U.S. Military (Ret.): Another path to concurrent receipt for some retired troops - Getting out, military retirement, military to civilian transition - Air Force Times

U.S. Military (Ret.): Another path to concurrent receipt for some retired troops

In my last column, I talked about the Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments program, or CRDP, one of the two concurrent-receipt programs for veterans who are entitled to both military retired pay and veterans disability compensation.

In this column, I’ll talk about the other program, Combat-Related Special Compensation. It’s possible for a veteran to be eligible for both programs, but he can be paid by only one. You need to know the key differences between the two to help you decide which one is best for you.

The CRSC program launched May 31, 2003, and has been expanded twice since then. The most important difference between the two programs is that to be eligible for CRDP you must have a service-connected disability, while to be eligible for CRSC, your disability must be combat-related.

Moreover, you must be receiving VA disability compensation for the combat-related injury or condition to qualify for CRSC.

Other key differences:

• CRSC is available to combat-disabled retirees with VA disability ratings of 10 percent or higher. CRDP is available to retirees with service-connected disabilities rated at 50 percent or higher.

• To correct something I said in my last column: Both CRDP and CRSC are open to nondisability retirees who served less than 20 years and left service under Temporary Early Retirement Act authority.

CRSC also is open to “Chapter 61” retirees who received medical disability retirement short of 20 years of service. However, CRDP is available to Chapter 61 retirees only if they served at least 20 years in uniform.

• CRSC is a special payment equal to the monthly dollar-for-dollar reduction in military retired pay previously required of retirees who also are eligible for VA disability compensation.

CRDP is simply a restoration of retired pay. As such, CRSC payments are tax-free, but any extra retired pay received under CRDP remains taxable.

• Finally, CRSC is an application-based program. Unlike for CRDP, which is supposed to be paid automatically to eligible retirees by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, you must file a claim for CRSC with your service — much as you file a VA disability claim — with documentation to show that your disability is combat-related.

If you need more assistance in sorting out CRDP and CRSC and how they may apply to you, the legal assistance office at your nearest military installation should be able to help.

In my next column, I’ll talk about a number of sources and contact information for these two programs, including where to file applications for CRSC.

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Retired Command Master Chief Alex Keenan served 28 years in the Coast Guard. E-mail him at retired@atpco.com.