Concurent Receipt Pay Computation (CRDP)

Concurrent Receipt means to receive both military retirement benefits and VA disability compensation, and up until 2004 this was forbidden by law. To receive a VA disability compensation, disabled military retirees had to waive all or part of their military pay. The following is a summary of Concurrent Receipt:

• Concurrent Receipt Overview
• Benefits Update
• Eligibility
• The Value of the CRDP Benefit
• Computing Your CRDP Payment Rate
• The Application Process

Concurrent Receipt Overview

Qualified disabled military retirees will now get paid both their full military retirement pay and their VA disability compensation. This recently passed law phases out (over 9 years) the VA disability offset, which means that military retirees with 20 or more years of service and a 50% (or higher) VA rated disability will no longer have their military retirement pay reduced by the amount of their VA disability compensation.

Unlike the Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC), full concurrent receipt will be phased-in over the coming years (except as noted above). This means that if you qualify you will see your retirement pay increase by approximately ten percent each year until the phase-in is complete in 2014.

CRDP Update 1/28/2008: Those members who have been rated less than 100 percent, but rated 100 percent disabled by the VA under the unemployability code (UI), will now receive CRDP.  It has not been made clear when the first payments will be sent. Contact the VA for details on your personal payment situation. 1-800-827-1000.

The Defense Accounting and Finance Service has not announced when retro-payments will begin. Military retirees may call 1-877-327-4457 for issues concerning entitlement to VA retro payment.

Concurrent Receipt Eligibility

To qualify for concurrent receipt you must:

• Be a Military Retiree with 20 or more years of service, including:
  • Chapter 61 Medical Retirees with 20 years or more.
  • National Guard and Reserve with 20 or more good years. (Once they turn 60 and begin drawing a retirement check)
  • Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) Retirees may also be eligible.
• Have a Service Related VA disability rating of 50% or higher.

Click here for the exact wording of this new law.

The Value of the CRDP Benefit:

Your personal CRDP payment rate is determined by your current VA Disability Compensation waiver, minus the CRDP “Table Rate,” then multiplied by the current CRDP “Phase Out” percentage. This makes it impossible to create a simple CRDP Payment Rate table that applies to everyone. You can use the CRDP Pay Computation to figure out your personal payment rate.

When fully phased in, CRDP will fully restore your military retirement pay and VA Disability Compensation payments. For example a single retiree with a VA Rated service-connected disability could receive their full retirement pay in addition to over $2,400 a month.

It is also important to note that the amount you receive cannot exceed the sum of your actual military retirement pay and VA Disability Compensation added together.

The CRDP Application Process:

Fortunately Concurrent Receipt is automatic. If you qualify you will automatically see an increase in your monthly retirement check.

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Your personal CRDP payment rate is determined by your current VA Disability Compensation waiver, minus the CRDP ”Table Rate,” then multiplied by the current CRDP “Phase Out” percentage. This makes it impossible to create a simple CRDP Payment Rate table that applies to everyone.

However the following four-step computation process can help you predict or verify your CRDP payment rate.

NOTE: The following is an example to help illustrate how the computation works. The VA compensation amounts do not necessarily reflect the current VA payment rates.

First Step – Determine your CRDP pay computation “table rate”:

Example: To help illustrate the process, assume the following for an eligible single retiree with no children and a 90% VA Disability Rating:

Second Step – Subtract the CRDP table rate from your current VA Disability Compensation amount (VA waiver).

Example:

Third Step – Multiply the difference by the current restoration rate.

Example: We’ll use the 2008 restoration rate of 69.76%

Fourth Step – Add the product to the table rate amount to find your CRDP amount.

Example:

These amounts will increase each year until January of 2014 when you will receive your full retired pay entitlement and your DVA disability compensation with no reduction. Unlike Retired Pay Cost-Of-Living Allowances (COLAs), CRDP increases will be effective on January 1st of each year, payable on the first business day of February. Additionally, since retired gross pay and DVA compensation (and, consequently, VA waiver) amounts increase each year with COLAs, you will not be able to accurately extrapolate CRDP amounts for future years.

Retirees who have a 100% DVA rating (Including those rated 100% Individual Unemployability (IU)) are entitled to an immediate 100% restoration. CRDP amounts will automatically increase or decrease based on the percentage of disability reported to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) by the DVA.

Please note that your monthly CRDP amount cannot exceed the lesser of your monthly gross retired pay or VA waiver amount. If you are a disability retiree whose retired pay is calculated using a percentage of disability rather than your years of service, your CRDP cannot exceed the amount your gross retired pay would currently be had it been calculated at retirement using your years of service.