Air Force Capt. Kayla Gordon, left, reenlists Senior Airman Derick Lynch at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., March 13, 2025. The Air Force is closing the application window for its selective retention bonus program early this year, citing high retention rates and dwindling budget. (Devon Cole/U.S. Air Force)

Eligible airmen have just days left to apply for this year’s selective retention bonus program, which the Air Force is closing more than four months earlier than expected.

The 2025 application window will shut May 20 due to high retention rates and the expected exhaustion of the program’s budget, the service said in a statement Thursday. The window typically remains open through Sept. 30, which is the end of the fiscal year.

Selective retention bonuses offer extra pay to active-duty airmen and Space Force guardians in high-demand career fields who commit to additional service. This year, 89 specialties are eligible — up from 73 last year — including jobs in cybersecurity, aircraft maintenance and intelligence.

Eligible members can receive up to $180,000 per reenlistment, depending on their career field and time in service. The lifetime cap is $360,000, unless waived by the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

To be qualified, members must serve in the eligible career field for the full term of their reenlistment. Those who plan to change jobs or pursue an officer commission aren’t eligible.

In recent years, the Air Force has adjusted enlisted retention policies by expanding the reenlistment window from 90 days to 12 months before a contract’s end date and raising the selective retention bonus cap by $80,000. This year’s application window also opened five months earlier than it did in 2024.

Airmen who reenlist and accept a bonus before the May 20 deadline will still receive the full amount, the service said.