Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) FAQs

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Benefits Update: Concurrent Receipt is now officially named Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP).

Frequently Asked CRDP Questions:

1. Do all retirees with a VA-rated disability qualify?

Answer: No. Recipients of retired pay with a disability rating of 50 percent or greater may be eligible for CRDP if they meet any of the following conditions:

20 years of active duty service
20 good years in the Guard or Reserve and 60 years of age or older
Retired under Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA)

Note: Medical disability retirees with less than 20 years' service are eligible to receive Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC), but not CRDP.

Retirees who were rated by the Department of Veterans Affairs as unemployable, generally referred to as Individual Unemployability (IU), and are in receipt of VA disability compensation as a result of IU are eligible to receive full concurrent VA compensation and Retired Pay. This section of the Act was effective October 1, 2008 and is retroactive to January 1, 2005.

2. Do I have to have a VA disability rating to qualify?

Answer: Yes. To qualify the disability must be rated at 50% or higher.

3. Do I have to apply for concurrent receipt?

Answer: No.

4. How will I be paid?

Answer: The VA disability compensation will automatically be added to your regular retirement pay.

5. Are CRDP Payments Retroactive?

Answer: Yes. All compensation will be retroactive to the date you became eligible for CRDP. Retroactive payments for CRDP are retroactive to January 1, 2004.

6. When will payments begin?

Answer:You will begin receiving your concurrent receipt soon after you are determined to be eligible.

7. How much will I get paid?

Answer: 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.

Learn more about the CRDP computation.

8. If I am qualified for both concurrent receipt and Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) can I take both?

Answer: No. You must select which program to receive. Retired members entitled to receive either CRSC or Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) will be provided with an election form as part of the annual open season. During the open season, affected retirees will have the opportunity to elect to receive either CRDP or CRSC for the next year. In order for the entitlement to change, the form must be received and processed by Jan. 31, of the current year. Based on the election, the change will take effect on the payment dated Feb.1 of the same year.

9. Is the concurrent receipt compensation taxable?

Answer: Based on current law regarding taxability of disability income (26 U.S.C. 104), concurrent receipt may be taxable the same as your regular retirement pay.

10. What is Open Season?

During an annual open season, retirees who are eligible for both CRSC and CRDP may elect to change from receipt of one type of payment to the other. We send out open season letters near the end of December, and elections are due by the end of January. If you do not wish to change payment programs, you do not need to return the letter.

11. What if I do not receive an Open Season letter?

If you are eligible for both CRSC and CRDP and do not receive a letter you must contact DFAS to request a replacement election no later than January 31. Election forms sent out by DFAS late will be allowed additional time to be returned.

12. What if I wish to change programs mid-year?

Open Season elections are valid for one whole year, so any valid election made would be honored until the next Open Season. However if you should lose eligibility for either CRSC or CRDP mid-year, then you would be allowed to switch to the other.

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