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thedrifter
04-10-07, 09:55 AM
DoD seeks to phase out paper W-2 forms
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 10, 2007 9:39:35 EDT

The Defense Department is seeking permission to stop providing paper copies of W-2 forms and monthly earning statements for military and civilian employees beginning next year.

Buried in a pile of provisions submitted by the Pentagon for consideration as part of the 2008 defense authorization bill is one that would allow the Defense Department to have only electronic versions of monthly leave and earnings statements for the 1.4 million military members, as well as the W-2 wage and tax statement for those uniformed service members and the department’s 700,000 civilian employees.

Military retirees and those receiving survivor benefits would continue to get printed statements under the proposal, which is pending before the House and Senate armed services committees for inclusion in the 2008 defense authorization bill.

Under the proposal, the Defense Department could stop sending printed copies of pay and tax statements to anyone with regular access to a government computer. Only those deployed or without immediate access to a government computer would continue to receive printed statements.

“Most DoD employees and military members have assigned government computers and printers with which they can access” their payroll accounts, defense officials said in a statement explaining the proposal.

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which handles military and civilian payroll, has computerized pay and leave accounts set up for most military employees. The only people without a computerized record are “those determined to be in a secret status as identified by the military departments,” the statement said.

DFAS access to what are known as myPay accounts “has provided military members and civilian employees with a secure method to view, print, and save” their leave and earning statement and W-2 electronically, “which also mitigates the risk of identity theft,” the statement said.

The majority of the military’s payroll is handled by electronic transfer of funds. Manual pay and printed W-2s and leave and earnings statements, known as LESs, are being phased out. Some people getting paper statements today probably don’t need them because they are getting the forms and printing them from their government computers but have never taken the time to click a box to cancel the mailing of paper copies, according to the Defense Department statement.

Ellie