Seeking help calculating offset?

[KellyDanielle]

Hello everyone - I’ve been lurking here a while during my PEB process and it’s been an invaluable resource. I had one question I was hoping to get help with.

The process finally concluded and I picked up my DD214 today. During the process with IDES, my rating ended up being 60% with the DOD and 100% with the VA. I am in the Navy as a Lt O3 with 7 years active service. I commissioned in 2017, but my pay entry is from 2015 from attending OCS.

I did the HIGH 3 medical retirement calculator from DFAS, and it says according to method A I receive 4100. Since I did not elect to waive VA pay in block 26, does this mean I get:

4100-3737 = 363 (whatever is left after it being taxed?)

I kind of screwed my self since I wanted to appeal to get referred conditions added, but my lawyer was giving me a hard time. I think at 75% DOD would’ve been significantly different

 

[Provis]

Hello everyone - I’ve been lurking here a while during my PEB process and it’s been an invaluable resource. I had one question I was hoping to get help with.

The process finally concluded and I picked up my DD214 today. During the process with IDES, my rating ended up being 60% with the DOD and 100% with the VA. I am in the Navy as a Lt O3 with 7 years active service. I commissioned in 2017, but my pay entry is from 2015 from attending OCS.

I did the HIGH 3 medical retirement calculator from DFAS, and it says according to method A I receive 4100. Since I did not elect to waive VA pay in block 26, does this mean I get:

4100-3737 = 363 (whatever is left after it being taxed?)

I kind of screwed my self since I wanted to appeal to get referred conditions added, but my lawyer was giving me a hard time. I think at 75% DOD would’ve been significantly different

This is correct. Basically you get whatever is leftover after getting VA compensation. So if your chapter 61 pension amount is $4,100 then after getting VA compensation tax free you end up with $363 each month and that is taxable unless one or more unfitting condition was found by the PEB to be combat related.

Have you deployed at all in your career to the middle east? There are a lot of conditions that are eligible for CRSC that only require you to be deployed to an eligible country and having a VA Disability. This would help you claw back some of the earned longevity pension that you lost due to the VA offset. You can't get more than the combination of your longevity pension + VA compensation. If you were in for 7 years active then if on the old pension system of 2.5% your longevity pension earned would be 17.5%. Your HIGH 3 is $6,833. So your pension earned is worth $1,195.77. The most you can get when you add $1,195.77 + $3,737 = $4,932.77. So if you are getting $4,100 combined you have the potential to get an additional $832.77 from CRSC. To max out CRSC you would need to be awarded 50%. Though even if you were to be awarded 10% for Tinnitus that would give you $171 so basically anything you get from CRSC is better than nothing.

One observation. If you had maxed out DOD% at 75% your pension would have been $5,124.75. You would have been the rare example of a Soldier getting more than VA + Longevity. That is super rare. Did you hire a private dedicated IDES attorney or rely on JAG? As I have stated many times on this forum I recommend everyone hire a dedicated private one. They have much more time to help you shape your case and they are paid to get the best result for you. I have seen a lot of JAG that play the fear card and say hey you got 60% DOD. Anything can happen in a FPEB so why risk it? That's basically the opposite of a competent private IDES attorney who wants to appeal at every step if needed to ensure you get the best results.

 

[KellyDanielle]

Thank you so much Mr. Provis. I did not deploy anywhere to the Middle East. I only did a UDP to Japan which wasn’t really a “deployment.”

Unfortunately it sounds like I messed up and left a lot on the table. It was a JAG on base and not a private lawyer. I was told exactly what you said “You already got 60 DOD and 100 PT, consider yourself lucky and don’t mess with it” and was pressured to sign it. You live and learn I guess, almost wish I didn’t know!