Bill Reintroduced to Expand Retirement Benefits for 42,000 Veterans

"...A measure just reintroduced in the Senate would dramatically expand disability benefits for veterans injured in combat.

The Major Richard Star Act would allow veterans who served less than 20 years before being medically retired due to combat-related injuries to receive both disability compensation and full retirement pay. Currently, only military retirees with at least 20 years of service and a disability rating of at least 50% can collect both benefits in their entirety. Advertisement..."

Read more at Military.com

Progress in ‘Concurrent Receipt' Eligibility Unlikely

"...During the Bush administration – and despite initial opposition from that administration -- Congress voted to phase out the ban on concurrent receipt for the most seriously disabled military retirees, those with ratings from the VA of 50 percent or higher.

In 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to continue to phase out the concurrent receipt ban for all disabled retirees, meaning those with ratings 40 percent and below.  He proposed such a change his first year in office but didn't set aside money to pay for it, and the full Congress failed to pass it.

In his 2010 budget request, the president abandoned the idea of bringing relief to retirees with disability ratings of 40 percent or less..."

Read more at military.com

Military Disability Retirement

Disability retirement is sometimes called Chapter 61 retirement, since the law governing such a retirement is in Chapter 61 of title 10 United States Code. Members who have been determined to be unfit for duty with a disability rated by the military Service as 30% or greater are eligible for disability retirement. A member whose condition is not stable may be placed on the temporary disability retired list (TDRL) for up to five years at which point they must be either discharged, retired or returned to duty. Members whose condition has stabilized at a disability rating of 30% or higher may be placed on the permanent disability retired list (PDRL).

The basic retirement formula is:

Retired Pay Base X Multiplier %

The retired pay base for a qualified disability retirement is determined under either the final pay method or the high-36 month method depending upon when they first entered military service. See Retirement tab for details.

The multiplier percentage is at the option of the member who may chose either the percentage of disability assigned or the years of creditable service times 2½%. In either case, the multiplier is limited to 75% by law.

In the case of a member on the TDRL, the minimum percentage is 50% while on the TDRL.

Years of Service

The years of creditable service for computation of the retired pay percentage multiplier include all active duty and all credited reserve points divided by 360

Source: militarypay.defense.gov