I just received an email from the Air Force IPEB about my PTSD re-eval. I am currently rated at 70% from the VA and the Air Force wants to reduce my rating to 50% and place me on permanent retirement. I don't know what to do I want to be permanently retired but they decreased my rating. What should I do?
AF PTSD TDRL Re-Eval.....Help needed on decision Jason
- Thread starter JBrown58
- Start date
I believe, if the VA does not reduce your rating, then isnt it against DoD regulation to reduce it? are they reducing just the PTSD or was their other unfit conditions that they may have dropped?
They are reducing me for PTSD it's the only condition that I was med boarded for. I am not sure if it's against DoD regulation I am hoping that Jason can reply with some guidance. I have feeling that I might have to hire him to help me. I am not to happy my only options are to submit an appeal to the Secretary of the Air Force or go to a formal hearing which I don't want to do.
In the initial PEB, the PEB uses the VA rating. During the reeval, the PEB does everything legacy style to include the rating. If you are confident it is still 70% per the VASRD, you may want to get the VA to rerate it to counter the PEB 50% rating.
Mike
Mike
I just had a re-eval at the VA on Friday and was wondering how I would go about getting that information to the PEB? I have a feeling that I am going to stay at 70% or go up to 100%.
Grizz,
This was a re-evaluation does it have anything to even do with the PEBLO? I retired back in January with 70% PTSD on TDRL and had my first re-eval from the Air Force. I have not had any contact from the PEBLO since January when I received my retirement information.
This was a re-evaluation does it have anything to even do with the PEBLO? I retired back in January with 70% PTSD on TDRL and had my first re-eval from the Air Force. I have not had any contact from the PEBLO since January when I received my retirement information.
Ok, I'm going to re-open this thread since it seems to have died. Firstly, how in the world could the AF lower your va rating? I don't really get that since the AF gives you a rating and the VA gives you a completely separate rating. The two ratings never even talk to each other.
This brings me to my question. I've been on TDRL since last January for ptsd. I just received the results of my re-eval from the the AF. The doctor I saw at Keesler stated in her notes that she thinks my condition has worsened in every way. Contradictory to this the peb letter states that they want to put me on PDRL, but they want to lower my rating from 70 to 50. My first question is, Wtf is that about?
Secondly, will I actually loose any money each month. To make it simple, let's say I get $2,000 from the VA (rated at 90%) and $400 from the af monthly (currently at 70%). Am I about to take a pay cut and should I accept the findings of my peb?
You said keep it simple, but its not.
1st question, how can they do it, easy as stated above (that was a correction to my error), the AF is not lowering your VA rating, they are lowering the DOD rating, the law states that during IDES, the AF (dod) has to apply the VA rating. However during re-evals it reverts back to the old system, where they still use the VASRD as a guideline, but they apply their own rating-regardless of the VA-one should be able to fight this via a formal board, especially if they have enough evidence to back it up-like continued counseling notes etc. and of course if your VA rating has stood at 70% or higher.
2nd question-money. IS your extra money from the AF due to lenght of service (i.e. you did over 20 and get concurrent receipt) or is it due to the difference in what your VA percentage pays and your DoD percentage pays?
IF its the latter and its the difference, then yes you will be taking a pay cut, if the DoD is paying you at 70% of your top 3 and you get bumped to 50% of your top 3, then you will be loosing 20% of your DoD pay, if it is no longer higher than the VA pay, then you will be getting nothing from the DoD.
Appeal, fight, appeal and fight soem more UNLESS your condition has improved. But as has been stated on here multiple times, if when they placed you on TDRL, you basically popped smoke and quit going to counseling, quit taking medications, etc. and are working a full time job or attending school as a full time student in residence, then you will be moved down to the 50% mark because MH/BH conditions are based on social impairment, if you have more or less reintegrated into society, then you have improved. I am not judging or being condenscinding as I do not know your case or you in the slightest, I am laying out facts of how they evaluate from what I have seen in 2+ years of being here.
We're agreeing on the first part. I just may have worded it weirdly.
I've never gone a day sine being placed on TDRL where I didn't take my cocktail of pills and never went over a month without seeing a counselor, so that point is moot. I currently receive Social Security Disability payments every month because I can barely leave the house, let alone go to work every day. Sorry, I know you're not my therapist. :-P I just don't see how the Dr at Keesler (TDRL re-eval) said my condition had worsened, but the peb people and all their wisdom decided to offer me permanent retirement, but with 50% opposed to the 70 I got when I was placed on TDRL to begin with.
I got meb'd with 18 yrs 4 days (still not happy about it), so no I'm not getting regular retirement pay. Currently I'm receiving approximately $400 a month from the af and $2000 a month from the VA. If my rating for the af drops from 70% currently to 50% will I actually loose any money. I think I'm just confused on the numbers. I talked to my WWP guy today and he said that the money I would loose from the af would be picked by the VA due to my va rating not changing.
Hopefully that is a little bit clearer than mud.
Thanks for the fast response.
Right now how you are paid (in your numbers)
2400 from DOD, which means your "top 3" was 3200ish and your getting 70% of that.
2000 from VA-this is a fixed rate based on your 90% rating
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2400-2000=400 dod pay, since your DoD is more than the VA
if your DoD percentage drops to 50% then it would be
50% of 3200=1600, since the dod is now less than VA, there is no offset, and you will only get the VA pay since it is now higher.
Now if you have not all ready applied for TDIU with the VA and you are all ready found eligible for SSDI based on just your service connected issues, then you should be able to get moved up to TDIU and your VA pay would go up to the 100% rating (3200ish giver/take dependants etc.).
Now if you are in receipt of CRSC, there may be some differences in math I am not aware of, but in the case of VA vs DOD pays, you get the higher of the two, and if the DoD is higher the VA amount is paid tax free and subtracted from the DoD amount.
I elected to get paid from the VA, so I get get $2000 from the VA and the DoD pays $400. I do get a little over $400 for crsc, so that will probably change. So with that being said, my pay shouldn't change since the higher amount is with the VA, right?
I'm not sure what TDIU is so I will have to check into that.
Thanks again.
if the 400 is for crsc then someone else will have to step in and verify the money situation, as I have no strong working knowledge of it to answer with confidence. TDIU is total disability individual unemployability. If you cannot work/perfrom SGA (which is evident by your award of SSDI) and my guess is your conditions claimed for SSDI are all service connected conditions (nothing new since separation), than you have a string case to be moved to 100% VA rating based on unemployability which is almost identical to 100% schedular rating.
No prob. I honestly do not know off the top of my head how your percentage plays into crsc amounts, but with a rate reduction from 70 to 505 DoD side, the 400 from dod would go away for sure.
So whatever this means would apply to you
Example Calculation: Assuming a retired Soldier has three disability ratings of 40%, 30% and 20%, using the above formula results in a combined disability of 70%, as follows:
(1) 100%-40%=60%; 100%-30%=70%; and 100%-20%=80%
(2) 60% x 70% x 80% = 34%
(3) 100% - 34% = 66%
(4) 66% rounds up to a 70% combined disability.
Special rules regarding chapter 61 retirees: Disability retirees (even those with less than twenty years of service) are eligible for CRSC but the rate of payment must be reduced by the difference between retired pay based upon disability and retired pay for years of service.
i think ultimately you would keep the 400 for crsc, loose the 400 from DOD, keep the VA money, and if you qualify (which again if your approved for SSDI based solely on your service connected/rated conditions it should be "relatively" easy) for TDIU, then you would move to 100% VA at $3k+ a month and still keep the $400 CRSC. If you are in the condition they say you are, it should be easy to get the psych to annotate that you are currently highly unlikely eligible for employment in the near future, which if its a va doc, would greatly increase your chances. Good luck, and if I have given wrong math/advice I apologize in advance. 
Ok, so check it out. Believe it or not, I'm still confused 
. I've attached a copy of my most recent eRAS (FOUO not visible 
)
Anyway to break it down I get paid $2276.84 from the VA and $203.70 from DFAS monthly. That pay is based on a 90% VA rating and 70% AF rating respectively. The VA pay is based on on me, my spouse, four children under 18, and one over 18. The AF pay is based on 18 yrs 4 days at pay grade E-7.
In addition to that I also receive $476 a month for CRSC.
I just had my re-eval not long ago and the PEB is offering me 50% AF rating now. My main question, that I can't seem to understand yet, is will I get a pay cut? I just want to do what's best for me and my family. Not trying to be an Uncle Sam Gold Digger.
The newest AF FM 356 states that my condition "has remained the same and has stabilized". If you read my newest NARSUM the doctor directly states that my condition has gotten worse since the initial PEB. I'm confused why they are only offering me 50% now. If I'm not going to loose money then I'm not even going to worry about it, but I foresee a formal board in my future.
Not pertinent, but I also received Social Security Disability every month as well.
. I've attached a copy of my most recent eRAS (FOUO not visible )Anyway to break it down I get paid $2276.84 from the VA and $203.70 from DFAS monthly. That pay is based on a 90% VA rating and 70% AF rating respectively. The VA pay is based on on me, my spouse, four children under 18, and one over 18. The AF pay is based on 18 yrs 4 days at pay grade E-7.
In addition to that I also receive $476 a month for CRSC.
I just had my re-eval not long ago and the PEB is offering me 50% AF rating now. My main question, that I can't seem to understand yet, is will I get a pay cut? I just want to do what's best for me and my family. Not trying to be an Uncle Sam Gold Digger.
The newest AF FM 356 states that my condition "has remained the same and has stabilized". If you read my newest NARSUM the doctor directly states that my condition has gotten worse since the initial PEB. I'm confused why they are only offering me 50% now. If I'm not going to loose money then I'm not even going to worry about it, but I foresee a formal board in my future.
Not pertinent, but I also received Social Security Disability every month as well.
