Soldiers Affected by COVID-19

Visit AER Office (where possible)

The fastest way to receive financial assistance is to visit your nearest AER office or other military aid society. Find your nearest office using our Office Locator.

Soldiers who cannot visit their nearest military aid office should follow the steps below to submit an electronic request for Assistance via EFT.

Step 1: Notify Chain of Command

Active duty soldiers should notify their chain of command that COVID-19 has caused financial hardship and work with them to submit a request for Assistance via EFT. If you do not hear back from your chain of command, continue with the process outlined below and submit your request while making further attempts to notify your chain of command.

Retired Soldiers and Survivors should follow the Assistance via EFT process to submit their applications directly to the AER Section without chain of command notification.

Step 2: Assistance via EFT

Follow the steps below:

Notify your local AER officer of your intent to submit an assistance application and request a DoD Safe secure document upload link. Use the DoD Safe link provided by your local AER officer to securely transmit your assistance application with the documents below.

  1. AER Form 101, Application for Financial Assistance
  2. AER Form 57, AER Budget Planning Sheet
  3. AER Form 575, AER Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Authorization
  4. Supporting documents validating financial need

Secure transmission: Soldiers and Family members will ensure documents containing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) are only transmitted electronically through a secure means i.e. DoD SAFE.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who is eligible for AER assistance?

    • Active duty Soldiers and their eligible family members
    • Soldiers retired from active duty because of longevity and their eligible family members
    • Retired Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers receiving retired pay and their eligible family members
    • Medically retired Soldiers and their eligible family members, including those placed on the Permanent Disability Retired List or Temporary Disability Retirement List
    • Surviving spouses and children of Soldiers who died while on active duty (including those on Title 10 Orders) or in an eligible retired status
    • Members of the Army Reserve Component (National Guard and Army Reserve under Title 10 U.S.C) on Active Guard Reserve tours and their eligible family members
    • Members of the Army Reserve Component (National Guard and Army Reserve under Title 10 U.S.C) on continuous Active Duty for more than 30 consecutive days and their eligible family members

    Any Soldier, regardless of rank, and their eligible military identification card-holding dependents in the categories listed above can seek assistance from AER.

  • Can my spouse obtain AER assistance if I’m deployed or TDY?

    Yes, a spouse or other eligible dependent may seek AER assistance without their sponsor being present when the Soldier is unavailable.

    Unavailable is defined as:

    • When the Soldier is outside the same geographic area as the dependent due to temporary duty travel, field exercise or deployment
    • When the Soldier is inside the same geographic area and (determined by the chain of command) they will be unavailable to visit the local AER office in a timely manner to meet a valid emergency need
    • When the retired Soldier is working outside the local or primary area where the family resides or is hospitalized, incarcerated or otherwise unavailable for a legitimate reason that would prevent them from requesting assistance

    Options for requesting assistance when the Soldier is unavailable:

    • Special Power of Attorney
      • Spouses or other authorized dependent must have a valid SPOA from their sponsor granting them authority to act as the sponsor’s attorney-in-fact to “establish, change, or stop allotments” as required by Financial Management Regulation DoD 7000.14-R, para 400803.
      • Note:  “A general power of attorney is not acceptable to establish, change or stop and allotment.” (FMR 7000.14-R, para 400803)
    • Account Allotment and Authorization Form (AER Form 55)
      • Allows active duty or retired Soldiers to provide one-time authority for a spouse or other eligible dependent to obtain financial assistance in the name of the Soldier when they are unavailable. Upon request, the AER Form 55 will can be initiated by the local AER officer. The AER officer will email the form directly to the active duty or retired Soldier for signature on behalf of the eligible family member.
    • Email from the active duty Soldier’s .mil account stating they concur with the assistance, dollar amount and repayment
      • Under no circumstance can a personal email account be used to provide concurrence.

  • Is there a dollar limit on AER assistance?

    Every request is unique and considered on an individual basis. There is no upper limit for AER support, however, the most common assistance we provide is $1,500 for a 15-month loan.

    Some categories of assistance have dollar limits and other categories have requirements related to grants versus loans.

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