If you are DOD TDRL/PDRL retired with less than 20 years of service please read.

RonG said:
SOME HISTORY


In 1891, Congress first prohibited payment of both military retired pay and a disability pension under the premise that it represented dual or overlapping compensation for the same purpose. The original law was modified in 1941, and the present system of VA disability compensation offsetting military retired pay was adopted in 1944. Under this system, retired military personnel were required to waive a portion of their retired pay equal to the amount of VA disability compensation, a dollar-for-dollar offset.

If, for example, a military retiree received $1,500 a month in retired pay and was rated by the VA as 70% disabled (and therefore entitled to approximately $1,000 per month in disability compensation), the offset would operate to pay $500 monthly in retired pay and the $1,000 in disability compensation. The advantage for the retiree was that VA disability compensation was not taxable. For many years some military retirees and advocacy groups sought a change in law to permit receipt of all, or some, of both payments. Opponents of concurrent receipt frequently referred to it as double dipping, maintaining that it represented two payments for the same condition.

In the FY2003 NDAA (P.L. 107-314), Congress created a benefit known as Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC). CRSC provided, for certain disabled retirees whose disability is combat-related, a cash benefit financially identical to what concurrent receipt would provide them. The FY2004 NDAA (P.L. 108-136) authorized, for the first time, the phase-in of actual concurrent receipt (now referred to as Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments or CRDP), and a greatly expanded CRSC program. The FY2005 NDAA (P.L. 108-375) further liberalized the concurrent receipt rules contained in the FY2004 NDAA and authorized immediate concurrent receipt for those rated by the VA totaling 100%. The FY2008 NDAA (P.L. 110-181) expanded concurrent receipt eligibility to include those who are 100% disabled due to unemployability and provided CRSC to those who were medically retired or retired prematurely due to force reduction programs prior to completing 20 years of service.

CRDP phase-in was fully implemented by 2014, allowing retirees with a disability rated at 50% or greater to receive full retired pay and full VA disability compensation without an offset.

Ron

edited to add--

<---LINK


Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payment (CRDP):​


This program provides a 10-year phase-out of the offset to military retired pay due to receipt of VA disability compensation. Qualified individuals are those who are retired active or age 60 retired reserve members who also have a combined VA disability rating of 50% or greater. Members retired under military disability provisions (Chapter 61 to title 10 United States Code) must have at least 20 years of service. Today, more than 310,000 retirees are receiving CRDP payments of over $427 million per month.


Effective January 1, 2004: Initial entitlement under the program began on January 1, 2004. Payments were made to nearly 150,000 qualified retirees on February 2, 2004.


Effective January 1, 2005: The 10-year phase-out was eliminated for those individuals actually rated 100% disabled by the VA and they became eligible to receive all of their formerly offset military retired pay.


Effective October 1, 2008: The 10-year phase-out was eliminated for those individuals not rated 100% disabled by VA, but who are paid at the 100% level as "Individual Unemployables" (IUs), and they become eligible to receive all of their formerly offset military retired pay retroactive to January 1, 2005.


Initial Rates: CRDP is part of retired pay and cannot exceed the amount that would be otherwise offset. During CY 2004, CRDP was paid to qualified retirees up to the following maximum amount based on the current monthly VA disability rating: ...

Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) Program​

This program provides a special monthly payment equivalent to the offset to military retired pay due to receipt of VA disability compensation determined to be combat-related. Qualified individuals include any military retired members with an offset to retired pay due to VA compensation determined to be combat-related. Today, more than 75,000 retirees are receiving CRSC payments of over $71 million per month.

Effective June 1, 2003: I: Initial benefits were payable only to members with at least 20 years of active duty or equivalent reserve duty (i.e. 7200 points) who had combat-related disabilities totaling a rating of 60% or more, or with a rating of 10% or more for combat-related injuries for which they were awarded a Purple Heart.

Effective January 1, 2004: Eligibility was extended to members with any level of VA rating for combat-related disabilities or Purple Heart which results in an offset to military retired pay. Additionally, eligibility was extended to members receiving Reserve retired pay (i.e., Reserve members at age 60 or younger in certain cases and with 20 "good" years or Reserve members retired under Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA)).

Effective January 1, 2008: Eligibility was extended to military disability retirees (i.e., Chapter 61 of title 10 United States Code) and members retired under active duty TERA rules.

Effective January 1, 2013: The method for computing the monetary entitlement for members with military disability retirements under Chapter 61 of title 10 United States Code was changed to ensure no such members were disadvantaged from receiving an increased disability rating.

Special Rules for Chapter 61 Disability Retirees: According to law, members retired for disability under Chapter 61 of title 10 United States Code must have the CRSC entitlement limited to an amount that when combined with any military retired pay remaining after offset for VA disability compensation will not exceed the retired pay they would otherwise be entitled to for retirement computed for years of service (i.e., 2 1/2 percent x years of service x pay base).

Application Required: To receive CRSC benefits, retirees must apply with their Branch of Service on a DD Form 2860. The Service will determine which disabilities, if any, qualify as combat-related. DFAS will pay CRSC based on the current combined disability rating of combat-related disabilities as compensated for the current month by VA. Benefits before January 2004 are based on the VA compensation rate for a "veteran alone" and applicable to only those disabilities determined as combat-related.

Taxability: This entitlement is non-taxable.
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Well articulated Ron.
 
PurpleHeartTanker said:
Well articulated Ron.
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Thank you, but I am just an expert at copy and paste.

I found much of the info at Congressional Research Services a few years ago. I bookmarked the page because of the history it provided.

Ron
 
FmrArmyAvatr said:
So I sent messages to the two Texas state Senators and my Representative just now. Here is what I wrote to in them if it helps anyone. I used some of the American Legions statement.

Senator/Representative ____,

Currently, some 42,000 military retirees with combat-related injuries qualify for retirement pay for their service from the Department of Defense (DoD), and for compensation for service-connected disabilities from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). I am personally included in this population due to being medically retired after 15.5 years of active-duty Army service as an AH-64D Apache helicopter pilot due to injuries sustained from two combat deployment to Iraq in 2005-2006 and 2009-2010. However, for retired veterans with disability ratings of less than 50%, their disability compensation is deducted from their retirement pay. Could you, Representative _____, co-sponsor legislation, H.R. 1282 (or S.344), the Major Richard Star Act, that would end this unfair policy of forcing many military retirees to forfeit their retired pay to receive equal amounts of disability compensation? This will be especially impactful and beneficial all those who had their careers cut short from injuries due to combat operations, including some close personal friends who were awarded the Purple Heart and most likely including some of the injured Marines from the August 2019 Kabul Airport bombing. All these service members deserve this simple gesture from the United States of America.

Thank You and God Bless,



Your Name Here
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Awesome template! I met with Congressman Neguse from Colorado this week for an in person roundtable discussion with other veterans. I made sure to bring this bill to the table and emphasized how important it is. He shared that he is a co-sponsor of the bill and that he would contact Congressman Crow, who is the chairman for the Defense Committee, to see where the hold up is. I plan to reach back out to him next week for an update.
 
anyone from Northern Colorado that's interested in emailing Congressman Neguse please let me know. I know the more people from his district that blow up his email will help him see how many of us are invested in this bill!
 
LeoS said:
The House Bill gained six more co-sponsors with one more on the way---Retired Navy Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson from Texas.
Currently, 227 co-sponsors are supporting HB 1282.

Keep on squeaking!



www.congress.gov

Cosponsors - H.R.1282 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Major Richard Star Act

Cosponsors of H.R.1282 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Major Richard Star Act
www.congress.gov
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Introduced in House (02/24/2021)​

Major Richard Star Act

This bill provides that combat-disabled uniformed services retirees with fewer than 20 years of creditable service may concurrently receive, without reduction, veterans' disability compensation and retired pay or combat-related special compensation.

Will this apply to Veterans with fewer than 20 years medically retired non-combat that are receiving CRSC due to instrument of war? Wiill they be allowed to receive retired pay if the bill were passed?

For example:
Veteran is in receipt of 100% P&T VA Disability has CRSC of 10% for Tinnitus residuals of TBI. When the Bill is passed can the Veteran reject the CRSC money and request to receive retired pay instead?

Or how will it work with current CRSC compensation with those Veterans?
 
GigWire said:

Introduced in House (02/24/2021)​

Major Richard Star Act

This bill provides that combat-disabled uniformed services retirees with fewer than 20 years of creditable service may concurrently receive, without reduction, veterans' disability compensation and retired pay or combat-related special compensation.

Will this apply to Veterans with fewer than 20 years medically retired non-combat that are receiving CRSC due to instrument of war? Wiill they be allowed to receive retired pay if the bill were passed?

For example:
Veteran is in receipt of 100% P&T VA Disability has CRSC of 10% for Tinnitus residuals of TBI. When the Bill is passed can the Veteran reject the CRSC money and request to receive retired pay instead?

Or how will it work with current CRSC compensation with those Veterans?
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I have been pondering the same thing as of late.
 
Senator Testor is in the spotlight right now with the Burn Pit law about to pass. Hopefully this momentum and publicity can get the MRSA into the NDAA or passed separately this term.
 
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