I was just informed today my doc will initiate an MEB and like the title says I’m at over 19 and half years. I obviously really want to get to 20 so how long does the MEB process take? Will I be able to make it the 5 months until 20 years? My regular retirement packet has already been approved and should be sent up to DA any day now, just want to know my options.
19 years and 7 months MEB
- Thread starter CGM82
- Start date
how much leave do you have?
Probably somewhere around 70 days. I was also about to start the regular retirement process, but the retirement date on my 4187 was November of next year. My 20 year mark is May.
Save your leave and you are guaranteed to hit 20
You don't really have any risks since you will get the higher between medical retirement and regular retirement.Ask if your doctor can withhold submitting a MEB due to having an approved retirement only 5 months out.
Yea I can probably get him to do whichever I want, I’m in a special operations unit so he’s pretty receptive to what I want to do. I don’t mind staying a couple of months past 20. I’m just curious about concurrent receipt, I’ve got 10 combat deployments so most of my ailments are combat related. Not sure if that matters.Save your leave and you are guaranteed to hit 20
Ask if your doctor can withhold submitting a MEB due to having an approved retirement only 5 months out.
Yeah CRSC and CRDP are still on the table so net pay in retirement should be the same either way. That's why I would not go the MEB route. You will automatically get CRDP and then you can apply for CRSC and you get the higher of the 2.
Also, one point about MEB. The timeline is out of your control. My wife was told it would take about 6 months. It ended up being 14 months. You never know what may come up or what paperwork gets lost etc. I would avoid MEB and apply for BDD with VA which allows you to get your VA compensation exams before you get out.
There are at least six levels of appeals:
narsum rebuttal
IMR
meb rebuttal
IPEB/FPEB
VARR
Disability agency review
that and terminal leave will definitely get you across the finish line. I appealed at every level and my case took 14 months. Also when we get close to the holidays, things will slow way down.
narsum rebuttal
IMR
meb rebuttal
IPEB/FPEB
VARR
Disability agency review
that and terminal leave will definitely get you across the finish line. I appealed at every level and my case took 14 months. Also when we get close to the holidays, things will slow way down.
Congrats that's awesome. This helps me as a visual person to see the process written out and possible future fights, I may encounter myself.
You are going to have to change your spiel now that they added another level of appeal
RetiredColonel-MikeT
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It's actually not the "higher" of the two, you can only max out at what you would be eligible for with CRDP, the difference is that CRSC can reduce your tax burden if the numbers alone properly.
Thanks. Just really pointing out you get one or the other. There is nuance between the 2 especially when you take taxes into consideration.
Hello,
Another nuance is when the CRSC approved percentage equates to an amount less than what the CRDP covers.
This probably occurs more often with regular retirements; however, I have seen many cases where the CRSC was much less than the CRDP.
CRSC replaces only waived retired pay for approved combat related disabilities,
A regular retiree will experience the dollar for dollar waiver of retired pay in the amount of VA compensation received, but the CRSC might cover less than CRDP does for all service-connected disabilities. I was once rated 70% for CRSC and would have lost money by accepting CRSC instead of CRDP.
Ron
Another nuance is when the CRSC approved percentage equates to an amount less than what the CRDP covers.
This probably occurs more often with regular retirements; however, I have seen many cases where the CRSC was much less than the CRDP.
CRSC replaces only waived retired pay for approved combat related disabilities,
A regular retiree will experience the dollar for dollar waiver of retired pay in the amount of VA compensation received, but the CRSC might cover less than CRDP does for all service-connected disabilities. I was once rated 70% for CRSC and would have lost money by accepting CRSC instead of CRDP.
Ron
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Yeah, you have to hit that specific “sweet spot” to maximize your benefit. Thanks for pointing that out, @RonG.
Hello Ron,
If possible I would like to ask a quick question to see if I am correct in understanding the excellent info you have been putting out over the years and pertains to the above post. Today I was notified of an approved 100% CRSC rating from the DoN. I am a regular (longevity) retired Marine with 22 years of service. I am currently receiving CRDP due to my retirement and a 100% VA rating (CRDP is 3,026 USD monthly). I was also approved, if thats the correct term, SMC which is also combat related per the DoN CRSC approval letter.
My assumption is I will not see any change in gross pay between CRDP and CRSC because my CRSC rating is 100%, however I might see a positive difference in net take-home due to CRSC being non-taxable. Am I correct? Sorry to ask but I only starting looking into what this means today after being notified and reading the approval letter which stated I had to make a choice between CRSC and CRDP or DFAS will choose the "best" option for me. I assume in my case CRSC is best because of the tax benefit and no change in gross monthly pay between the two? Am I correct in my assumption?
Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
v/r
Mas
Hello @MasCon
Your case is much like mine. I retired from the Army in 1991, regular retirement. I had 22 years and 8 months active duty (no reserve time, except inactive). I am 100% T&P by VA (actually SMC-S now) and 100% CRSC approved.
My gross retired pay after ~31 COLA increases over the years is 3330.
I receive CRSC @ 3330 Gross and net are and receive a CRSC statement from DFAS.
If I chose CRDP, my gross would be 3330, but it would be subject to taxes.
I make my selection each year by not sending back the DFAS letter. I continue to receive CRSC.
However, since this is your first opportunity to choose, I would return the letter with CRSC annotated as the choice.
It will likely be ok without doing that (i.e.,the higher being chosen by DFAS), but I am just offering “what I would do”.
Ron
Ron,
Thank you so much for the quick reply and ensuring I am understanding the process correctly! It is definitely appreciated (Im sure by many)!
Thanks again
Mas