Military Careers, Retirement - Air Force Times

Concurrent receipt

A 19th-century law required disabled military retirees to forfeit $1 of retired pay for every dollar received in VA disability compensation. In recent years, Congress has enacted two separate but similar programs that enable military retirees to receive both payments. In retiree circles, this issue is known as concurrent receipt.

This program applies to retirees with at least 20 years of service and nonservice-connected disabilities rated 50 percent to 90 percent. For these retirees, the offset in their retired pay is gradually being phased out over a 10-year period that began in 2005 and is due to end in 2014.

The 10-year period initially also applied to retirees with nonservice-connected disabilities rated 100 percent, but Congress amended the law to provide these retirees with immediate concurrent receipt of full retired pay and VA disability pay.

Those who are medically retired with less than 20 years of service, regardless of their disability rating, and those with ratings of 40 percent or lower for disabilities that are service-connected but not related to combat or combat-like training, are still subject to the dollar-for-dollar offset in retired pay.

Payments under the CRDP program are made automatically by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service; retirees do not have to apply.

CRDP is taxable.