Posted on: Monday, July 5, 2004

MILITARY UPDATE
Concurrent receipt not reaching retirees

By Tom Philpott

In December 2002, a law took effect that made Air Force Lt. Col. Gordon J. Brymer of San Antonio, and perhaps 40,000 other military retirees, eligible to have lost retired pay restored, effective June 1, 2003.

Most had suffered serious combat-related injuries. When they later received VA compensation for service-related conditions, they saw their military retirement reduced or stopped, the result of a law banning concurrent receipt of full retired pay and VA compensation.

Brymer, who has diabetes and heart ailments from exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam, was glad to see Congress finally act to ease that ban.

In January, Congress tripled the number of retirees eligible to see retired pay restored under Combat-Related Special Compensation.

Today, 18 months after Congress created CRSC, Brymer and thousands of other retirees have yet to receive full CRSC. Brymer, 73, figures he is owed at least $18,000. "Just tell me what's going on," he said.

In a phone interview June 30, officials at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Cleveland described a "mess" of administrative challenges yet to be addressed. They could not predict when these retirees, perhaps 10 percent to 15 percent of CRSC applicants, will see full monthly CRSC, or a catch-up payment for missed or partial CRSC payments.

The retirees all have 20 or more years of service and disabilities that the Department of Veterans Affairs decided makes them 100 percent unemployable or so severely handicapped that they qualify for Special Monthly Compensation atop regular VA disability pay.

Defense officials figured out how to pay CRSC to restore dollar-for-dollar offsets in retired pay caused by regular VA compensation tied to combat injuries.

Officials have not pinned down how to automate full CRSC for those who lose additional retired pay because of VA compensation paid for Individual Unemployability or as Special Monthly Compensation.

CRSC "is a bit of expectation gone wrong," said Karen Bell, deputy program manager for DFAS retired and annuitant pay operations. "People perceived that, as soon as we got the guidance from (the office of the secretary of defense in April), we would be able to pay." But that guidance, Bell said, "was still silent on a number of issues and didn't work out the technical processes."

Service officials continue to debate how to execute department guidance on screening disabilities tied to SMC, so only those that are combat-related affect CRSC. A meeting on this is set July 12.

DFAS officials plan no mass mailings to explain CRSC delays but updates will be posted at the agency Web site, www.dfas.mil. Retirees who receive service notification of CRSC approval, but aren't paid within 60 days, can call DFAS at (800) 321-1080.

Questions, comments and suggestions are welcomed. Write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA 20120-1111, or send e-mail to: milupdate@aol.com. Or visit Tom Philpott's Web site.