Can I choose between retirement pay and va dissability pay

ok i have my va exam all next week in vista and la jolla ca. i know 20% or lower is seperated and 30-40 tdrl and 50-100 is pdrl but my questions are as follows.
i am getting rated for dod on my leg, compartment syndrome and foot drop. (from a motorcycle accident. but im claiming 19 other conditions for the va
Qs
1) if it comes back as say 40% dod and 80 va which obviously the va would be more money per month do i get to choose?
2) is their anyway if i get say 40 or 30 dod that i choose severance pay inseted of 1000 dollars a month? because i have 3 kids and marries 1000 a month wont pay our car paymnets rent food ect it wont what the heck would i do? at least severance pay would pay off our vehicles and set us up till i found a good job back home in or.
3) im going back to oregon and everyone on here says is i get retired i wouldnt get unemployment cause retirement counts as pension but my buddies that have gotten out and did a va claim and get $ every moth still rate full unemployment and voc rehab which diss pay UE and school they bring on over 4k a month which would def pay the bills for us and the kids.

im claiming DOD
foot drop
compartment syndrome right leg

va
PTSD
insomnia
chronic diarrhea
temporbiladeral joint dysfunction (jaw)
tinnitus
bilateral hearing loss
facuit syndrome, lunbar spine
otitus media
right hip condition
right knee condition
right ankle condition
headaches
painful scar (post operation compartment syndrome)
and a few others that are embarrassing but anyways.

so obviously my va is going to be higher the my dod rainting but my question is mostly when it comes back can i choose between th etwo? i rally want a severance pay to get us out of the hole and cause my wife and my jobs when we get back will already have health insurance for us.

im not a pune ive been in 6 years im a sergeant ive done my deployments im tired of the corps im ready to go back to my small town in oregon and raise my boys. thanks for the imput guys and god bless all your hearts
 
I don't think you are allowed to choose, you will be awarded whichever pays higher. That being said, the % for retirement is anything over 30%, your retention failing conditions factor this rating. TDRL and PDRL isn't based on what percent you obtain, its based on whether or not your injuries are stable. I am uncertain if you can elect to take a severance check instead a medical retirement. Be aware though, if your injuries are found not related combat by the PEB, they will recoup that severance check from your monthly disability pay. While it's true that you cannot claim FULL unemployment while receiving a pension from the military, you may be entitled to some to offset the amount. As soon as you start receiving your VA disability which is not earned income, you will be able to claim full unemployment. They say it can take about 2 months for the VA to finalize your claim, seems like its running over that estimated time frame though. Your best course of action will be to contact the Oregon unemployment office and find out the specifics. I'm going to be moving back to Washington, and depending on what percent I receive from the DOD side I will be able to collect some unemployment until my VA pay takes over.
 
0-20%= severance
30-100%= retirement
TDRL= if the condition may improve in next 5 years or is not stable
PDRL= if the condition is stable and not likely to change

If you are retired you cannot elect a severance. You can choose between VA or DoD, the higher of the two compensations if retired.

Everyone is different, but the long term benefit for a retirement vice severance for most people especially with a family is huge. When retired, you maintain retiree benefits for you and your kids, with severance, once the cash is spent, it is gone, and don't forget he VA will recoup the severance from your VA payments.
 
well my leg isnt but obviously PTSD and insomia and all that is anyways...... i knid of hope now i get 20 dod and atleast 80 va with all my mentioned conditions above cause a severance pay and va money everymonth ontop of full unemploument would be 10000 times better then just retiremntn at 1000 a moth with no severance pay or unemployment.
whats you story?
 
thanks zomglawlz i appricate that incite and like i said above ya know. also who diciedes if the condition i may improve or is permanate? the va guy that gives me my exams next week? it seams like the best deal for me would be 20 dod and crap i hope 80+ which is what the MSC told me anyways severance pay and va money every moth sine my wife's job will have heath insurance and then i will be at home and be a dad for a little bit and collect unemployment and va month every month and be a dad for a while and be able to live a little then go get a job while getting va money ontop of full unemployment would be 10000 times better then just dod retiremnt best case sanerio is what 1500 f that when say 80 va is what 2300 and unemployment is over 500 a week crap thats over 4k a moth while my wife work has health insurance so wed be set. byt just dod rretiremtn pay crap that wouldnt even pay our car payments and rent at all!!!!!!!!!!!!1 any advice here?
your story? actual facts?
 
Sounds like you have it all worked out. Not sure why you are asking us for facts.
 
You won't just receive DOD retirement though dude thats the thing. You'll only receive that money until your VA claim is finalized. The only way you would receive DOD retirement is if the percentage based income is higher than that of your VA percentage. Being an E-5 the base pay is roughly 2500 a month, so you'd have to pretty much get the maximum allowed DOD percentage which is 75% of your base pay, to be higher then the 80% VA if that is in fact what you get. The other thing is, beings that your unfitting conditions are not combat related, I do believe they would recoup the severance pay. You will get a better picture painted once your packet is referred to the PEB for your unfit memo and see what they deem as failing retention standards.
 
Well I don't know.the facts. Like I said that's what makes sence to me AMD would be bettet forbme but obviously I was saying it would ne better for us to het seperated 20% saverance pay and va money every month plus unemplyment that wouldbpay the bills but if I get retired tgen I'm screwed money wise since all ill.get is just retirementpay wich isntbclose to va money and unemployment haha. Any advice on.this. also if the va rating is higher then DoD since I'm.claiming a shit load more on va. How does that work? Since va would be more momey do.they just seperate me with my va money or do I automatricly get retired ? Or do I choose ect? This is based in if I get 30% or more DoD by the way I know how it works if i get 20% or less dod
 
If you are medically retired (30% or higher) you will receive whatever amount is more (VA or DOD), the majority of time the VA pay will be higher then the DOD. The VA claims take a couple months after separation from the military to finalize, so during that time you would receive DOD retirement, as soon as the VA started to pay the DOD will cease payment (or should) and you will receive VA disability from then on out.
 
Sgt march. Hell yea thanks for painting that picture. So worst case senerio I get 40 DoD 80 va then.ill.get my retirement pay for a few months till.the. va kicks in then the retiremnt goes away AMD I just get the va tax free money? Then i can qualify for unemployment whick that cause that would be bad ass? Is this correct? How did ur situation work?
 
Thanks. So once the va kicks in then will I still be retired or just a seperated sergeant? You have some great info I really appreciate it. Btw my va evals are all. Thsi.week. so after that is jut waiting for that narsum deal then my peblo callsvme I.sign it AMD.it jut goea to the peb right?
 
That is correct, except even while drawing DOD retirement you still may qualify for some unemployment, it might not be the full dollar amount, but its better than none. I haven't had a situation yet, because I believe my ratings were just done on 4May2013. I'm a planner and a researcher and all of this is what I have gathered while planning for my future. I'm going to be going to school on the post 9/11, drawing unemployment, and VA pay as soon as my claims finalized. When it's all said and done I'll be making more going to school then I did serving my country in Afghanistan, pretty messed up if ya ask me haha. There are a lot of members on this forum that have a lot more knowledge then myself, if you have anymore questions be sure to ask, or use the search function located in the top right of the screen. This is really a great place and I'm constantly on it reading and learning.
 
Thanks. So once the va kicks in then will I still be retired or just a seperated sergeant? You have some great info I really appreciate it. Btw my va evals are all. Thsi.week. so after that is jut waiting for that narsum deal then my peblo callsvme I.sign it AMD.it jut goea to the peb right?

Once the VA starts paying you'll still be retired, just not receiving the pension since the VA pays more. After your VA exams, they'll forward them to an MEB doctor who will then meet with you to write your NARSUM. Mine went over everything with me, then wrote it. She really did an amazing job on mine. Once your NARSUM is written it will gather some signatures, after it's been signed by the people that need to sign it you will get a chance to look over it. I suggest taking it to an attorney that specializes in the MEB process. If it's all fine and dandy you can then sign it, then it will be sent to the PEB requesting a decision of either Fit for duty or Unfit for duty.
 
The other thing is, beings that your unfitting conditions are not combat related, I do believe they would recoup the severance pay

As Sgt. March states, this is the point that is being missed here. If you end up with severance, realize that the VA will recoup it out of your monthly check. Additionally, points to consider:

- severance is temporary, retirement pay is forever. DoD pay will not change if your conditions improve, but VA pay can go down.
- If you retire (not sever) under 20 years or unless the CRSC board determines your disabilities combat related, you will only receive the higher of either VA or DoD pay.
- unemployment has a cap on how long you can draw it for, so it should only be used for temporary planning (see first bullet)
- the economy is confusing and uncertain (at best), and many companies are laying off. Your wife could end up in that boat (millions of Americans are). Again, see the first bullet.

Even if your VA money ends up being more than your DoD retirement pay, you still have Tricare and all the other perks for the rest of your life. Since you have kids, this might be something important to consider. Don't lose track of the long term- severance, unemployment and jobs can/are temporary. Obviously, the PEB will determine if you are retired, separated or retained- just trying to shed some light on aspects some don't consider.
 
As Sgt. March states, this is the point that is being missed here. If you end up with severance, realize that the VA will recoup it out of your monthly check. Additionally, points to consider:

- severance is temporary, retirement pay is forever. DoD pay will not change if your conditions improve, but VA pay can go down.
- If you retire (not sever) under 20 years or unless the CRSC board determines your disabilities combat related, you will only receive the higher of either VA or DoD pay.
- unemployment has a cap on how long you can draw it for, so it should only be used for temporary planning (see first bullet)
- the economy is confusing and uncertain (at best), and many companies are laying off. Your wife could end up in that boat (millions of Americans are). Again, see the first bullet.

Even if your VA money ends up being more than your DoD retirement pay, you still have Tricare and all the other perks for the rest of your life. Since you have kids, this might be something important to consider. Don't lose track of the long term- severance, unemployment and jobs can/are temporary. Obviously, the PEB will determine if you are retired, separated or retained- just trying to shed some light on aspects some don't consider.

In my opinion, this is so true... ;)

Thus, it's good and sound insight! :cool:
 
In my opinion, this is so true... ;)

Thus, it's good and sound insight! :cool:

I waited to OPEN my unemployment claim for OREGON until the VA off-set my DoD retirement PDRL pay.

That way, Oregon only took a little bit from me on my unemployment weekly benefit amount. The VA money is NOT counted against you for unemployment, but the DoD monthly amount is - and your DoD retirement (regular, TDRL, PDRL) is subtracted dollar for dollar against your weekly unemployment amount. This is Federal law, so this works the same in every state as far as my research has shown.

So I waited three months to open my UI claim until after my VA dollars kicked in. The adjusted lower monthly DoD amount was subtracted from the UI claim, so it worked out much better for me to open up my claim after my VA kicked in.

V/r,
nwlivewire
 
nwlivewire,
thats good info but i dont exactly understand.
so say i fet 40 dod and 80 va i get my retiremnt check for 3 months or so then my va money kicks in then i get both check va and dod but they offset eachother? that makes no sence since the va is higher wont i just get that pay check and my dod retirment stops? or like ill get 1500 dod and then 500 va? im so confused? so what do i say i make when applying for unemployment?also so when va kids in am i no longer retired or? just seams way easyer to get 20%sepd and 80va and get sepd so i can get the check every month from the va plus the 2k a month from unemployment semasway easyer till i find a good job. cause just dod retiremnt i litteraly will not be able to make our car paymnet plus rent no way that would be possible but va pay plus un employment would be at leat 3500 that would pay the bills but retiremnt alone at 1500 id be dead in water..... man im scared now putiing it al togateher its litteraly better to get seped and va month then retired wow
 
Dude, financially, severance is not better than retirement (in the majority of cases). Keep reading Aviator's post until you understand it. :)
 
ok yea i get it but say i get 40 dod and 80 va obviously 80 va is more money per month th edod how do i make sure i get the va pay? dod 40 retirement for me is 1200 roughly and and 80 va with 3 kids and married is 0ver 2k plus is i get the full unemployment with is over 2k a month in oregon on top of that but that is if i take the va money cause the dod money counts as pension. anyways to make this happen? va money per moneth cause 80 va is more the medical retirement for me
 
That is correct, except even while drawing DOD retirement you still may qualify for some unemployment, it might not be the full dollar amount, but its better than none. I haven't had a situation yet, because I believe my ratings were just done on 4May2013. I'm a planner and a researcher and all of this is what I have gathered while planning for my future. I'm going to be going to school on the post 9/11, drawing unemployment, and VA pay as soon as my claims finalized. When it's all said and done I'll be making more going to school then I did serving my country in Afghanistan, pretty messed up if ya ask me haha. There are a lot of members on this forum that have a lot more knowledge then myself, if you have anymore questions be sure to ask, or use the search function located in the top right of the screen. This is really a great place and I'm constantly on it reading and learning.

DOD Retirement has nothing to do with unemployment, period!!! Unemployment is a state claim. If he was 70% IU and receiving 100% because of individual unemployability... then he can not draw unemployment. But Unemployment is a state program and has nothing to do with a military medical retirement!!!
 
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