Obama Concurrent Receipt Plan Details

[allan]

Subject: [VeteranIssues] Concurrent Receipt Plan Details, Chapter 61 retirees

Date: May 17, 2009 10:18 AM

http://www.moaa.org/lac/lac_issues/lac_issues_update/lac_issues_update_090515.htm#issue2

Obama Concurrent Receipt Plan Details

More details surfaced this week on the Administration’s proposal to expand concurrent receipt to service members who were medically retired, sometimes referred to as Chapter 61 retirees.

Under the Administration’s Omnibus proposal, all Chapter 61 retirees will become eligible for Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) over a five-year period starting in January 2010. The expansion will come in two phases.

The first three years of the five year phase-in opens CRDP eligibility to the more severely disabled Chapter 61 retirees with less than 20 years of service.

On January 1, 2010, Chapter 61 retirees with less than 20 years of service and a VA rating of either 90% or 100% become eligible.

On January 1, 2011, Chapter 61 retirees with less than 20 years of service and a VA rating of either 70% or 80% become eligible.

On January 1, 2012, Chapter 61 retirees with less than 20 years of service and a VA rating of either 50% or 60% become eligible.

The remaining two years of this phase-in extends CRDP to Chapter 61 retirees, regardless of years of service, with a VA rating of less than 50%.

On January 1, 2013, all Chapter 61 retirees with a VA rating of either 30% or 40% will become eligible.

On January 1, 2014, all Chapter 61 retirees with any VA rating become eligible.

Once this plan is completed, the only disabled retirees ineligible for CRDP will be non-medical retirees with 40% or lower VA disability ratings. The 10-year cost of the expansion is estimated to be $5.8 billion.

This new initiative represents a 180-degree turnabout from the positions of all previous Administrations, Republican or Democratic.

Our hope is that this signals a potential willingness to go ‘the final mile" in the future to cover all disabled retirees.

"Keep on, Keepin' on"

Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"

See my web site at:

http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/

[purple]

How about concurrent receipt for those of us who were medically discharged?????? Yup, I think we deserve the same treatment as those who were medically retired!!

I was given a severance package upon my medical discharge that I am having to pay back for literally the rest of my life because the VA considers it "double dipping" even though the severance pay came from the USAF...not the VA.

Why are we getting screwed???

[Navy Spook]

How about concurrent receipt for those of us who were medically discharged?????? Yup, I think we deserve the same treatment as those who were medically retired!!

I was given a severance package upon my medical discharge that I am having to pay back for literally the rest of my life because the VA considers it "double dipping" even though the severance pay came from the USAF...not the VA.

Why are we getting screwed???

I'm not seeing your argument. Maybe if you detailed your position and explained it instead of just asking "Where's mine?".

Before you get bothered by my comment, please keep in mind that I was in your exact position in 1990 and I want to be in favor of what you're asking for, I just haven't heard it discussed in a way that makes a compelling argument.

I was medically discharged, paid the taxes on it and then had to pay back the VA when they found me 70% service connected, so I had no income for several months.

I also took my case to the BCNR and asked why I was found less than 30% disabled when the VA found me 70%. There was lots of communication back and forth, but 5 years later I was in a Retired status.

Now I never got back my taxes or the money the VA recouped. But I did get the use of that discharge money, but I never should have had to pay taxes on it in the first place.

Don't forget that 10-40% disabled retirees with >20 years still aren't getting anything and all the service organizations think they deserve it even before the less than 20 year retirees.

If you are "paying back" a severance payment for the "rest of your life" you must have a small VA compensation or an unheard of large severance payment. Or maybe you only have 6 months to live?

[cowgirl]

Couple of thoughts. Purple is a veteran 'trailblazer' and I trust will be here for a long, long time. Comments and details on this is important IMHO all military retirees and "Medically Discharged" with disability(s) deserve full crdp.

Cg'up2009!

*edited meant to add 'medically discharged'

I'm not seeing your argument. Maybe if you detailed your position and explained it instead of just asking "Where's mine?".

Before you get bothered by my comment, please keep in mind that I was in your exact position in 1990 and I want to be in favor of what you're asking for, I just haven't heard it discussed in a way that makes a compelling argument.

I was medically discharged, paid the taxes on it and then had to pay back the VA when they found me 70% service connected, so I had no income for several months.

I also took my case to the BCNR and asked why I was found less than 30% disabled when the VA found me 70%. There was lots of communication back and forth, but 5 years later I was in a Retired status.

Now I never got back my taxes or the money the VA recouped. But I did get the use of that discharge money, but I never should have had to pay taxes on it in the first place.

Don't forget that 10-40% disabled retirees with >20 years still aren't getting anything and all the service organizations think they deserve it even before the less than 20 year retirees.

If you are "paying back" a severance payment for the "rest of your life" you must have a small VA compensation or an unheard of large severance payment. Or maybe you only have 6 months to live?

Edited May 18, 2009 by cowgirl

[etihwr]

When it comes to taxes. from about 1997, you only had to pay back the after taxed portion. If you received monies prior to 1997, you should check with the IRS about getting your monies back. I believe it is publication 17. I did the claim for a friend of my. He procrastinated for eight years before he allowed me to do his claim. As a result, he didn't want to do an amended tax return and thus didn't get back 30% of what he paid in taxes.

What I'm going to say will not sound fair to most, but you must realize that every thing and I mean everything is about MONEY! The veterans organizations fought to get you these benefits, but congress (whether Democrat or Republican) looked at how much they could spend w/o bankrupting the country.

If you want fair, get involved with the various veterans groups (large and/or small). Write members of congress and get them to pass the legslation that will end all the inequities! These forums are great to pass along information, but they don't get the laws changes unless all VETERANS write their congressperson/senator and urge them to vote for whatever legislation you support.

Congress has not given the Veteran one benefit that the Veteran and/or Veterans Organizations hadn't fought for. Say what you will, but that is the truth.

The orginal GI Bill only came about because the Congress didn't want another Russian Revolution in the US after WWII. So they put to work (through going to college) all those returning veterans. That is the only time, and the Veterans Organizations were the ones spreading those fears. If you don't stand up and be counted EVERY DAY, nothing will get done.

When it comes to taxes. from about 1997, you only had to pay back the after taxed portion. If you received monies prior to 1997, you should check with the IRS about getting your monies back. I believe it is publication 17. I did the claim for a friend of my. He procrastinated for eight years before he allowed me to do his claim. As a result, he didn't want to do an amended tax return and thus didn't get back 30% of what he paid in taxes.

What I'm going to say will not sound fair to most, but you must realize that every thing and I mean everything is about MONEY! The veterans organizations fought to get you these benefits, but congress (whether Democrat or Republican) looked at how much they could spend w/o bankrupting the country.

If you want fair, get involved with the various veterans groups (large and/or small). Write members of congress and get them to pass the legslation that will end all the inequities! These forums are great to pass along information, but they don't get the laws changes unless all VETERANS write their congressperson/senator and urge them to vote for whatever legislation you support.

Congress has not given the Veteran one benefit that the Veteran and/or Veterans Organizations hadn't fought for. Say what you will, but that is the truth.

The orginal GI Bill only came about because the Congress didn't want another Russian Revolution in the US after WWII. So they put to work (through going to college) all those returning veterans. That is the only time, and the Veterans Organizations were the ones spreading those fears. If you don't stand up and be counted EVERY DAY, nothing will get done.

[purple]

I had 11 yrs 8 months active duty time when the USAF decided that because I sought help for being raped on active duty that I needed to be medically discharged. Initially I was placed on TDRL for 18 months with a disability rating of 30% (which would have made me retirement eligible). However, at the end of my TDRL time, my rating was magically reduced to 10% so that I was denied my medical retirement.

I fought this up to the Secretary of the Air Force!!!....but lost.

I was given a severance package based on my rank and time in service. (E-6).

I applied for my VA benefits and won my claim.

It wasn't until a few years later that I was notified by the VA that they "discovered" that I was receiving both VA pay and severence pay and I could not do this. They immediately stopped my severence pay and began taking a certain amount from my VA pay per month.

I haven't actually calculated how many years the payback will take.....but it will be decades.

Taxes? Yeah, what can you do about taxes.

As far as how long I will live....hey, I almost died 3 weeks ago....so not funny.

[Navy Spook]

I had 11 yrs 8 months active duty time when the USAF decided that because I sought help for being raped on active duty that I needed to be medically discharged. Initially I was placed on TDRL for 18 months with a disability rating of 30% (which would have made me retirement eligible). However, at the end of my TDRL time, my rating was magically reduced to 10% so that I was denied my medical retirement.

I fought this up to the Secretary of the Air Force!!!....but lost.

I was given a severance package based on my rank and time in service. (E-6).

I applied for my VA benefits and won my claim.

It wasn't until a few years later that I was notified by the VA that they "discovered" that I was receiving both VA pay and severence pay and I could not do this. They immediately stopped my severence pay and began taking a certain amount from my VA pay per month.

I haven't actually calculated how many years the payback will take.....but it will be decades.

Taxes? Yeah, what can you do about taxes.

As far as how long I will live....hey, I almost died 3 weeks ago....so not funny.

Ah, I see.

When they took my severance pay back they didn't "take a certain amount", they stopped all VA compensation until the entire amount was recouped. So I thought you weren't getting ANY VA compensation for the rest of your life.

I go asystole three to four times a year myself. I wasn't trying to be funny. I was trying to mention all the possibilities that occurred to me that would explain your paying back the government for the rest of your life.