Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP)

Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) allows qualifying military retirees to receive both their military retirement pay and their VA disability compensation without the usual offset. Before CRDP, retirees had to waive a dollar of retirement pay for every dollar of VA disability compensation they received. CRDP removes this offset for most eligible retirees and limits it for others.

The rule is in 10 U.S.C. 1414. Under section 1414(a), a member or former member of the uniformed services who is entitled for a month to retired pay, and who is also entitled for that month to VA disability compensation for a "qualifying service-connected disability," is entitled to be paid both. A qualifying service-connected disability is a disability or combination of disabilities "rated as not less than 50 percent disabling" by VA. That covers retirees who were not retired for disability under chapter 61, including reserve retirees once they are entitled to retired pay, if their combined VA rating is 50 percent or higher.

Section 1414(b) adds special rules for veterans retired for disability under chapter 61 of title 10. If you were retired under chapter 61 with fewer than 20 years of creditable service, section 1414(a) "does not apply" to you, whatever your VA rating. If you were retired under chapter 61 with 20 or more years, you are covered, but your retired pay can still be reduced to the extent your chapter 61 retired pay is more than the retired pay you would have received based on your service had you not been retired under chapter 61.

Section 1414 does not set up an application for CRDP; it says a qualified retiree "is entitled to be paid both." The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) says on its CRDP page that because VA shares disability compensation information with DFAS, in most circumstances it can pay CRDP without a written claim from you. If you believe you qualify and are not being paid, DFAS says to submit a written claim on DD Form 827.

If your rating is below 50 percent, or you were retired under chapter 61 with fewer than 20 years, you may be eligible for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) under 10 U.S.C. 1413a if you have a combat-related disability. CRSC has different eligibility criteria: it is paid to a retiree who is entitled to retired pay, has a combat-related disability, and elects CRSC, and you apply for it separately under Department of Defense procedures. Some veterans may be eligible for both CRDP and CRSC but can only receive one. Section 1414(d) lets such a retiree receive CRSC or CRDP, "but not both," and requires an annual open season during which you can elect to change from one to the other.

Note: This article references sections of the VA's M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual. The VA periodically reorganizes the M21-1 and section numbers may have changed since this article was written. For the most current section references, visit the VA's public M21-1 Web Automated Reference Material System (WARMS).