Veteran’s Retirement and Disability Pay
Did you know that up until 2004, a Veteran could NOT receive compensation for their disability from the Department of Veterans Administration in conjunction with retirement pay from the Department of Defense?
Thankfully, the Concurrent Retirement Disability Pay (CRDP) was activated, in which, a veteran is eligible for both pays if:
You are a regular retiree with a VA disability rating of 50 percent or greater.
You are a reserve retiree with 20 qualifying years of service, who has a VA disability rating of 50 percent or greater and who has reached retirement age. (In most cases the retirement age for reservists is 60, but certain reserve retirees may be eligible before they turn 60. If you are a member of the Ready Reserve, your retirement age can be reduced below age 60 by three months for each 90 days of active service you have performed during a fiscal year.)
You are retired under Temporary Early Retirement Act (TERA) and have a VA disability rating of 50 percent or greater.
You are a disability retiree who earned entitlement to retired pay under any provision of law other than solely by disability, and you have a VA disability rating of 50 percent or greater. You might become eligible for CRDP at the time you would have become eligible for retired pay.
In addition to the monthly CRDP amounts, you may also be eligible for retroactive CRDP payments.
The CRDP benefit also applies to those receiving disability pay under the Individual Unemployability (IU) provisions of the VA disability compensation program. You are eligible for full concurrent receipt of both your VA disability compensation and your retired pay, if you are a military retiree who meets all of the above eligibility requirements in addition to both of the following:
You are rated by the VA as unemployable, generally referred to as Individual Unemployability (IU)
You are in receipt of VA disability compensation as a result of IU
If you or someone you know falls within one of these categories or you “wonder” what your future VA disability rights are; call Don Morrell, Esq., CMSgt, USAF (retired) of the Kendrick Law Group can help answer your VA disability compensation program questions.