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There are now two distinctly different methods of resolving the dual compensation problem for military retirees who are also drawing VA disability compensation. They are Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP).First let's look at who qualifies for the programs. You must be a military retiree who has completed 20 or more years of service and is receiving longevity retirement check for that service. If you are a retired reservist who cannot draw retirement until age 60, you cannot draw CRSC or CRDP before then either. If you are a Chapter 61 military retiree (retired due to disability prior to completing 20 years of service) or a Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL), you are not eligible at this time. If you retired from the military and went to work for the federal civil service and transferred your military retirement into the civil service retirement program, you are not eligible for CRSC or CRDP. If on retirement you were rated as service-connected disabled (compensable) by VA and have not opted to waivea portion of your military pension in order to draw disability compensation, you are not eligible until you wave the pension.
Now for the rest of us here are some of the nuts and bolts CRDP in an automatic function. Defense Finance and Accounting has already started paying it to all schedular-rated disabled veterans. If you are rated 100 percent for individual unemployability, you wil only receive that portion that's a schedualr rating (ie. 70 percent). CRDP is being phased in over a 10-year period unless you are rated at 100 percent, inwhich case, you get it all. It is not retroactive; you do not need to apply for it. It is taxable income, however, and if you are divorced with your former spouse receiving a portion of your military retirement, that apportionment will include the CRDP payment.
CRSC is an entirely different program. First of all you need to have the same basic eligibilty as for CRDP. After that your service-connected disability need only be rated at 10 percent or higher, and it must have a result of training stat simulates war, and instrumentality of war, hazardous duty or direct combat. You must apply for CRSC and it is retroactive. It is not subject to income taxes, nor to division with a former spouse. If you are eligible for both programs you must select, annually, which one you want to draw. This is normally not a hard decision. Under DRCP, after taxes andafter a former spouse gets hers, my current check would be $93.78 per month. My My monthly CRSC check is $363.
Currently the government estimates that there are about 485,000 veterans eligible for CRSC, and Congress has placed $22 billion in the fund. DoD, however has only made 38,000 CRSC awards, totaling $830 million. Only 14 percent of those deemed eligible have bothered to apply. Have you? For detailed information go to: www.crsc.army.mil or call1-866-281-3254.
-Quoted exactly from Magazine.
Information from AMVETS Magazine Summer Issue. Article listed under Service Corner by James W Doran
If you have any comments about this program, either pro or con, please leave them in the blog in this topic (anyone can read, but you must register to post)
http://www.squadron13.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=706
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