Concurrent Retirement & Disability Pay

10 U.S.C. § 1414. Phase-in completed January 1, 2014 — full concurrent receipt is now in effect.

Regular military retiree (20+ years of service) OR Reserve/Guard retiree at age 60 (with 20 qualifying years) OR Chapter 61 medical retiree with 20+ years of service — AND a VA disability rating of 50% or higher.

Chapter 61 medical retirees with FEWER than 20 years of service are NOT eligible for CRDP, but may qualify for CRSC if their disability is combat-related.

CRDP does not require a combat-related disability — it is purely longevity-based. (Combat-relatedness is a CRSC requirement, not a CRDP requirement.)

Normally, VA disability compensation offsets military retirement pay dollar-for-dollar. CRDP eliminates this offset, allowing you to collect BOTH full military retirement pay AND full VA disability compensation.

CRDP-restored military retirement pay is taxable as ordinary income. (CRSC, by contrast, is tax-free — factor this into the annual CRDP/CRSC election.)

Automatic — no application required. DoD and VA coordinate the payments through DFAS.

CRDP and CRSC cannot be received simultaneously; you receive whichever is higher. DFAS sends an annual Open Season letter (typically January) for switching between them.