Military retirement and VA

[glenda h]

I have a friend who was an ISG in Reserves.  He was injured over in Iraq.  He was given a Medical Board  by the Army.  He was rated  50% disability and was medically retired.  He has the blue card yet DFAS keeps calling him a Gray area retiree.  VA has rated him as 90%.  He states that DFAS takes 90% of his retirement, gives to VA, which then gives it back to him.  Would he be entitled to both full since he is rated over the 50% from the VA.  ? I advised him to send in a copy of his DD 214/Med Board results to DFAS  

[broncovet]

Concurrent receipt:

Maybe you can make some sense of this:

https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/crdp/

[Carl the Engineer]

Not enough information.

Lets just say he had 15 years in the NG and was medically retired.  Medical retirement is not the same as a Regular or a Non-Traditional Military Retirement.  I believe, his medical retirement is the same as his VA comp, i.e. disabilities.  Not for time served.

I think that is where the confusion is.  That would not be concurrent receipt.

I have a Non-Traditional Retirement from the NG, and get both my NG retirement and my VA compensation.  Concurrent receipt.

As an aside, they did hold $309.00 from my VA comp for the first 3 months of 100% because of my NG retirement, but the letter that explains it says DFAS has to see if I am concurrent receipt or not because I am less than 50%.  But I am have been over 50% since 2010, so, pretty much a generic statement saying I will get it back.  LOL.

I will do some checking, but I think his confusion is he has a medical retirement.  Which, by the way only came about for NG Soldiers in the 2000's.  Before that, NG Soldiers where just out of luck.

FWIW,

Hamslice

 

 

 

[Carl the Engineer]

20 minutes ago, broncovet said:

Concurrent receipt:

Maybe you can make some sense of this:

https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/crdp/

It pretty much says that you cannot have a medical retirement and get concurrent receipt.

Any other type of Military retirement OK, but not medical retirement.

TERA retirement (early retirement) OK.

Hamslice

I did read where they are working on it, but that, if approved, would be too late for you 1SG.

 

 

[Carl the Engineer]

Interesting question.

How old was he when he was discharged and how many years did he have in the NG?

I can see where, as a 1SG, he could have had 20+ years in.  Lets say 30 for this exercise, and he is 50 years old.  Now, he gets hurt in Iraq.  Instead of just being discharged, he takes a (immediate income) medical discharge.  And now, he can only take the higher amount, tax's etc., between his VA comp and his medical retirement.  

Now, he could have just been discharged and waited until age 60.  And immediately went to the VA after discharge.  So, he would then be 90% VA comp and then at age 60, he would get his NG retirement, and with concurrent receipt, both in full.  Over time, a whole bunch more money.

1SG probably did what was best at the time, he thought, but the DOD/DFAS knows how to screw with you. 

And they do.

Hamslice