New DFAS Policy Decreases Identity Theft

The Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller and the Under Secretary of Defense Personnel and Readiness (P&R) have co-signed a new policy that directs all military departments and all defense civilian employees to support the policy to eliminate paper copies of LES and W-2 tax statements.

Under the new policy, military members and civilian non-bargaining employees who log on to the myPay website after Sept. 1 are consenting to receive electronic copies of their documents.

Bargaining unit civilians will be brought onto this system as soon as local negotiations are completed. MyPay is currently available to all Department of Defense (DoD) military members, DoD civilian employees, and military retirees and annuitants. Although the policy applies to DoD military members and DoD civilians, the benefits of using myPay to eliminate identity theft associated with postal delivery of these statements also applies to retirees and annuitants for their 1099 tax statements.

For many years, myPay has provided military members and civilian employees with a secure method to view, print, and save their LES, W-2 or 1099s electronically.

Receipt of electronic documents through myPay eliminates risk associated with hand-delivered mail. By using myPay to view and print LES and W2 statements, the names, addresses, and social security numbers (SSN) of military members, civilian employees, retirees, and annuitants are protected.

The individual controls when the document is viewed and printed. The individuals' sensitive data is under their control at all times. This is particularly important for W2s and 1099s, where the SSN cannot be masked due to IRS regulations. In addition to obtaining electronic copies of LES and tax statements, customers can make adjustments to federal and state tax withholdings and update bank account and electronic transfers by accessing myPay.

Military members, civilian employees, retirees, and annuitants can obtain access to myPay by requesting a PIN online at https://mypay.dfas.mil or by calling 1-800-390-2348.