Medical Retirement
I'm being Med Boarded, what can I expect?
For Soldiers being assessed for medical retainability, there are a few considerations to make, to include the type of separation, total years of service, and VA disability compensation.
When a Soldier is separated for medical reasons, a determination is made by the MEB and PEB as to whether the injury is service connected, and a percentage that denotes the extent of disability caused. If the percentage of service connected disability meets or exceeds 30%, the Soldier is then placed on the Permanent Disability Retired List (PDRL) or the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) if the circumstances of the injury mean that the rating is not stable. Once the condition becomes stable, Soldiers are generally transferred to the PDRL.
If a Soldier does not meet this threshold amount of disability, or the injury is deemed to be non-service connected, the Soldier will generally be separated without benefits unless they have more than 15 years of creditable service.
Pay is also based on this percentage, and limited to 30-75% of base pay under PDRL and 50-100% under TDRL. When computing pay, apply the percentage given on the Department of the Army separation order to the base pay amount the Soldier falls into on the current DFAS military pay charts.
However, if the retired pay computed using the standard retired pay calculation ((Creditable Points/360)*2.5 to get the percentage, then apply this percentage to the DFAS military pay charts) is greater than the retired pay based on disability, this amount will be used instead, as it is more beneficial to the Soldier.
After pay is computed, the Soldier should consider their VA disability rating, and whether Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) or Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) apply.
The reason for this is that a Soldier cannot receive both retirement pay and VA disability pay at the same time, unless they qualify for CRDP or CRSC.
For CRDP, a Soldier must have 20+ years of creditable service and a 50% or greater rating for VA disability. The benefit is that the Soldier will then receive both retired pay and VA disability compensation concurrently.
For CRSC, a Soldier must have at least a 10% rating from the VA, and the injury must be combat related, and instrumentality of war (i.e. caused by military equipment), or a result of a simulation of war (i.e. combat training. The benefit is that the Soldier will receive funds to off-set the VA waiver as a separate payment.
I've received my Department of the Army Retirement Order, what do I do next?
Once you've received your order placing you on the PDRL, you will need to complete DD Form 2656 (found at the bottom of this page) and submit it to the Retirement Services Office. There, the RSO will review it for completeness, add missing documents, and fax it to DFAS. For help with completing the DD Form 2656 contact the Retirement Services Office. Send the completed document to ng.nc.ncarng.mbx.g1-retirement@army.mil along with a copy of your NGB 23 and your retirement orders.
Note for PDRL Retired Soldiers
Review the Survivor Benefit Plan page for information on the SBP election to be made in your DD Form 2656, and be sure to submit your documents dated before the effective date on your Department of the Army retirement order, otherwise your SBP election will be invalid.