Greeting all,
I have a situation related to the post title that i'm hoping someone here might have experience with. Long story so please bear with me before i get to the question;
I medically retired (chp 61) after 20 years of service. The MEB/PEB found the condition i was boarded for unfit for service and NOT combat related. I asked my MEB lawyer to request that the board make a combat determination on the other injuries noted in the exams. The MEB refused to make a determination stating that that is not their job/ role, that i would need to apply for CRSC to get a combat determination on the remaining injuries. I found out that you cannot apply for CRSC until AFTER you are retired and are in receipt of a VA waiver. I wasnt trying to get money or tax exemption for the combat injuries (i though my CRDP would be more anyway) but i wanted an official document that states whether i have combat injuries or not before i get out, because things are more difficult as a retiree. BTW i think this policy needs to change, there should be some way to get combat determination without having to apply for VA benefits.
After I retired I was given disability retired pay based on my disability percentage, not longevity. My initial letter from DFAS stated the injury i was boarded for was not combat related and I was therefor taxed on my retired pay. Of note; the rules for chapter 61 and taxes is that if you are medically retired AND the injuries ARE combat related, then your retired pay will be tax exempt. I applied for VA benefits and then CRSC once the VA benefits were approved. 2 months after retiring and receiving retired pay based on disability percentage my VA claim was approved and DFAS began paying me CRDP. All chapter 61 retirees should be aware that the way DFAS readjusts your disability pay to longevity pay is to pay you your disability pay, and then take away the amount that is the difference between disability and logetivity. for example my disability pay was $3,000.00 and longevity pay was $2,800 so DFAS pays me $3,000 and then takes away $200 in what they call a VA waiver to make my pay reflect longevity amount It would be so much simpler if they just paid the $2,800...it makes things complicated because now i am technically getting paid disability pay ($3000) but it is reduced to longevity pay, but is it still considered disability pay?
3 months after receiving CRDP my CRSC was approved for an amount that I wasnt expecting and DFAS began paying me CRSC, not CRDP...CRSC is not reflected on the RAS but CRDP is which is something i also thing should change, AND the CRSC board determined that the condition i was boarded for IS combat related. So now I get a CRSC payment, my VA pay, and my residual retired pay (which is no longer reduced by $200 which was called a VA waiver). However, i still do have a VA waiver, but now the VA waiver is the actual money i get from the VA based on VA disability percentage. After 3 more months i realized that I am now a chapter 61 retiree whos condition i was chaptered for is combat related.
So, my retirement orders, MEB results, and first letter from DFAS after retiring all state the condition i was boarded for is NOT combat related, but the CRSC board, 6 months later, determined that the condition is combat related. Technically i think given that i am a chp 61 retiree whos conditions were determined to be combat related, should have my residual pay tax exempt. I wrote DFAS on "AskDFAS", called them and even sent them a written request to determine if i should be tax exempt on my residual retired pay. So far nothing, on the phone they say thats not something they can do and i havent heard back from the written request.
Question: Do you think my residual pay should be taxed exempt based on the info above. Also, is my residual retired pay with CRSC a disability payment or not since it is reduced by the VA offset which effectively makes it pay based on longevity? Remember that there is a CRSC offset for chapter 61 that caps the total amount of residual pay and CRSC to the amount you would have gotten based on longevity. The way DFAS does this is by reducing the CRSC payment, not the residual retired pay like they do with CRDP. So, the amount i am paid in residual pay is based on disability and then reduced by my CRSC payment...which is reduced by the VA offset.
sorry about the long post...im very confused and so far no help from DFAS.
Rob
I have a situation related to the post title that i'm hoping someone here might have experience with. Long story so please bear with me before i get to the question;
I medically retired (chp 61) after 20 years of service. The MEB/PEB found the condition i was boarded for unfit for service and NOT combat related. I asked my MEB lawyer to request that the board make a combat determination on the other injuries noted in the exams. The MEB refused to make a determination stating that that is not their job/ role, that i would need to apply for CRSC to get a combat determination on the remaining injuries. I found out that you cannot apply for CRSC until AFTER you are retired and are in receipt of a VA waiver. I wasnt trying to get money or tax exemption for the combat injuries (i though my CRDP would be more anyway) but i wanted an official document that states whether i have combat injuries or not before i get out, because things are more difficult as a retiree. BTW i think this policy needs to change, there should be some way to get combat determination without having to apply for VA benefits.
After I retired I was given disability retired pay based on my disability percentage, not longevity. My initial letter from DFAS stated the injury i was boarded for was not combat related and I was therefor taxed on my retired pay. Of note; the rules for chapter 61 and taxes is that if you are medically retired AND the injuries ARE combat related, then your retired pay will be tax exempt. I applied for VA benefits and then CRSC once the VA benefits were approved. 2 months after retiring and receiving retired pay based on disability percentage my VA claim was approved and DFAS began paying me CRDP. All chapter 61 retirees should be aware that the way DFAS readjusts your disability pay to longevity pay is to pay you your disability pay, and then take away the amount that is the difference between disability and logetivity. for example my disability pay was $3,000.00 and longevity pay was $2,800 so DFAS pays me $3,000 and then takes away $200 in what they call a VA waiver to make my pay reflect longevity amount It would be so much simpler if they just paid the $2,800...it makes things complicated because now i am technically getting paid disability pay ($3000) but it is reduced to longevity pay, but is it still considered disability pay?
3 months after receiving CRDP my CRSC was approved for an amount that I wasnt expecting and DFAS began paying me CRSC, not CRDP...CRSC is not reflected on the RAS but CRDP is which is something i also thing should change, AND the CRSC board determined that the condition i was boarded for IS combat related. So now I get a CRSC payment, my VA pay, and my residual retired pay (which is no longer reduced by $200 which was called a VA waiver). However, i still do have a VA waiver, but now the VA waiver is the actual money i get from the VA based on VA disability percentage. After 3 more months i realized that I am now a chapter 61 retiree whos condition i was chaptered for is combat related.
So, my retirement orders, MEB results, and first letter from DFAS after retiring all state the condition i was boarded for is NOT combat related, but the CRSC board, 6 months later, determined that the condition is combat related. Technically i think given that i am a chp 61 retiree whos conditions were determined to be combat related, should have my residual pay tax exempt. I wrote DFAS on "AskDFAS", called them and even sent them a written request to determine if i should be tax exempt on my residual retired pay. So far nothing, on the phone they say thats not something they can do and i havent heard back from the written request.
Question: Do you think my residual pay should be taxed exempt based on the info above. Also, is my residual retired pay with CRSC a disability payment or not since it is reduced by the VA offset which effectively makes it pay based on longevity? Remember that there is a CRSC offset for chapter 61 that caps the total amount of residual pay and CRSC to the amount you would have gotten based on longevity. The way DFAS does this is by reducing the CRSC payment, not the residual retired pay like they do with CRDP. So, the amount i am paid in residual pay is based on disability and then reduced by my CRSC payment...which is reduced by the VA offset.
sorry about the long post...im very confused and so far no help from DFAS.
Rob
