BRS Continuation Pay by Service: Each Branch's Multiplier and What It Pays by Grade

A Marine E-6 who elects continuation pay before 12 years of service in 2026 receives $25,216.50. A Sailor in the same grade gets $12,608.25, and a Coast Guard E-6 at eight years gets $41,515.20. The law is the same for all three: 37 U.S.C. 356. What differs is the multiplier each service publishes. As of October 28, 2026, the Navy is the only service with a published calendar year 2027 rate (NAVADMIN 148/26). The Marine Corps and Air Force rates below are their 2026 figures, and we found no Space Force message at all.

What the statute requires

Section 356(a) says the Secretary concerned "shall make a payment of continuation pay" to each full TSP member who "has completed not less than 7 and not more than 12 years of service" and agrees to serve "not less than 3 additional years of obligated service." Full TSP member means enrolled in the Blended Retirement System.

The floor is 2.5 times monthly basic pay for the regular component, Active Guard and Reserve, and, since the FY2026 NDAA (Pub. L. 119-60, December 18, 2025), Space Force members on sustained duty. A drilling reservist's floor is 0.5 times the pay "to which the member would be entitled if the member were a member of a regular component." Each service picks its own multiple above the floor, its own point in the 7-to-12 window and its own obligation. Every service with a published rate asks for four years, one more than the law's minimum.

Each service's published multiplier

The Marine Corps rate has not moved since CY2025: MARADMIN 003/26 says "The CY 2025 BRS CP multipliers remain in effect for CY 2026." The Air Force benefits page carries a similar line: "The 2026 Continuation Pay Rates remain the same as 2024-2025," and adds that "Currently the DAF pays at the same multiplier and at the same time for all career fields." The Coast Guard message says its rates "will remain in place until new rates are published."

What it pays, by grade

Each cell multiplies the service's active multiplier by the pay column that service names, from the 2026 DFAS basic pay table. The Army column assumes a Soldier signs between 8 and 10 years, which the over 8 column covers.

The Coast Guard pays the most because it uses the largest multiple, even on the smaller over 8 column. Its officers get 6 times, so a Coast Guard W-2 receives less than an enlisted E-5 in the same service. The Marine Corps doubles the Navy for the same grade and the same column.

Drilling reservists receive much less. For an E-6, the Navy's 0.5 SELRES rate is $2,521.65, the Marine Corps 1.0 rate is $5,043.30, the Army's 0.5 rate signing at 8 years is $2,306.40, and the Coast Guard's 2 times over 8 is $9,225.60. The Army fact sheet pays a Guard or Army Reserve Soldier 2.5 times instead when the Soldier "performed 270 or more days of involuntary mobilization during a 730 day period, excluding 12301 (H) status."

The deadlines that cost the whole payment

Each service sets a hard cutoff, and missing it usually means no payment. The Navy says members "must be enrolled in BRS and request CP before reaching 12 YOS," through NSIPS, which emails reminders at 11 years 6 months, 11 years 9 months and 11 years 11 months. The Marine Corps statement of understanding "must be completed and dated before the Marine reaches 12 YOS" (MARADMIN 229/24, still in effect).

The Army's window is shrinking. In CY2026 a Regular Army or AGR Soldier can elect between 7 and 12 years; in CY2027 the window is "no less than seven and not more than 10 years of service." A Soldier who is past 10 years of service on January 1, 2027 and has not elected falls outside the CY2027 window. Soldiers must also complete the "Prepare Finances for Continuation Pay" training first. The fact sheet says CY2028 is still under analysis.

The Coast Guard moved its date to 8 years. The form CG-7430A must be signed and witnessed "at least 30 days prior to their CP date," and "Waivers will not normally be approved" for a late election.

Taking it as a lump sum or in installments

The statute lets a member take continuation pay "in a lump sum or in a series of not more than four payments." The Marine Corps and Coast Guard schedule installments on the anniversary of the first payment, and the Marine Corps choice is irrevocable once the statement is signed. Leave the service before the obligation ends and repayment follows under 37 U.S.C. 373.

Continuation pay can go into the TSP up to the IRS limit, but the Air Force page warns: "There are no matching contributions on Continuation Pay invested into (TSP)." Our guide to the 2027 TSP limits explains why front-loading the limit can cost the 5 percent match. To see continuation pay beside your BRS pension and lump sum, enter your service's multiplier in the BRS calculator; look up your own column with the basic pay calculator, and compare a reenlistment bonus with the SRB calculator. The Army fact sheet adds that the continuation pay obligation "can be used in conjunction with selective retention bonuses."

Rates shown are each service's latest published multiplier and FY2026 basic pay. Always verify with your finance office before making financial decisions.