds are
purchased for the member under this section by reason of a
commitment by that member shall be the sum of -
(1) the purchase price of the United States savings bonds; and
(2) the amounts that would be deducted and withheld for the
payment of individual income taxes if the total amount computed
under this subsection for that commitment were paid to the member
as a bonus.
(f) Amount Withheld for Taxes. - The total amount payable for a
member under subsection (e)(2) for a commitment by that member
shall be withheld, credited, and otherwise treated in the same
manner as amounts deducted and withheld from the basic pay of the
member.
(g) Repayment. - If a person does not complete the qualifying
service for which the person is obligated under a commitment for
which a benefit has been paid under this section, the person shall
be subject to the repayment provisions of section 303a(e) of this
title.
(h) Relationship to Other Special Pays. - The benefit authorized
under this section is in addition to any other bonus or incentive
or special pay that is paid or payable to a member under any other
provision of this chapter for any portion of the same qualifying
service.
(i) Regulations. - This section shall be administered under
regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the armed
forces under his jurisdiction and by the Secretary of Homeland
Security for the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating
as a service in the Navy.