TOPIC: Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army (IPPS-A)
What is it?
The Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army (IPPS-A) is the Army’s future web-based multi-component Human Resource (HR) system. Currently under development, IPPS-A will standardize, streamline, and integrate Soldier personnel and pay processes and data across the Active Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. IPPS-A will create a comprehensive personnel and pay record for all Soldiers by consolidating stove-piped personnel and pay systems that do not share information.
What has the Army Reserve done?
The Army is overseeing the development of IPPS-A, and plans to launch the system with incremental releases. The Army Reserve will receive the first of five releases early next year with follow-on releases through 2017. The initial release will be comprised of multi-component personnel and pay database, nine new reporting functions, and a Soldier Record Brief.
The U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) has liaisons co-located within the IPPS-A program staff who provide insight, expertise, and counsel on the IPPS-A program, to ensure USAR requirements are captured within IPPS-A.
What continued efforts does the Army Reserve have planned for the future?
Once IPPS-A is fully fielded, the system will automate pay procedures so personnel actions will trigger associated pay events across all Army Components. In addition, a self-service capability will allow Soldiers access to their personal information 24 hours a day through a web portal from any internet connection with Common Access Card (CAC) authentication. IPPS-A’s ability to combine personnel and pay functions will automatically compute associated personnel and payroll events (e.g., a promotion or call to active duty) and address current inefficiencies caused by complex interfaces between multiple data systems.
Why is this important to the Army Reserve?
IPPS-A will create a single, comprehensive personnel and pay record for Soldiers, throughout their entire career that better facilitates a smooth transition between Active and Reserve Components. IPPS-A will provide a centralized resource for Soldiers, Leaders, and HR Professionals to better manage personnel and pay information.
In addition, IPPS-A will serve as the main source of data for computing Reserve Retirement Eligibility based on service and accumulated retirement points data and will also allow Soldiers to calculate their approximate retirement pay based on a user defined projected retirement date and projected retirement pay grade.