HMForces Benefits, Advice and Support Section

Here, in one handy section, is all the information you ever wanted to know about the money related benefits for working as a member of the Armed Forces.

If there is something missing that you want to know, drop us an email at: notes@ hmforces.co.uk and we’ll get working on finding the answer for you.

This certainly doesn’t trip off the tongue but it is a report presented to Parliament in July 2008 by the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister of State for the Armed Forces. It lists a range of proposals that the government is planning to introduce in the near future. However, there are is a wide range of time scales for the introduction of the measures so these are summarised in the Nation’s Commitment section at the end.

Here're all the sections - have a browse through them and if you don't find what you're looking for check our forum posts as someone before you might have posted a specific question and got an answer from someone. Otherwise drop us an email at notes@ hmforces.co.uk and we'll see if we can help.

British & Military Cultural Events

The British Armed Forces has a long tradition of custom, pagentry, and history. Like it or not, the naval and military services are bound up in the cultural life of the United Kingdom; its languages, architecture, religion, philosophical views, art, and music.

British Armed Forces Allowances

There are a wide variety of allowances to make up for expenses that service personnel may have to pay out in the course of their duties.

British Armed Forces Deployment

You knew this day might come when you first joined the Armed Forces. It's time to ship out, and serve the interests of your country. There's a lot of work to be done, not the least of which is getting your (and your family's) affairs in order.

British Armed Forces Reservists Deployment

Being a Reservist and balancing a civilian job, family obligations, and military duties is difficult enough. It only gets more difficult if you're called up to active duty.

British Armed Forces Pay Rates

The pay for the different services is broadly similar, but they are affected by a number of factors such as length of service, the particular trade or specialisation you perform and the level of responsibility.

British Armed Forces Pension

The pension scheme is one of the benefits of Armed Forces as you do not make any direct contributions towards it and your benefits are calculated from your final pensionable pay. There are two pension schemes for the Armed Forces depending on whether you joined before or after 6th April 2005.

Charities & Fund Raising

There was a time when the members of HM forces were not particularly recognised, it could be argued, for the duties performed in dangerous circumstances abroad. This has of course changed. Perhaps because of the controversy surrounding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan our Armed Forces became a prominent fixture in the media world, and all our worlds.

Family Issues in the Forces

A member is experiencing her first deployment and she feels a little lost. She asks some good questions, but one of them really caught my eye and made me think: When does the pain of deployment stop?

Finding a Job

In everyday life thousands of adults have difficulties focusing on the job. While more than 4 percent of working adults are diagnosed with ADHD, vast numbers of undiagnosed adults struggle with being successful in the workplace.

Golden Hellos & Pay Incentives

There are a number of different bonuses available for specific roles within the Armed Forces. These are due to simple supply and demand issues, the MoD have to fill key roles and if there are not sufficient numbers coming into the Service interested in those roles they are forced to offer extra incentives.

Military Discounts

There is so much to do ... and easy to have fun with friends and family. Enjoy your time!

Personal Finance

Dealing with Debt can be a difficult and lonely experience. However, there is always help and support at hand and it need not be a lonely experience. You can be sure that you are not alone in this, if you're facing debt or bankruptcy for example, there are many other people and familes facing the prospect of rising debt.

Benefits of Joining the British Armed Forces: Why Would You?

In a nutshell... why on earth would you join the Armed Forces? It's rubbish pay, and you could get killed.

Not only that, you're a bit left wing and believe in a protest against imperialism (you might even be one of those nutters from Muslims Against Royal Familes or whatever nonsense they are called) and speaking out for the British common man, therefore you don't want to join the UK Armed Forces. You could be a disaffected former member of the Or you might not believe in war at all despite the UK Armed Forces being primarily an expeditionary defence force for at least the past 250 years. It hasn't embarked upon any sort of conquest for centuries (you might argue Empire existed BUT that was started by trading companies NOT the Armed Forces).

Whatever your objections, and they are many, they'd be against everything you believed in.

Besides, you never voted for the ConDem government nor even deputy Nick Clegg nor even the PM David Cameron. So why should you join?

Well, to put it into perspective - your oath of alligence is to the Head of state, in this case the Queen and your Regiment not to the government. Utter tosh you might say as the British head of state is powerless. The Commons runs things. True.

But none can deny that indeed you do swear your Oath of Allegiance to the Squadron or regiment, most of whom are your fellow Britons; and often in the case of the Army people from the same town or county. These are the good folk that you back and protect in a conflict. Most of which are common men and women. The heart of industry of this country.

Secondly - the money is not THAT poor. It's lower yes initially but not in the long term. Look for an equivalent job as a civilian that has the benefits of the military equivalent and pound to a penny you actually WON'T find one.
A Chef on a cruise ship won't earn £16k PA when they start but one on a Royal Navy ship will - but that's just one insignificant example.

The basic benefits included in most armed forces jobs are:

1. Free medical and dental care

2. Good rent for often decent accomodation

3. Job security which is poor in the private sector. Albeit until 2011 the public sector was safe but ride out this financial storm and things should be right again by 2013.

4. 6 weeks paid holidays plus bank holidays. You'll never find this in a civilian company (maybe if you work in a highly paid financial job in the city or are a banker however).

5. Despite the public sector cuts, Armed Forces still has of the best pension plans on the market.

But be realistic

The UK's Armed Forces are one of the largest in the world in terms of power projection. Deployed in a number of serious armed conflicts throughout the globe, it's likely that you might find yourself in one of these conflicts.

Which you may not take to as much as the next person...