Military pay became covered wages under Social Security effective 1/1/1957. Since
military wages were usually lower than wages for an individual in similar civilian
employment, Congress created DMWs in 1968 to lessen the wage gap.
NOTE: Before 1957, Congress granted veterans with active United States military service
from 9/16/1940 through 12/31/1956 noncontributory wage credits of $160 per month.
Refer to the archived military service POMS for more information on pre-1957 military
service wage credits.
IMPORTANT: For Supplemental Security Income (SSI) purposes, only military basic pay is wages.
DMW’s are not income. For more information on the SSI treatment of military pay, see
SI
00830.540.