U. S. Army Ending Recalling Retirees

DFAS Retired Pay Newsletter

August 8th, 2009

Today I received a newsletter from DFAS which discusses various issues about military retired pay. I have been retired for about 2 1/2 years and this is the first letter I can remember getting…

One section of it did catch my eye, retiree recall. The Army is ending their current program but basically how it works is if you retire before you have 30 years of active service you can be recalled up until your 30 year point. In the Navy we transfer to the Fleet Reserve until we are officially retired at our 30 year point. My example is I transferred to the Fleet Reserve December 31, 2006 with 26 years of creditable active service but do not officially retire until November 2010 and can be recalled at anytime before that date.

Retirement pay is figured in a number of different ways depending on which program you qualify for based on when you entered into your contract (all programs use some percentage of your military basic pay). For instance, I shipped of to boot camp November 3, 1980, a couple of months after the advent of the “high three” retirement plan but I joined the delayed entry program on February 14, 1980 while the “final pay” retirement plan was still in effect so I qualified for the “final pay” plan.

The letter from DFAS;

Director’s corner:
In this issue of the DFAS Retired Pay Newsletter you will find an update on the recoupment from retired pay for Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI), Special Separation Benefit (SSB) and certain other separation payments. You will also find important information for those who have voluntary allotments deducted from their retired pay and the most recent information on the Paid Up SBP dispute period which has recently ended…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/direc.html

Retired Pay Recoupments:
In the past, Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI), Special Separation Benefit (SSB) and other separation payments such as severance pay, have been offered to Active Duty military service members in an effort to urge members to depart from active service and ultimately reduce a surplus of manpower in certain career fields. Those receiving these payments were required to maintain an affiliation with the Ready Reserve of a military Reserve component…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/retiredpayrecoupments.html

Voluntary Allotments:
Are you paying your insurance premium through an allotment deduction from your Retired pay? If so, here are some points you may need to consider…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/voluntaryallotments.html

Facts of Paid-up SBP:
Paid-up SBP became effective October 1, 2008. In the future, all retirees that are at least 70 years of age and have paid SBP premiums for at least 360 months (30 years) will have their premiums stopped and are no longer required to make monthly payments beginning in the month they meet the eligibility requirements. The same policy also applies to participants in the Retired Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan (RSFPP)…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/factsofpaid-upsbp.html

Retiree Recall:
Due to the U.S. Army achieving its Grow the Army End Strength, the Army leadership is implementing various tools to shape the force. Accordingly, the Army is implementing revised management guidelines under 10 USC 688 for Retiree Recall Tours. They are as follows…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/retireerecall.html

Change in FITW:
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-05), was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The Making Work Pay provision of the Act provides a refundable credit for working individuals. This refundable credit has been made available to individuals this year through a reduction in the amount of income taxes withheld from salaries and wages each pay day, including Retired and Annuity pay…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/changesinfitw.html

DFAS Museum:
In our October 2008 newsletter, we provided an article on a planned DFAS museum to be located in the Indianapolis Maj. Gen. Emmett J. Bean Federal Center…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/dfasmuseum.html

R&A Pay returning to DFAS:
Since January 2002, the Retired and Annuity Pay (R&A) program has been outsourced by a private contractor. Beginning in early 2010, however, R&A operations will once again be performed by Department of Defense personnel…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/rapayreturningtodfas.html

Seminar News:
Of the 73 scheduled Retired Pay Seminar events for this year, 17 have already been held, in many locations in the United States, Germany and Japan. Our representatives report between 400 and 500 retirees attend each seminar. This year’s most popular topics discussed have been the new Federal Income Tax Withholding tables (discussed earlier in this letter), Paid-up SBP, CRSC and CRDP, and Arrears of Pay beneficiary information…read more http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/july2009/seminarnews.html