Do you have questions about the effect of VA disability compensation on your military retirement pay? You’ve come to the right place.
Concurrent receipt laws prevent military retirees from receiving both service retired pay and VA disability compensation at the same time, which is called “double dipping.” This means that veterans must subtract their disability compensation from their retired pay.
Rates
The VA publishes rates for veteran disability and military retirement pay in December every year. They are updated periodically to keep up with inflation.
While these rates vary by household makeup and disability level, they are generally based on average income earned before and after leaving the service. They are a significant source of compensation for service members with disabilities that prevent them from working.
Moreover, many veterans receive these benefits tax free. Unlike Social Security or private pensions, veterans are not required to contribute a portion of their benefits to the program.
As a way to avoid “double-dipping,” the government requires that a veteran receive only one type of pension (either military or VA disability) at the same time. To do this, the amount a veteran receives in VA disability compensation is subtracted from their military pension.
Service-Connection
Service-connection means that a veteran’s medical condition was directly caused by their military service. This includes any illness, injury, or disease that occurred during active duty, was aggravated by service, is secondary to another disability, was caused by exposure during service, or is on the VA’s Presumptive List of conditions.
The VA and DoD only give disability ratings for service-connected conditions. The easiest way to prove service-connection is to have clear proof of the diagnosis and treatment in your service treatment records.
You may also be able to prove service-connection by showing that the current disability developed faster because of your military duties than it would have if you had worked in a civilian job. This evidence can come from your medical records, testimony from others who know you, and/or a doctor’s opinion.
If you qualify for both retirement pay and disability compensation, you can choose to receive either concurrent retirement and disability pay (CRDP) or combat-related special compensation (CRSC). Concurrent receipt is available only to veterans who have a combined disability rating of 50% or more.
Deployment
Deployment includes movement from a Service Member’s home station to somewhere outside the continental United States or its territories. It can be for a variety of reasons, including humanitarian aid, evacuation of U.S. citizens, or restoration of peace.
In addition, it can also be for training by National Guard and Reserve units. These activities don’t qualify as “active duty” for VA purposes.
For veterans who are CSRS or FERS employees, they must make a deposit of 7 percent (for CSRS) or 3 percent (for FERS) of basic military pay to receive retirement credit. However, this credit may be deleted if the veteran is eligible for social security at age 62.
Retired pay is computed using a formula based on length of service or disability percentage. It can include a bonus, contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan or a lump-sum payment.
Effective Date
The va disability and military retirement pay calculator is a simple tool that asks a few easy questions to determine when you should have received a larger disability payment than you did. Enter your effective date and the percentage rate you should have been receiving and the tool will provide you with an estimate of how much you may be owed in back pay.
In a perfect world, all service members who have a VA disability rating would be eligible to receive both their military retired pay and their VA disability compensation. However, this would mean a huge increase to the government’s budget.
Instead, the government has implemented a system known as Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP). This allows veterans to receive both their military retired pay and their disability compensation. CRDP was first implemented in 2004 and has been gradually phased in over a ten year period.
