Refund of military buy back

A

az_guard

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
I may be getting medically discharged from the Army National Guard for a recently diagnosed condition. I currently am also a dual status technician with about 19yrs 5months of tech time. What I'm up against is that in 7 months I will have 20yrs tech time and am over 50yrs old. This means I'm eligible for a technician retirement which I'm told I would get instead of the disability or medical technician retirement. Unfortunately for me this means I will be losing out on over $1,500 a month because the technician retirement pales in comparison to the medical retirement. There's no way I can get discharged within 6 months that I'm aware. What I'd like to know is if anyone knows if I should be able to get a refund, essentially un-buy my 4yrs of active duty time I paid for early in my technician career. If I can do this I will only have 16yrs of technician time and should have time to go through the MEB process and be medically discharged.
Thanks for any assistance.
 
Are you required to retire at 20 years as a technician? If not, just continue to work until your MEB is complete. Or is there something I'm not following?
 
The technician retirement may be less than a medical, however you would be able to collect it concurrently with VA C&P. Typically you cannot collect VA C&P and a medical retirement concurrently unless you qualify for combat related special compensation.
 
I am not required to retire at 20yrs as a technician, but if I lose my military status I will also lose my technician position. As a dual status federal technician I'm required to be in the military as an M-day Soldier in order to maintain my full time fed tech position. So I could stay until an MEB is complete; the problem I run into is by that time the MEB is complete I will be eligible for a technician retirement, which is good but since I'll be eligible for a tech retirement I'll no longer be eligible for a tech disability retirement (which in my case is about $1,500 more a month than a standard tech retirement). Essentially by getting being eligible for a tech retirement I will lose about $18,000yr. Whereas if I only had say 16yrs tech time I'd have time for the MEB process to complete and get the tech disability retirement.
I've spoken to everyone I can think of and it appears that there is no way I can get a refund, or un-buy my active duty military time and go from 20yrs to 16yrs tech time. Without a way to do that I will be out over $1,500 a month. The only possible exception is if I can be discharged within about 5 months, since I actually hit 20yrs tech time in about 6 months.

While I have been deployed to Iraq twice I'm guessing I wouldn't be eligible for VA C&P since my issue is the result of a chronic illness and not a direct combat issue.
 
Do not assume that your chronic illness is not service connected. There are a great deal of conditions that have presumptive service connection if you deployed.

I highly recommend that you visit with a VSO to go over a potential claim.
 
I met with a veteran's organization yesterday that assists with disability claims. They never mentioned that to me but I did hear about that from someone later in the day. I did some research on http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/benefits/registry-exam.asp and from a brief look so far it does appear that one or both of my gastro intestinal disorders do fall into a category that can be covered and since I was diagnosed May 2015 and in 2006 for the other it should meet the timeline of before December 2016. I intend to pursue this course but have had some trouble getting into the site to register both from home and work so far.
 
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The VA classifies many intestinal claims as GERD. GERD is presumptive for CRSC.
 
Very interesting. I had already submitted GERD as one of my claims about a year ago. I think I told the examiner that I think I had an occasional episode of not being able to swallow but that it got significantly worse during my first deployment. The response on that claim came back as "not service connected" but that it's related to "Environmental hazard in Gulf War". That to me made no sense. The VA assistance center I went to the other day told me that I would have to go find a civilian doctor to write a statement basically saying it's at least 50% likely that my GERD was caused or worsened by my deployment.
How would you suggest I proceed?
Also that's about what I'm being told about my Ulcerative Colitis, which is a form of IBS and I thought fell into the presumptive category also.
 
Hold on now, the Tech med retirement and military retirement are two different things. You cannot do VA and DOD retirement together unless CSRC, but you do get VA tax offset.
 
Dang this gets complicated. If I were not to get medically discharged and I simply resign my commission I would get my Fed Tech retirement and I would also get my military retirement. I would just have to wait until 59yrs of age for Fed Tech and 60 for military. If I get medically discharged I'm really not entirely sure what happens on the Fed Tech side. I do know of two National Guard Soldiers that worked as Fed Techs with me. One is medically discharged already and the other is close and both of them are getting the Fed Tech medical or disability retirement; but I'm not entirely sure what they're getting on the military side.
Guess I need to find somebody who's experienced with all of this and understands it better than I do.
 
If you have a 20 year letter for NG/Reserves, you will get it no matter what, at the age of 60 (or sooner if you qualify per the NDAA of 2008).
 
IF you lose your military side due to disability, you can get a Fed Tech medical retirement. It is 60K the first year and 40k a year until age 62 when your Fed Tech retirement kicks in. You can still work, but limited to 80% of your high 3 or you lose it all.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I didn't know about being able to earn 80% of my high 3. The current battle I'm going through on the tech side is being able to get the disability retirement. I keep being told that if I am eligible for a tech retirement, which I am, I am not entitled to a disability retirement. For me the tech retirement is over 50% less than a disability retirement. According to the CSRS&FERS handbook, the way I read it, I automatically get the tech retirement, UNLESS I request the disability retirement. The handbook indicates it's done that way because the tech retirement is usually more than the disability. So my challenge is verifying that I actually get to choose which is better for me or getting HRO to show me in black and white that I don't have a choice.
 
az_guard said:
Thanks for all the responses. I didn't know about being able to earn 80% of my high 3. The current battle I'm going through on the tech side is being able to get the disability retirement. I keep being told that if I am eligible for a tech retirement, which I am, I am not entitled to a disability retirement. For me the tech retirement is over 50% less than a disability retirement. According to the CSRS&FERS handbook, the way I read it, I automatically get the tech retirement, UNLESS I request the disability retirement. The handbook indicates it's done that way because the tech retirement is usually more than the disability. So my challenge is verifying that I actually get to choose which is better for me or getting HRO to show me in black and white that I don't have a choice.
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Keep arguing the point, you should have the option to get a medical retirement from the MILTECH program if you are medically discharged from the military. Your HRO has simply got it wrong. I know of several individuals with 23 years and receive a medical FERS retirement.
 
az_guard said:
I may be getting medically discharged from the Army National Guard for a recently diagnosed condition. I currently am also a dual status technician with about 19yrs 5months of tech time. What I'm up against is that in 7 months I will have 20yrs tech time and am over 50yrs old. This means I'm eligible for a technician retirement which I'm told I would get instead of the disability or medical technician retirement. Unfortunately for me this means I will be losing out on over $1,500 a month because the technician retirement pales in comparison to the medical retirement. There's no way I can get discharged within 6 months that I'm aware. What I'd like to know is if anyone knows if I should be able to get a refund, essentially un-buy my 4yrs of active duty time I paid for early in my technician career. If I can do this I will only have 16yrs of technician time and should have time to go through the MEB process and be medically discharged.
Thanks for any assistance.
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Your state TAG can separate you from the ARNG within 45 days, so I was told this from my state. I am soon to be REFRAD and have been told from my state G1 that my medical separation will take 45 days. Now this being said I will not be processed through the IDES for an MEB. State TAG have this authority unless local policy is in place.
 
az_guard said:
Dang this gets complicated. If I were not to get medically discharged and I simply resign my commission I would get my Fed Tech retirement and I would also get my military retirement. I would just have to wait until 59yrs of age for Fed Tech and 60 for military. If I get medically discharged I'm really not entirely sure what happens on the Fed Tech side. I do know of two National Guard Soldiers that worked as Fed Techs with me. One is medically discharged already and the other is close and both of them are getting the Fed Tech medical or disability retirement; but I'm not entirely sure what they're getting on the military side.
Guess I need to find somebody who's experienced with all of this and understands it better than I do.
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I think Pyro was referring to DOD retirement as a military member, not Federal employee. You can get a FERS retirement and VA disability. I know several people who receive both.
 
I am in the same boat. I am in the IDES process and I had started paying into the military deposit. My HRO person said to keep letting the deductions keep coming out if I anticipated being separated before I had paid it off and after separation apply to be reimbursed from DFAS.
I just stopped the payments altogether about a month after our conversation so I see a amount in the paid to column of my Tech LES and I'll just apply to get it back after separation.
 
macjac69 said:
I am in the same boat. I am in the IDES process and I had started paying into the military deposit. My HRO person said to keep letting the deductions keep coming out if I anticipated being separated before I had paid it off and after separation apply to be reimbursed from DFAS.
I just stopped the payments altogether about a month after our conversation so I see a amount in the paid to column of my Tech LES and I'll just apply to get it back after separation.
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How long have you been a Tech?
 
Age 50 AND 25 years of federal tech. service is the cutoff (rule)..
 
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