After being medically discharged or retired from the military, most soldiers are encouraged to also seek compensation from the Veterans Administration (VA). This process is just as confusing and drawn out as the process with the Army.

My husband submitted his packet to them at the same time that his medical packet was presented to the MEB. For months following that, we received letters every few weeks that basically stated ‘we haven’t forgotten about you but we’re swamped with cases that need to be reviewed’. We joked that if they spent as much time reviewing cases as they did sending those letters, their backlog may not be quite as large.

He went for his evaluation by the VA in the fall. During the evaluation with the VA, it is important to note that they do not go by what the Army has done. While that information can be added to your record, they conduct their own evaluations (there is talk of this being combined but as of this writing, it has not). Also, the VA evaluates everything that possibly could have happened to you during your time in the service. You are not limited to only filing for the disability that created your discharge or retirement. It’s also important to note that you do not have to be medically discharged or retired from the military in order to file with the VA. Their rating and compensation system is separate from the Army.

In December (eight months later), we received the letter in the mail that his rating had been established and he would begin receiving X amount per month in compensation. The kicker is that you cannot receive payments from the VA and the Army. Also the Army payments are taxable whereas the VA payments are not.

When we received this, the VA let the Army know of the decision as well. By doing this, it reduced the amount of pay received by the Army and he now receives a check from both the VA and the Army. If at some point, the VA quit paying him, then his Army check would revert back to the previous higher amount he was being paid. If for some reason the Army quits paying him, then his VA check will continue unless he is also reevaluated by them as well.

It’s easier to explain this with examples. These are not real numbers and are not based on true compensation. I just used round numbers to make it easier to explain.

Scenario A:

Soldier is receiving $1000/month from the Army as retirement pay, which is taxable. The VA awards him $400/month, which is non taxable. The maximum amount he can receive is $1000. So from this point forward, he will receive two checks. He will receive a check from the Army for $600 before taxes ($1000 – $400) and he will receive a tax free check from the VA for $400 for a total of $1000. So now instead of paying taxes on $1000/month, he only pays taxes on $600/month. If for some reason, the VA discontinued their pay, he would begin receiving $1000 from the Army again. If the Army discontinued their pay, he would continue to receive $400 from the VA.

Scenario B:

Soldier is receiving $1000/month from the Army as retirement pay, which is taxable. The VA awards him $1200 a month which is tax free. He will receive $0 pay from the Army and will receive a tax free check of $1200/month from the VA. If for some reason the VA discontinued his compensation, he would again receive $1000/month from the Army. If the VA reduced his compensation below $1000, it would play out the same as Scenario A

While permanent retirement pay from the Army is just that – permanent; VA compensation can change if you request another evaluation. This evaluation can result in your VA compensation remaining the same, increasing or decreasing. If the VA decides to change your compensation, it does not change your Army retirement pay as they are two separate systems. It will only effect it as described above in scenarios A & B.

There are some exceptions where soldiers are eligible to receive the full amount from the Army and the VA. This applies to soldiers who retired from time in service and have received a certain disability rating from the VA. It is referred to as Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payment (CRDP) Program.

Also, as with everything in the Army, there are exceptions to whether the medical retirement pay is subject to federal tax.

For more information, visit the VA’s website at www.va.gov.

When we first found out that my husband was being medically retired, I had a wide range of emotions. On one hand, I was thrilled that I would never have to hear the words ‘I’m being deployed’ again. I thought surviving four deployments was quite enough! But on the other hand, I was very sad.

Part of my sadness was that we were leaving so many friends behind. One of the biggest draws (to me) of military life was the fact that it comes with a built in family. You automatically have something in common with so many people. It’s easy to meet new people and there are always activities to be involved with if you wish. The friendships that you develop, especially over a deployment, are much deeper than many of my ‘civilian’ friendships. And it seemed like no matter what, there was a list of people who could be called at the spur of the moment to go out to dinner or go down to River Street.

Part of it was also that there is a certain amount of pride that is associated with being a military wife. I felt like to a certain degree that was being left behind as well. Because my husband had served in a special ops unit, it was going to be more difficult to keep up with the soldiers he served with and continue to support them during their deployments. So it seemed as if, at the time any way, that we would be cut off from the world we had grown to love.

And finally, I felt like I had put a great deal of effort and work into a website dedicated to Army wives and Army families and now I wasn’t even going to be a military wife any more. How would all that work? Would the ladies, fellow Army family members, on the message board feel like I didn’t belong after he retired? Of course, that didn’t happen but there was a sense all around of being thrown to the curb. It’s like you were being kicked out of a club and would forever be only on the outside looking in at what you were at one point very involved in and consumed by.

We’ve managed to keep in touch with friends better than I thought we would be able to. A lot of that is thanks to Facebook. We moved to the opposite side of the state and my husband returned to school to finish his degree. He found a job that was nothing even remotely close to the level of what he was doing in the Army and was surrounded by an almost entirely female staff. That was quite the adjustment for him as well since he had been in an all male special ops unit.

We found it hard to meet people and begin friendships because so much of our most recent life was centered around the Army and its deployments. Our new neighbors and contacts really didn’t have the first clue about the military lifestyle and for the most part, really didn’t care. It was an entirely new situation for us to not be in a military community and we began to miss our past life.

It hit my husband hardest when his unit deployed again. He knew that he should be with them and it was killing him that he was sitting in a classroom while they were overseas. Phone calls from his buddies about their training and what had been going on only made him miss the lifestyle even more. Couple that with the fact the he is attending a military college and takes classes with cadets in ACUs every day.

Every time I logged onto the message board or answered emails from anxious Army wives, girlfriends and family members, I felt that twinge of jealousy. They were able to live the lifestyle that we wanted to live but weren’t able to because of whatever it was that caused his condition on that first deployment.

I get very excited when I see someone with a DoD decal on their car or wearing a proud Army wife shirt. When I went to the doctor and the patient ahead of me in line pulled out a military ID, I felt an odd sense of comfort. It’s a much rarer sight around here and just makes me feel at home. It’s been great when some of his buddies have come to see us or I get to talk to an Army wife who supported me through deployments on the phone. I can talk like what has become normally to me, using acronyms and terms that those outside of the military community just don’t understand. It has been strangely comforting to be around these people again and share stories about the “good old days”.

We both miss the military lifestyle greatly. Yes, it has its downsides. There are definite bumps in the road and I’m not too sure I would really want to endure another deployment. But it also made our marriage stronger and it made both of us stronger and more confident as individuals by dealing successfully with all that we did while he served. It’s rare for a day to go by without one of us talking about the Army and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When a soldier is placed on the temporary disability retirement list (TDRL) or Permanent Disability Retirement List (PDRL), he is given the same benefits as if he had served for twenty years or more. A medical retirement or medical discharge is always honorable (unless there were other circumstances involved other than the medical).

Pay

For soldiers now, the pay is based on the High 3 method. This is the average of the three highest base pay rates received. While on TDRL, a soldier must receive a minimum of 50% of the high 3 regardless of the disability rating. If on PDRL, the pay is based on the disability rating. A disability rating of 30% would equate to retirement pay of 30% x the high 3 average whereas 60% rating would equate to retirement pay of 60% x the high 3 average and so on. If the soldier had twenty years of service, he will receive the higher of the regular retirement rate or his disability retirement rate. Retirement pay from the Army is taxable. From the time my husband was medically retired until we received his first retirement paycheck was about six weeks. Also, keep in mind that his final active duty paycheck will likely be delayed to double check for any inaccuracies before paying him.

Health Insurance

Retired soldiers and their family are still entitled to TRICARE benefits including dental insurance. If the soldier chooses TRICARE standard, there is no monthly or annual premiums but you are subject to co-pays and deductibles. If the soldier chooses TRICARE Prime, there is an annual enrollment fee that can be paid annually, quarterly or monthly. This fee can also be set up as an allotment from retirement pay. It is less than $40/month for family coverage.

Dental insurance can be set up on an allotment as well. The amount varies based on the type of coverage but it is considerably more than active duty premiums.

ID Cards

The soldier and his dependents will keep their ID cards and maintain commissary, PX and other post privileges. New ID cards will have to be made to show either the TDRL or PDRL status. My husband always gets strange looks when he shows a retired military ID at the age of 29. My ID looks almost identical to my active duty ID except beside the rank, it shows TDRL as well.

DoD Decals

Retired soldiers and their dependents are allowed to keep updated DoD decals on all of their registered vehicles.

On Post Resources

Retired soldiers and dependents maintain access to all on post resources including most travel deals. They can continue to use post lodging as well. There are some restrictions on these things but they are minimal.

Military Discounts

Many businesses only offer discounts to active duty personnel and their dependents. However, many businesses also do not recognize the difference in active duty IDs and retired IDs. So we’ve not had a problem continuing to receive discounts. I typically use my military ID when a business asks for ID as I hate my driver’s license picture even more than my military ID picture *wink* and they’ve always offered the discount. I have not asked for one since my husband retired.

This program continues paying the surviving dependent a monthly inflation adjusted income should the retired soldier pass away. This coverage must be elected at the time of retirement. Historically, there have only been four open periods when retirees were able to opt in to coverage. There is no guarantee of an open season so it is best to elect this coverage at retirement.

SBP coverage can be provided for a current spouse, former spouse, children or business partner. It is also possible to cover the spouse and children. Explanations of these different scenarios will be provided during the ACAP briefing.

SBP is an inflation adjusted income that can be provided in the event of the soldier’s death. SBP reduces the amount of taxable retirement income while the retiree is still alive. SBP payouts to the survivor are taxed but in many cases this will be at a lower rate what the retiree was paying on income.

The coverage provided is depends on the base amount. This can be full retirement pay or as little as $300/month. The surviving dependent will be paid 55% of the base amount that is elected. When a cost of living adjustment is made in retirement pay, the SBP coverage and premiums also increase.

As an example, spouse coverage can be provided at whichever is less of the following calculations:

6.5% of the base amount or

2.5% of the amount up to $635 (current as of 2006) plus 10% of the remaining amount.

For example, if the soldier elected coverage of $300, the premium would be $7.50/month. An election of $1400 would be $91/month. This premium can be deducted as an allotment from the retirement pay each month. The premium amount is determined by the pay as well as who is being covered. The above calculation is for the current spouse only.

If the spouse dies first, SBP premiums are stopped as soon as the Army is notified of the death. There are also special stipulations in place in the case of divorce, if the spouse remarries after the retiree’s death, etc.

Further information on SBP can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/militarypay/survivor/sbp/index.html

If a soldier is retired for time in service or medically retired, he is required to attend a retirement briefing on post. This briefing must be attended in order to outprocess from the post. Spouses are encouraged to attend the briefing as well.

While most benefits and compensation plans apply to time in service retirements and medical retirements the same, there are some differences particularly if the soldier is being placed on TDRL (temporary disability retirement list). This briefing is a great time to have all of your questions answered; do not be shy about speaking up.

In addition to covering benefits and the way the pay process works, they will provide a large stack of paperwork and the retirement booklet. This retirement booklet is an invaluable resource and covers a great deal of information. Nearly any information you could possibly need is covered in this booklet.

They will also explain who the soldier’s RSO (Retirement Service Officer) will be. This person is there to assist in the transition as well as answer any questions that may arise as the soldier enjoys their retirement from military life. Offices can be found at www.armyg1.army.mil/retire

One of the most important reasons for the spouse to be present is to hear the information about the SBP (Survivor Benefit Plan). This program is designed to continue to provide 55% of the soldier’s retirement compensation to the spouse and/or children when the soldier passes away. There is a small premium for this program that can be taken as an allotment from retirement pay. The premium is based on the amount of retirement compensation received. This is the only chance to sign up for this program. If this coverage is not elected, all retirement pay will cease when the soldier dies. Coverage can be provided at the maximum of 55% rate or a reduced rate. The soldier cannot deny this coverage without consent of the possible beneficiary (typically the current spouse).

Information on converting SGLI (Servicemember’s Group Life Insurance) to VGLI (Veterans Group Life Insurance) is also provided. If SGLI is converted to VGLI within 120 days of retirement, there is no physical required. For those who may be unable to obtain life insurance with a physical, this can be a great option. For others who are otherwise healthy, you are encouraged to explore your options as VGLI premiums can be incredibly expensive after the age of 60.

Further information for retirees can be found at the ACAP (Army Career and Alumni Program) at www.acap.mil and the retiree website at www.armyg1.army.mil/retire .

The military pension system is one of the greatest benefits of serving in the military. After twenty years of service, the soldier is entitled to a pension. The pension is calculated based on the number of years of service. For each year of service, the military awards a pension of 2.5%. For twenty years of service, the pension is 50% of base pay; for thirty years of service, the pension is 75% of base pay, etc.

In the past, there was a cap of 75% of base pay. This was changed and those who serve more than thirty years can still have those extra years of service count in the calculation of retirement pay. This also means that those who served more than forty years can receive more than their base pay in retirement.

Base pay can be calculated in several different ways depending on when the soldier entered the military:

1. Before September 1980 = Final Pay System

2. September 8, 1980 – August 1986 = High 36 System

3. After August 1986 = High 36 System or Career Status Bonus/REDUX (CSB) System

In addition, retired service members also receive COLA each year as well.

The DFAS website has more in depth information about military retirement pay.