I was recently received the results of my MEB from the TDRL office. They are recommending a decrease in one of my rated conditions, which would take me from 80% DoD, down to 60% DoD. I had 21 years AD TIS and received 100% VA when I was placed on the TDRL, so the Office of Airmen Council attorney expressed surprise when I told him I wanted to fight the decrease. Most people think I’m talking about CRDP when I ask this question, but I’m not. I know I can’t receive the full DoD disability rating and VA pay at the same time.
I can see where he’s coming from, as I always assumed it was only the under 20 TIS group that needed to stay at/above 30% that would fight a DoD decrease to keep their benefits.
I told the attorney that I wanted to fight the decrease, because I’m under the impression that my DoD rating has a direct effect on the Survivor Benefit Plan my spouse will get when I die.
Spoke to the base SBP manager and he told me that he’d never heard of that before. He told me to call DFAS and find out what is wrong. I told him that since my retirement, my SBP has been withdrawn from my pay at a rate consistent with my 80% DoD disability retirement. My SBP has been withdrawn at $233, which is 6.5% of my DoD retirement, not 6.5% of my TIS retirement, which would be $167.
My numbers:
36-month pay - $4784
75% pay - $3588
53.75% TIS pay - $2571
VA pay - $3437
Here’s what it really comes down to...if I maintain my 80% DoD rating with its $3588 base pay, I continue paying $233 a month for SBP and my spouse gets $1973 a month as a return. If my military retirement pay was reduced to my 21 yr TIS rate of 53.75%, then my spouse would only get $1414.
I'm 8 years older than my spouse and the women in her family live a long time. It’s possible she lives 30 years longer than me. An extra $560 a month is huge.
So, What do you think? Should my Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Annuity Base Amount and monthly payments be based off my DoD disability percentage, or is this all a mess up by DFAS, like the base SBP manager thinks?
I can see where he’s coming from, as I always assumed it was only the under 20 TIS group that needed to stay at/above 30% that would fight a DoD decrease to keep their benefits.
I told the attorney that I wanted to fight the decrease, because I’m under the impression that my DoD rating has a direct effect on the Survivor Benefit Plan my spouse will get when I die.
Spoke to the base SBP manager and he told me that he’d never heard of that before. He told me to call DFAS and find out what is wrong. I told him that since my retirement, my SBP has been withdrawn from my pay at a rate consistent with my 80% DoD disability retirement. My SBP has been withdrawn at $233, which is 6.5% of my DoD retirement, not 6.5% of my TIS retirement, which would be $167.
My numbers:
36-month pay - $4784
75% pay - $3588
53.75% TIS pay - $2571
VA pay - $3437
Here’s what it really comes down to...if I maintain my 80% DoD rating with its $3588 base pay, I continue paying $233 a month for SBP and my spouse gets $1973 a month as a return. If my military retirement pay was reduced to my 21 yr TIS rate of 53.75%, then my spouse would only get $1414.
I'm 8 years older than my spouse and the women in her family live a long time. It’s possible she lives 30 years longer than me. An extra $560 a month is huge.
So, What do you think? Should my Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Annuity Base Amount and monthly payments be based off my DoD disability percentage, or is this all a mess up by DFAS, like the base SBP manager thinks?
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