Pay, pay raises, pay allowances, pay charts - Air Force Times

Guard and Reserve 2010: Retirement

Reservists are eligible to retire once they complete 20 qualifying years of service. However, they cannot immediately begin collecting military retired pay.

Basic plans: 20-year retirement

Application. Retired-pay applications generally are sent out at age 58, except for Air National Guard and Coast Guard members, who receive applications six months before age 60. Retired reservists and Guard members must apply for retired pay, just as their active-duty counterparts do. It does not automatically start at age 60.

Those who apply later will get pay retroactive to the day they were eligible — if they state that date as the date retired pay is to begin — until age 66. After that, a penalty of one day’s pay for each day of delay is applied.

Benefit formula. There are three ways to compute reserve retirement, which is based on when you first entered military service, not just reserve service. If you have 20 qualifying years of service and your initial date of entry is:

• Prior to Sept. 8, 1980, divide the total number of retirement points by 360. That gives you the years of service (in active-duty years). Multiply that figure by 0.025 (2.5 percent). Multiply that number by the basic monthly active-duty pay for your grade and years of service on the retired-pay effective date (normally your 60th birthday). Round that figure down to the nearest dollar to get the actual monthly retired pay.

• On or after Sept. 8, 1980, divide the total number of retirement points by 360 to get years of service in active-duty years. Multiply that figure by 0.025 (2.5 percent). Multiply that figure by the average of the 36 highest months of active-duty base pay for your rank. Round that figure down to the nearest dollar to get the actual monthly retired pay. This formula is commonly known as the High-3 retirement plan.

Members on active duty or full-time National Guard duty who entered service on or after Aug. 1, 1986, and have completed 15 years or more of total active federal military service can choose either the High-3 retirement plan or Redux.

The Redux retirement system comes with a Career Status Bonus. The Redux portion determines monthly retirement income, and the Career Status Bonus provides a one-time $30,000 payment. Members can choose either High-3 or Redux no later than their 15th anniversary of active duty, using DD Form 2839.

Although Redux provides a $30,000 bonus, monthly retirement pay under this system is less than under the other two systems. For 20 years of service, members receive 40 percent of the average of their highest 36 months of basic pay, rather than 50 percent.

Also, unlike traditional retirement that provides full annual cost-of-living adjustments for inflation, COLA raises for Redux retirees are one percentage point less than inflation. There is a one-time “catch-up” COLA raise at age 62 that puts Redux retirement pay on par with traditional retirement pay, but after that, annual COLA adjustments under Redux again begin to lag inflation by one percentage point per year.

Eligible personnel should understand and research their options before making this important decision.

Contact: The Army Human Resources Command maintains an online archive with extensive information on retirement that can be useful to reservists in any component. Visit https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/reserve/soldierservices/default.asp.

Eligibility. Reservists must have completed 20 years of qualifying service to be eligible for retirement. A qualifying year of service is a complete retirement year in which the member earned a minimum of 50 retirement points. The service’s reserve personnel center will send the member a “Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at Age 60” letter — often referred to as a 20-year letter. You must maintain a current address with your Reserve Personnel Command or State Headquarters. If you believe you have 20 qualifying years and have not received a notification letter, gather your documentation and contact your reserve center.

Army reservists between the ages of 58 and 59 will receive from the Reserve Personnel Command an application for retired pay at age 60 — if they have earned a 20-year letter and maintained a current address. Complete the application forms and submit them to the Reserve Personnel Command.

The 2008 Defense Authorization Act made a significant and long-sought change in retirement-pay eligibility for reserve component members. Reservists can begin drawing retirement pay three months earlier than age 60 for every 90 days of active duty under certain mobilization authorities in support of a contingency operation, down to a limit of age 50.

The Senate originally proposed to make this provision retroactive to qualifying service performed after Sept. 11, 2001, but the House would not go along. In the end, Congress applied the provision only to qualifying mobilizations that were ongoing as of, or began after, Jan. 28, 2008, the date that the law was enacted.

Supporters of better reserve retirement benefits have not given up, however. At press time, a new legislative push was ongoing in Congress to make the earlier retirement credit retroactive for active duty performed since Sept. 11, 2001. The chances of that effort succeeding were unclear.

Basic plans: COLA

The annual cost-of-living adjustment for military retired pay is based on changes in the Consumer Price Index, a government measure of the cost of goods and services, although the actual increase each year must be formally approved by Congress.

Eligibility. Military retirees under the traditional and High-3 retirement plans receive full COLAs annually as determined by increases in the CPI. Redux retirees receive one percentage point less each year.

At press time, there was a good possibility that retirees could see no COLA increase for 2010 because consumer prices had declined in the first half of the year as a result of the economic recession. In such a situation, retired pay is never reduced; the worst that can happen is no COLA increase.

Basic plans: Contacts

For more information or to request a retirement application form, contact:

Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. Air Reserve Personnel Center Retirements Branch (HQ ARPC/DPPR), 6760 E. Irvington Place, Denver, CO 80280-1900; 800-525-0102; www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/main/contactus.asp.

Army Reserve and National Guard. U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Attn: ARPC-PSP-T, 1 Reserve Way, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200; 800-318-5298; DSN 892-0000; https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/reserve.

Coast Guard Reserve. Coast Guard Pay and Personnel Center, 444 S.E. Quincy St., Topeka, KS 66683-3591; 800-772-8724; 785-339-3415; www.uscg.mil/ppc.

Marine Corps Reserve. Marine Corps Mobilization Command, 15303 Andrews Road, Kansas City, MO 64147-1207; 800-255-5082; http://mobcom.mfr.usmc.mil.

Navy Reserve. Navy Personnel Command (Pers-9), 5720 Integrity Drive, Building 239, Millington, TN 38055; 866-827-5672; www.npc.navy.mil/careerinfo/reservepersonnelmanagement.

Basic plans: Disability retirement

Reservists can qualify for military disability retirement pay or disability compensation. Service members who retire before the 20-year mark because of a permanent or temporary disability are referred to as “retired with a disability.”

Reservists who retire or leave the service with disabilities caused while on duty also can receive disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Permanent disability. Members officially rated by the military as at least 30 percent permanently disabled are entitled to disability retirement pay. To qualify, they must have spent at least eight years in the military, or the disability must have been incurred in the line of duty. The degree of disability is determined using the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities.

Temporary disability. Some veterans have medical problems that prevent them from carrying out their military duties, but their disabilities may not be permanent. These individuals may be placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List, and their disabilities will be re-evaluated every 18 months. Within five years, doctors must determine whether the disabilities are permanent.

VA disability compensation. VA offers disability payments to former military members with disabilities incurred or aggravated during active service. This compensation is separate from the military permanent and temporary disability payments and is tax-free.

Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 30 percent or more are entitled to additional allowances for their dependents. Veterans who do not qualify for military disability may qualify for VA disability, and vice versa. Some qualify for both. Military retirees who have disabilities should apply to the Defense Department and for VA disability compensation as well.

Military retirees with 20 or more years of service and a 50 percent or higher VA-rated disability no longer have their military retirement pay reduced by the amount of their VA disability compensation. This new change is being phased in over a nine-year period between 2005 and 2014 for those with disabilities rated at 50 percent to 90 percent. Congress has eliminated the offset entirely for those who are rated 100 percent disabled. (See “Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay,” below.)

Veterans classified as 100 percent disabled, as well as their spouses and any dependent children, may use military exchanges, commissaries and other base facilities. However, they are not eligible for military medical care. VA provides medical care for eligible veterans, spouses and dependents.

VA pension. VA also offers a pension for wartime veterans with limited income and permanent disabilities that result from non-service-connected disabilities. The pension varies according to veterans’ income, number of dependents and ability to care for themselves.

Disabled American Veterans, a private nonprofit organization, offers assistance to former troops with suspected disabilities.

Contact: Disabled American Veterans, 807 Maine Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20024; 202-554-3501; www.dav.org.

Veterans’ service organizations, which are private nonprofit groups, offer assistance to military veterans with disabilities. See www1.va.gov/vso.

Basic plans: Concurrent retirement and disability pay

Qualified military retirees may receive both full military retirement pay and full VA disability compensation. Retirees with 20 or more years of service and a 50 percent to 90 percent VA-rated non-service-connected disability no longer will have their military retirement pay reduced by the amount of their VA disability compensation. Eligible individuals will have their retirement pay increased by approximately 10 percent each year until the phase-in is completed in 2014.

For those rated 100 percent disabled, the offset has been eliminated, with no phase-in period.

Those eligible include National Guard and reserve members with 20 or more years of service, including medical retirees. CRDP is taxable.

Basic plans: Combat-related special compensation

Qualified military retirees with 20 or more years of service with a combat-related VA disability, regardless of the percentage rating, no longer will have their military retirement pay reduced by the amount of their VA disability payments. CRSC provides military retirees monthly compensation to replace the VA disability offset. Eligible retirees will receive full military retirement pay and full VA disability payments.

Unlike Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (see above), CRSC will not be phased in over 10 years. Upon determination of eligibility, qualified retirees immediately receive their regular retirement pay plus a sum based on their VA disability rating equal to the previous offset in retired pay.

Eligibility has been expanded to include disabilities due to armed conflict, hazardous duty, conditions simulating war and instrumentalities of war. CRSC is not taxable.

A comprehensive Defense Department information paper on Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payment and Combat-Related Special Compensation programs is online at www.defenselink.mil/prhome/docs/concurrent_retire_07a.pdf.

Basic plans: Points

Every reservist earns points toward retirement. All points earned while on active duty, up to 365 per year (366 in a leap year), count toward retirement.

By law, members may receive credit for up to 60 inactive points for retirement years that ended before Sept. 23, 1996; up to 75 inactive points for retirement years ending on or after Sept. 23, 1996, and before Oct. 30, 2000; and up to 90 points for retirement years ending on or after Oct. 30, 2000, and before Oct. 27, 2007.

A provision of the 2008 Defense Authorization Act increased the number of inactive-duty points that reservists can apply to their retirement pay to 130 for the year of service that includes Oct. 30, 2007, and any subsequent year.

Points from these sources may be added to points earned from active duty and active duty for training in any given year to increase the total points applied toward retirement.

Leave-and-earnings statements, correspondence-course information and other documents can prove service or work that counts for retirement points. Orders are not proof of points earned.

Each service notifies members annually of their total points. If your Reserve Personnel Center does not have your current address, you will not receive the statement.

Discrepancies can be resolved by providing documentation of your service record or personnel files. Individual service members have primary responsibility for their personnel records.

Accrual. Points can be accrued in the following ways:

• One point for each day served on active duty up to a maximum of 365 per year (366 in a leap year).

• Fifteen points for each year of membership in a reserve component.

• One point for each unit training assembly or drill. Reservists normally get four or five points for a reserve weekend, depending on when it starts (i.e., Friday night or Saturday morning.) Two points are the maximum for any one calendar day.

• One point for each day in which a member is in a funeral honors duty status.

• One point for every three hours of nonresident instruction or correspondence courses that are documented as successfully completed.

Qualifying year. The day you enter reserve status is considered your anniversary date and retirement year. From that point on, you must accrue a minimum of 50 retirement points in a retirement year to make that a “qualifying year” toward retirement.

As long as you do not have a break in service, this anniversary date will remain the same even if you go from active to inactive status and back. Once a break occurs, your anniversary date is the day you sign up again.

Once reservists reach 20 or more qualifying years, they have three options:

• Remain in the Ready Reserve. If qualified and able to stay in an active drill status, a reservist can continue to drill for pay and points. Accumulating more points will raise total retirement pay, increase the possibility for promotion and boost total time in service for the purpose of longevity pay raises.

• Transfer to the Retired Reserve. By requesting transfer to the Retired Reserve, a member enters a status in which retirement points no longer can be accumulated. Time in the Retired Reserve counts toward longevity service for retired pay.

In the event of full mobilization, retired reservists can be recalled to active duty. Such a recall would allow reservists to accumulate more points for retirement. While in the Retired Reserve, members have the same rights and entitlements that they had as drilling reservists.

• Request discharge from the reserve components. By doing this, retired reservists are no longer subject to any kind of recall or mobilization. From time of discharge until they start collecting benefits at age 60, however, they cannot increase their benefits in any way. At age 60, they will have access to base/post exchanges and unlimited commissary visits.

Nonqualifying year. A nonqualifying year (one in which a reservist does not earn at least 50 points) counts toward total time in service, but not retirement. Points earned in a nonqualifying year also count toward the final total. Points cannot be carried from year to year in order to claim a qualifying year.

Status. You do not have to be in an active, drilling or paid status with a reserve unit to earn points. Reservists in many categories can earn points and gain qualifying years toward retirement. These include: Participating Individual Ready Reserve, Individual Mobilization Augmentees, Navy Volunteer Training Units and Standby Reserve-Active Status List.

Basic plans: Stop loss

Stop-loss authority allows the services to retain individuals on active duty beyond their normal separation or retirement dates.

The 2009 Defense Appropriations Act approved a monthly payment of up to $500 for personnel affected by stop-loss orders, but that law technically is in effect only through the end of fiscal 2009.

At press time, legislation was pending in Congress to extend the authority for that payment beyond fiscal 2009. The same legislation also would give two additional monthly payments to National Guard and reserve members for the months prior to and following a deployment.

All the services used stop-loss early in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but only the Army continues to use it today, and that service is trying to reduce its use of stop-loss authority.

Other benefits: Base access

Retired reservists retain their ranks as members of the Reserve component and are issued Retired Reserve ID cards. They are eligible for unlimited use of military commissaries and exchanges and use of recreational facilities with local command approval.

Other benefits: Death benefits

The Defense Department is responsible for providing military honors. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs, active-duty military and many veterans’ groups pool their resources to provide financial help, practical assistance and military protocol on such occasions. The civilian funeral director handling arrangements usually has forms to get VA burial benefits, plus Social Security and military entitlements.

Following are programs to honor veterans who have died.

Burial flags. VA provides an American flag to cover the casket of any veteran who was discharged under any condition except dishonorable. This includes retired Guard and reserve members who are entitled to, or are collecting, military retirement benefits. The flag will be given to a spouse, other family member or close friend of the deceased.

Financial aid. VA will pay an allowance of up to $600 — up to $300 for burial expenses and up to $300 toward a plot — for non-service-related deaths. For service-connected deaths, VA also pays a burial allowance of up to $2,000 for deaths on or after Sept. 11, 2001, and up to $1,500 for deaths before that date. If a veteran whose death is service-connected is buried in a VA national cemetery, some or all of the cost of transporting the deceased may be reimbursed.

Eligibility also may be established when death occurs in a VA facility, VA contract nursing home or state veterans’ nursing home. VA may pay for additional costs of transportation of the remains in such cases. For service-connected deaths, there is no time limit for filing reimbursement claims. For non-service-connected deaths, claims must be filed within two years after permanent burial or cremation.

The government provides free headstones and markers for veterans buried worldwide as well as for eligible family members buried in national, military base or state veterans’ cemeteries.

Funeral honors. According to military regulations, honor guards are authorized for retirees, but they are supplied by the nearest military installation or facility as a courtesy, not as a right.

The funeral director normally handles the details of getting an honor guard, but local installations also may provide this service. Proof of service is needed to get an honor guard.

Headstones and grave markers. VA provides, at no cost to the family, a government headstone or marker for the graves of all veterans in national cemeteries, state veterans’ cemeteries and private cemeteries worldwide. The VA may furnish an appropriate headstone or marker for the graves of eligible veterans buried in private cemeteries whose deaths occurred on or after Sept. 11, 2001, regardless of whether the grave is already marked with a nongovernmental marker.

National cemeteries. Military retirees, including National Guard and reserve retirees, may be buried in any of the 120 cemeteries operated by VA if space is available, as well as those operated by the National Park Service. Also eligible are veterans who served on active duty and received discharges other than dishonorable, as well as Guard and Reserve members who served for 20 creditable years or more and were eligible for retired pay.

There is no cost for a grave site, headstone or marker in a national cemetery.

Grave sites cannot be reserved in advance.

A veteran generally receives only one grave site. Eligible family members normally are buried in the same site and can be interred first should they die before the retiree.

All retirees and veterans honorably discharged before Oct. 1, 1949, with disabilities rated at 30 percent or more can be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Also eligible for burial in Arlington are members who die on active duty, retirees, Guard and reserve retirees upon reaching age 60, former prisoners of war and holders of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star or Purple Heart.

The Arlington Columbarium is available for the cremated remains of honorably discharged veterans and their eligible spouses and dependent children.

Presidential Memorial Certificate. VA provides an engraved paper certificate signed by the president, thanking the family and honoring the veteran’s service to the nation.

Many states operate veterans’ cemeteries. There are varying eligibility criteria, some of which include prior residency in the state.

Other benefits: Live insurance

VA life insurance. The Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance Disability Extension allows members who are totally disabled at the time of discharge to retain SGLI coverage at no cost for up to two years. Members must apply for this benefit.

Veterans Group Life Insurance is post-separation insurance that allows service members to convert their SGLI coverage to renewable term insurance. Members can convert to VGLI without proof of good health within 120 days of separation or for up to one year after the 120-day period with proof of good health.

VGLI coverage is limited to the maximum amount of SGLI the member had upon discharge or separation. The veteran must complete an application and choose the amount of coverage.

VGLI provides five-year renewable term life insurance and is issued in amounts of $10,000 to $400,000, subject to the maximum SGLI coverage the member had while in the Ready Reserve. All members who separate on or after Sept. 1, 2005, with SGLI coverage greater than $250,000 can apply for VGLI at the higher level.

The death gratuity for survivors of service members who die on active duty and the SGLI coverage for service members deployed to designated combat zones were increased in 2005. In addition, a change in law in 2008 had a major effect on the way the death gratuity may be paid.

The $100,000 death gratuity is an immediate cash payment to survivors of service members who die on active duty, regardless of whether the death occurred in the line of duty. Members now can designate the full $100,000 to anyone they choose, in 10 percent increments. If a member makes no designation, the money goes to survivors in the standard order previously set by law (spouse, children, parents and siblings, and so on).

Maximum SGLI coverage is $400,000, which costs the member $29 per month in premiums, including $1 for accompanying traumatic injury insurance (see below). The Defense Department covers the full cost of all premiums up to the maximum coverage for service members in designated combat zones for as long as they are deployed.

For more information on VGLI, see www.insurance.va.gov/sglisite/vgli/vgli.htm.

Other benefits: Loans

VA guarantees loans made by private lenders to buy a home, a manufactured home, a manufactured home and lot, and certain types of condominiums, or to build, repair and improve a home.

This benefit also may be used to refinance an existing home loan. Certain disabled veterans may receive grants to have their home adapted to accommodate special needs.

To be eligible for a VA home loan, individuals must have completed six years in the Selected Reserve with an honorable discharge; however, requirements for time in service may be reduced due to service-connected disabilities. There is no time limit for using the basic VA home loan.

Contact: Call the VA Loan Guaranty Customer Service office at 888-244-6711; www.homeloans.va.gov/eligibility.htm.

Other benefits: Medical and dental care

After age 60, when retired reservists start collecting their pensions, they are eligible for military health and dental care on a space-available basis. (See the medical and dental benefits section of the Pay and Benefits chapter.)

Other benefits: Retirement homes

Numerous retirement and long-term-care facilities are available to veterans. These include 138 VA nursing homes and 2,800 contracts with community nursing homes. In addition, 47 states operate a total of 120 veterans’ home programs, 51 state home domiciliaries, five state home hospitals and two state home adult day health care programs. Many charge low or no fees.

Armed Forces Retirement Homes. A facility with a special relationship to the military is the Armed Forces Retirement Home Washington.

A second Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Miss., was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and its residents were evacuated to other facilities. The home is being rebuilt, and officials hope to reopen it sometime in 2010.

Contact: Admissions Office, Armed Forces Retirement Home Washington, 3700 N. Capitol St. NW, Washington, DC 20011-8400; 800-422-9988; www.afrh.gov.

VA domiciliaries. VA domiciliaries operate in 43 VA facilities and provide institutional care to veterans who are not acutely ill and do not need hospital care. They offer short-term rehabilitation and long-term health maintenance to veterans who require minimal medical care. Patients typically return to their communities.

VA domiciliaries provide special programs for homeless veterans and those with chronic mental illness.

VA nursing homes. For veterans requiring more intensive care, VA operates nursing home care units supported by the clinical specialties of a hospital. Certain veterans with service-connected disabilities or low income are eligible for free nursing home care, if space and resources are available.

Other veterans can be considered for nursing home care, but space is limited.

Contact: For general information about enrolling in VA health care benefits, visit www.va.gov/healtheligibility or call 877-222-8387.

Other benefits: Social Security

Reservists contribute to Social Security from their military and civilian pay. As a rule, they can receive Social Security coverage for retirement, survivors’ income, disability income, Medicare and burial expenses. All military retirees can receive both military and Social Security retirement checks.

Eligibility for Social Security programs is determined by the number of credits (formerly known as quarters) earned while working.

Social Security retirement benefits are based on a complex formula that takes into account lifetime earnings and inflation. For most military retirees, this means the benefit will be affected by their earnings between the time they leave active duty and the time they begin to collect Social Security.

Social Security’s disability program operates under different rules. A person can be classified as fully disabled by the military but not by Social Security, and vice versa.

Social Security officials now provide Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statements (Form SSA-7004) automatically to every working citizen age 25 and older.

Contact: To request Form SSA-7004, call 800-772-1213 or visit www.socialsecurity.gov/online/ssa-7004.html. The Web site is recommended.

Other benefits: Space-available travel

Retirees and their families can get seats on government aircraft on a “space-available” basis.

The program has restrictions on who can travel and where. Retirement-eligible reservists in “without-pay status” are eligible only for stateside travel. Family members of retirees are eligible only for overseas flights and only when accompanied by the retiree. Using space-A for a business trip is illegal.

Nominal fees are charged on some international flights using commercial aircraft or airports. Retirees have the lowest priority for seats aboard space-A flights.

Travelers are advised to prepare to take a commercial flight if space-A seating is not available when they want to travel. Seating is allotted on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Air Force maintains a general guide to space-A travel online at www.amc.af.mil/shared/media/document/afd-060328-001.doc.

Other benefits: Survivor benefits

Reservists who receive notification they have reached the 20-year mark (or 15-year mark if offered early retirement) must decide whether to enroll in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan. This is an annuity program that parallels the Survivor Benefit Plan offered to active-duty retirees, although there are differences.

Without the survivor plan, retirement checks stop when the military retiree dies. This can leave a surviving spouse with a major economic shortfall.

Base amount. When retirees sign up for the Survivor Benefit Plan, they select a dollar amount of their retirement pay as the foundation of the benefit. The base amount must be between $300 and the full amount of monthly retired pay. Annuities can be as much as 55 percent of your retired pay.

COLA. Premiums and annuities to survivors increase slightly every year, following the same guidelines used for retired-pay COLAs.

Cost. Premiums are paid through a deduction from retired pay starting at age 60. Costs depend on, among other factors, coverage and actuarials based on the reservist’s age and that of the beneficiary when the retiree signs up. Also, those who entered service on or after March 1, 1990, are subject to a different cost formula than those who entered before that date.

Enrollment. Enrollment is not automatic. A reservist has 90 days after receiving notification of eligibility to enroll in the survivor plan.

A reservist has three options for enrollment:

• Option A. Decline coverage initially. If the reservist dies before reaching age 60, the spouse receives no benefit. Once a reservist is eligible to receive retired pay, that member automatically will be enrolled in the plan unless the member and spouse decline it in writing.

• Option B. Enroll in the plan with the option that if the reservist dies before age 60, benefits will start on what would have been his 60th birthday. If the reservist dies after his 60th birthday, benefits start the next day.

• Option C. Enroll in the plan and have benefits start on the day after the reservist’s death, regardless of age.

Since Jan. 1, 2001, service members have been automatically enrolled in Option C at the maximum amount, unless they elect to get reduced coverage. Service members may at times need the agreement of their spouses.

VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. This monthly benefit is payable to certain qualifying dependents of a veteran who dies from a disease or injury while on active duty or active-duty training, an injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty while on inactive duty for training, or a service-connected disability that causes or contributes to death.

DIC is payable in some cases if the veteran was 100 percent disabled due to a service-connected disability at the time of death, even if a service-connected condition did not cause the death.

Contact: See www.ssa.gov, or write to the Social Security Administration, Office of Public Inquiries, 6401 Security Blvd., Room 4-C-5 Annex, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401.

Other benefits: Uniforms and insignia

More than anything else, common sense and dignity govern when and where a military retiree can wear a uniform.

Medals and ribbons. When in uniform, retirees can wear any medal, campaign ribbon or decoration they were authorized to wear while on active duty or in reserve status.

Medals are appropriate with formal evening wear. On other occasions, ribbons are suitable when worn with uniforms. Wearing a foreign decoration is appropriate only if at least one U.S. decoration also is on the uniform.

Lapel pins that come with decorations for valor and service can be worn at almost any time.

Retirees who have lost decorations or never received decorations they earned may request them. The government will replace, at no cost to the veteran, lost or destroyed decorations for service or valor. There may be a charge for campaign ribbons and badges, however.

The initial request should include the dates of military service, Social Security or serial number, and dates of birth and retirement. The process normally takes several months.

Contact: Former service members and the survivors of deceased veterans can obtain replacement medals by submitting a Standard Form (SF 180), Request Pertaining to Military Records, to the following agencies:

• Air Force: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.

• Army: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.

• Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard: Bureau of Naval Personnel, Liaison Office, Room 5409, 9700 Page Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.

For more information, or to download an SF 180, see www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/replacement-medals.html.

Uniforms. For appropriate military occasions, retirees and veterans can wear the current uniform or the last one they wore on active duty. A local commander can authorize the wearing of other uniforms.

Active-duty enlisted members who retired as officers in the reserves or National Guard can wear the uniform and insignia of their commissioned ranks. Retirees who teach military education in schools can wear their uniforms during the working day.

Wearing a uniform is forbidden for business or personal gain or while participating in an event that may cast the military in an unfavorable light.

Retirees should not wear uniforms overseas unless specifically asked to do so. Customs and laws of many countries restrict or forbid foreigners from wearing uniforms or military insignia.

Other benefits: U.S. flag for retirement

Reserve members are authorized to receive an American flag if they are retiring or were discharged after Oct. 5, 1999, and meet the qualifications to receive pay at age 60. This service is provided at no cost to members.