thedrifter
11-22-06, 05:50 PM
November 22, 2006
Retroactive payments underway for disability pay
By Gordon Lubold
The government has begun making retroactive payments to more than 100,000 disabled retirees, culminating a long-running issue over veterans who had been shortchanged.
Veterans who were paid benefits for either Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) or Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) and were underpaid due to changes in federal law should begin to see retroactive payments soon from the Defense Finance and Accounting System.
According to the Military Officers Association of America, 40,000 retroactive payments have been made since September.
Only those veterans who have received notice that payments are coming will receive them, DFAS officials have said.
The issue stems from an administrative problem that occurred for veterans receiving payments under the two disability programs.
There are three basic criteria for a retroactive payment. Individuals must:
• Be a military retiree.
• Have received payments under CRSC since June 2003 or CRDP since January 2004.
• Have been awarded an increase in the percentage rating of a VA-approved disability on or after June 1, 2003.
Most retroactive payments are expected to be made within six months, but it could take up to six more months to calculate and pay the most complex retroactive pay accounts, DFAS officials said.
For more information about the payments, go to www.dod.mil/dfas and click on “retired pay.”
Ellie
Retroactive payments underway for disability pay
By Gordon Lubold
The government has begun making retroactive payments to more than 100,000 disabled retirees, culminating a long-running issue over veterans who had been shortchanged.
Veterans who were paid benefits for either Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) or Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) and were underpaid due to changes in federal law should begin to see retroactive payments soon from the Defense Finance and Accounting System.
According to the Military Officers Association of America, 40,000 retroactive payments have been made since September.
Only those veterans who have received notice that payments are coming will receive them, DFAS officials have said.
The issue stems from an administrative problem that occurred for veterans receiving payments under the two disability programs.
There are three basic criteria for a retroactive payment. Individuals must:
• Be a military retiree.
• Have received payments under CRSC since June 2003 or CRDP since January 2004.
• Have been awarded an increase in the percentage rating of a VA-approved disability on or after June 1, 2003.
Most retroactive payments are expected to be made within six months, but it could take up to six more months to calculate and pay the most complex retroactive pay accounts, DFAS officials said.
For more information about the payments, go to www.dod.mil/dfas and click on “retired pay.”
Ellie