VA Disability Pay and Military Retirement: Understanding the VA Waiver, Residual Retired Pay, CRDP, and CRSC

If you are entitled to both military retired pay and VA disability compensation, the law generally does not let you collect both in full at the same time. You waive retired pay equal to your VA compensation, you keep what is left (residual retired pay), and two programs — CRDP and CRSC — can give some or all of the waived pay back. This article explains each step, with the statutes behind it, and four worked examples in 2026 dollars.

Last factually verified: November 1, 2026. Compensation figures: 2026 VA table, effective December 1, 2025. If you spot an error, contact us and verified corrections will be published with a note.

The short version

The whole system fits in one formula:

Total monthly pay = residual retired pay + VA disability compensation + CRDP or CRSC (if you qualify, and only one of them).

Where:

• Residual retired pay = gross retired pay − VA waiver.
• VA waiver = the smaller of gross retired pay and VA disability compensation. The waiver can never exceed your retired pay, so residual retired pay is never less than zero.
• CRDP restores waived retired pay for retirees rated at least 50 percent with the required service. CRSC pays a separate tax-free amount for combat-related disabilities only. You can receive one or the other for the same period — never both.

The most common mistake is adding gross retired pay and VA compensation together and calling that the total. That double-counts the waived dollars. Every example below shows the waiver first, because the waiver is what makes the rest of the math honest.

Why the VA waiver exists

The rule is a prohibition on duplicate payment for the same service. Under 38 U.S.C. 5304(a)(1), not more than one award of pension, compensation, or regular or reserve retirement pay may be made concurrently to any person based on that person's own service, except to the extent retirement pay is waived under other provisions of law. The waiver mechanism is 38 U.S.C. 5305: a person receiving retired pay who would otherwise be eligible for VA pension or compensation "shall be entitled to receive such pension or compensation upon the filing … of a waiver of so much of such person's retired or retirement pay as is equal in amount to such pension or compensation."

In practice, DFAS applies the waiver once VA notifies it of the award, and the Retiree Account Statement shows a VA waiver line reducing gross retired pay. The waiver is not a penalty and it is not a choice to "give up" a benefit for nothing: the dollars waived are replaced, dollar for dollar, by VA disability compensation, which is tax-free. VA describes disability compensation as a tax-free monetary benefit paid to veterans with disabilities incurred or aggravated during active military service. So the waiver usually changes the character of the money (taxable retired pay becomes tax-free compensation) even when it does not change the gross total — which is exactly why Example A below shows the same $2,500.00 total before and after the waiver, with a smaller tax bill.

One point the statute states expressly: the waiver provision begins "Except as provided in section 1414 of title 10." That cross-reference is the door CRDP walks through. CRDP does not repeal the waiver; it is the statutory exception to it for qualifying retirees.

What residual retired pay means

Residual retired pay is simply what remains: gross retired pay minus the VA waiver. Two boundary cases matter:

• VA compensation smaller than retired pay (the usual case). The waiver equals the VA compensation, and the residual is positive. Example A: $2,500.00 − $795.84 = $1,704.16.
• VA compensation larger than retired pay. The waiver equals the whole of retired pay, and the residual is zero — not negative. The statute's own definition of the offset confirms this shape: 10 U.S.C. 1414(e)(4) defines the "current baseline offset" as the lesser of the applicable monthly retired pay and the monthly VA compensation. A retiree in this position still receives the full VA compensation; there is simply no retired pay left to restore until a program like CRDP or CRSC applies, and any restoration is capped as described below.

Gross retired pay itself is computed and then rounded down to the next whole dollar. DoD Financial Management Regulation (FMR) Volume 7B, Chapter 3, paragraph 2.9.1 provides that the initial computation of gross retired pay, if not a multiple of $1, rounds down to the next lower multiple of $1, and that all further reductions, deductions, and withholdings are taken from that rounded figure. Every example in this article uses whole-dollar gross retired pay, so rounding changes nothing in the arithmetic shown — but it is why a hand calculation that produces cents will come out up to $0.99 below a naive computation.

How CRDP can restore retired pay

Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) is the program under 10 U.S.C. 1414. Its core rule, subsection (a)(1), is that a member or former member who is entitled for any month to retired pay and who is also entitled for that month to veterans' disability compensation for a qualifying service-connected disability "is entitled to be paid both for that month without regard to sections 5304 and 5305 of title 38." Subsection (a)(2) defines a qualifying service-connected disability as one "rated as not less than 50 percent disabling by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs" — a single disability or a combination, rated under the VA schedule.

Three practical consequences follow:

• Two bars, both required. Entitlement to retired pay (which for Guard and Reserve members means retired pay has actually commenced — see below) and a VA rating of at least 50 percent. A retiree rated 40 percent gets no CRDP at any years of service; a retiree rated 50 percent with retired pay not yet started gets no CRDP yet. DFAS states the same eligibility in plain terms: the member must be entitled to both payments for the month and rated not less than 50 percent.
• Usually automatic. DFAS states that because VA shares compensation information with DFAS, in most circumstances DFAS can pay concurrent retired pay without the member submitting a written claim. CRDP is not a new, separate check: DFAS describes it as an increase in retired pay that decreases the VA waiver, so the retiree receives more of the gross retired pay. If CRDP does not appear when it should, DFAS is the point of contact — and the article's companion calculator page does not adjudicate eligibility.
• Full restoration since January 1, 2014. CRDP was phased in from 2004 through 2013 under 10 U.S.C. 1414(c), which prescribed rising fractions of the offset by year and rating. That phase-in ended December 31, 2013. Since then, a qualifying retiree's CRDP restores the full waived amount (subject to the Chapter 61 limit below). Older explainers that still describe CRDP as "phased in" are out of date.
• Taxable, like retired pay. Because CRDP is restored retired pay, DFAS withholds federal income tax from it at the retiree's current retired-pay withholding rate and reports it as retired pay. This is the single most important difference from CRSC for after-tax comparisons.

DFAS states that CRDP entitlement may go back to January 1, 2004, for any month in which all eligibility requirements were satisfied, limited by retirement date, and that CRDP is not payable before January 1, 2004. Retroactivity is a DFAS audit matter, not something this article computes.

How CRSC differs from CRDP

Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) is the program under 10 U.S.C. 1413a. It differs from CRDP in purpose, eligibility, process, amount, and tax treatment:

Amount. Under 10 U.S.C. 1413a(b)(1), the monthly CRSC amount is "the amount of compensation to which the retiree is entitled under title 38 for that month, determined without regard to any disability of the retiree that is not a combat-related disability." In other words, take the VA compensation the retiree would receive if only the combat-related disabilities existed — including dependent amounts at the same VA dependency rates DFAS uses for full VA compensation (DoD FMR Volume 7B, Chapter 63, paragraph 8.1.1) — and then apply two caps: under 1413a(b)(2), the payment "may not exceed the amount of the reduction in retired pay" under 38 U.S.C. 5304 and 5305; and for Chapter 61 retirees, the longevity caps in 1413a(b)(3) (below). Where several combat-related ratings exist, they are combined under the VA method first and the resulting rate is used; the FMR's own worked example (Chapter 63, paragraph 9.2) combines combat-related ratings of 40 percent and 30 percent to 58, rounded to 60 percent, and pays CRSC at the 60 percent VA rate, subject to the waiver cap. Example D below deliberately uses a single combat-related rating so no combining step is needed.

What counts as combat-related. Under 10 U.S.C. 1413a(e), a combat-related disability is one compensable under VA law that is attributable to an injury for which the member was awarded the Purple Heart, or was incurred as a direct result of armed conflict, while engaged in hazardous service, in the performance of duty under conditions simulating war, or through an instrumentality of war. The determination is made under criteria prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, and the application goes to the Secretary of the military department (1413a(d)). A VA rating alone does not establish combat relation: the branch decides. That is why CRSC is never automatic — an eligible retiree who never applies receives no CRSC, however strong the combat connection.

Retroactivity. DFAS states that CRSC entitlement may go back to June 1, 2003, for any month in which all eligibility requirements were satisfied, limited by retirement date, with disability retirees under 20 years limited to a retroactive date of January 1, 2008 under the legislation effective in 2008. As with CRDP, retroactive payment is a DFAS determination, not a figure this article computes.

Why CRDP and CRSC generally cannot be received simultaneously

The statute says so directly. Under 10 U.S.C. 1414(d)(1), a person who is a qualified retiree under 1414 and also an eligible combat-related disabled retiree under 1413a "may receive special compensation in accordance with that section or retired pay in accordance with this section, but not both." Section 1413a(f) points back to the same coordination rule. DFAS states it the same way: "Retirees cannot receive both" CRSC and CRDP.

The choice is not a one-time trap. Under 1414(d)(2), the Secretary concerned must provide an annual period — an "open season" — during which a person eligible for both has the right to elect to change from CRSC to CRDP or the reverse. DFAS states that open season usually takes place in January, that in the initial year of joint eligibility DFAS automatically applies the entitlement most beneficial to the retiree based on the gross amount of each entitlement, and that in subsequent years the retiree must make the determination during open season. Two cautions follow from that practice:

• DFAS's first-year default is by gross amount, not after-tax amount. Because CRSC is tax-free and CRDP is taxable, the larger gross payment is not always the larger take-home payment. Example D shows a case where CRDP wins both ways, and a variant where CRSC wins after tax despite tying on gross.
• The election is annual, not monthly. Missing open season generally means keeping the current election until the next one, even if a rating or tax situation changes in between. DFAS publishes the current open-season mechanics each year; this article does not set the dates.

Why Guard and Reserve retirement eligibility and retired-pay commencement are distinct

For non-regular (Guard and Reserve) retirement, earning the benefit and drawing it are two different milestones under 10 U.S.C. 12731. Subsection (a) provides that a person is entitled, upon application, to retired pay computed under 12739 if the person (1) has attained the eligibility age applicable under subsection (f), and (2) has performed at least 20 years of service computed under 12732.

The 20 years. Under 12732(a)(2), a year counts toward the 20 if the person is credited with at least 50 points in that one-year period. A year with 49 points does not count, however long the person served. This is the "good year" rule.

The age. Under 12731(f)(1), the eligibility age is 60. Under (f)(2)(A), for a Ready Reserve member who serves on active duty or performs qualifying active service after January 28, 2008, the age is reduced below 60 by three months for each aggregate of 90 days of such service in any fiscal year after January 28, 2008, or in any two consecutive fiscal years after September 30, 2014; a day of duty may be counted in only one 90-day aggregate. Under (f)(2)(C), the age may not be reduced below 50 for any person. So a reservist with 360 qualifying days after January 28, 2008 has four 90-day aggregates and an eligibility age of 59; a reservist with no qualifying post-2008 service waits until 60. The gap between completing 20 good years and reaching eligibility age is the "gray area": the member is a retired reservist in status, but no retired pay is payable yet.

The amount, when it starts. Under 12733, years of service for computing retired pay are computed by dividing 360 into the sum of the member's days of active service, full-time training-duty days, and points (with the inactive-duty point caps the statute prescribes: 130 days per year of service for years including October 30, 2007 and later). The resulting equivalent years, times the retired-pay percentage, times the retired pay base, is the gross retired pay — for a legacy High-36 retiree, 2.5 percent per equivalent year times the average of the highest 36 months of basic pay. Example C uses 7,200 points ÷ 360 = 20.0 equivalent years × 2.5% × $4,000 = $2,000.00.

What this means for the waiver, CRDP, and CRSC. CRDP under 1414(a)(1) requires entitlement to retired pay for that month. During the gray area there is no retired pay to waive and nothing for CRDP to restore — CRDP begins, if the other conditions are met, when retired pay commences. VA disability compensation, by contrast, is a separate VA benefit; once awarded, it does not wait for retired-pay commencement. That is why Example C shows VA compensation flowing at age 57 while retired pay, waiver, residual, and CRDP are all zero until age 60. DFAS states the same timing for Guard members retired under Chapter 61 before eligibility age: DFAS must receive retirement orders from the branch to start concurrent retired pay at eligibility age. CRSC follows the same commencement logic: section 1413a(c)(1) requires entitlement to retired pay, so a Gray Area retiree with a combat-related disability cannot draw CRSC until retired pay starts.

Why Chapter 61 retirement requires separate treatment

Chapter 61 of Title 10 governs retirement for physical disability: a member found unfit with a DoD disability rating of at least 30 percent (or with 20 or more years regardless of rating) is retired, with retired pay computed under 10 U.S.C. 1401 as the greater of a disability-percentage computation and a years-of-service computation. That dual computation is why Chapter 61 retirees get separate rules in both concurrent-receipt statutes — part of their retired pay may reflect disability percentage rather than service, and Congress limited restoration to the service-based portion.

CRDP. Under 10 U.S.C. 1414(b)(1), the retired pay of a member retired under Chapter 61 with 20 years or more of creditable service (under 1405, or 20 years computed under 12732) "is subject to reduction under sections 5304 and 5305 of title 38, but only to the extent that the amount of the member's retired pay under chapter 61 … exceeds the amount of retired pay to which the member would have been entitled under any other provision of law based upon the member's service … if the member had not been retired under chapter 61." In plain terms: the longevity portion is protected by CRDP, and only the excess over longevity remains subject to the waiver. Under 1414(b)(2), subsection (a) "does not apply" to a Chapter 61 retiree with fewer than 20 years of creditable service — no CRDP at all, at any rating, including 100 percent.

CRSC. Under 10 U.S.C. 1413a(b)(3)(A), for a Chapter 61 retiree generally, CRSC plus residual retired pay may not exceed the retired pay the member would have received under any other provision of law based on service alone. Under (b)(3)(B), for a Chapter 61 retiree with fewer than 20 years of creditable service, the combined total may not exceed the retired-pay percentage under 1409(b) for the member's years of creditable service multiplied by the retired pay base — the longevity amount. So for a Chapter 61 retiree under 20 years, CRSC is the only restoration route, and it is capped at longevity: any retired pay attributable to the disability percentage above longevity is not restorable by either program under current law. This article does not compute Chapter 61 retired pay itself — the disability-percentage computation, the 75 percent cap on disability retired pay, and the interaction with severance pay are outside its scope, and the site's retirement calculator does not model Chapter 61 computation either.

A note on proposals. This article describes the law as it stands. Proposals to change the Chapter 61 rules are outside its scope; if the law changes, this article must be revised and re-verified before it is relied on.

How current payments differ from future or hypothetical estimates

Three different kinds of number appear in this area, and confusing them is the second most common mistake after double-counting the waiver:

• Current payments are what DFAS and VA are actually paying this month: gross retired pay on the Retiree Account Statement, the VA waiver line, residual retired pay, any CRDP or CRSC line, and the VA compensation deposit. These are facts about a real account.
• Future payments are current-law computations for a date that has not arrived: a Gray Area retiree's retired pay at age 60 (Example C), or CRDP beginning when retired pay commences. They assume the law, the rating, and the pay base stay as stated. Any of those can change before the date arrives.
• Hypothetical estimates are "what if" computations: a different rating, a different High-36 average, a combat-related share that has not been certified. Example D's CRSC figure is hypothetical until a branch certifies the combat-related rating; the CRDP figure is hypothetical until the rating and service conditions are met in the same month.

Ratings change on re-evaluation, and CRDP eligibility follows the rating: dropping below 50 percent ends CRDP eligibility, and rising to 50 percent or above can start it. Retired pay is adjusted annually for cost of living, and VA compensation tables change each December 1. An example computed from the 2026 table is a 2026 example; it does not predict any future year's dollars. The site's calculators label projections as projections for the same reason.

How gross pay, taxable income, and after-tax comparisons differ

Three totals, three different questions:

VA disability compensation is tax-free (VA describes it as a tax-free monetary benefit), and CRSC is non-taxable under DFAS's comparison: CRSC is a special compensation, not retired pay (10 U.S.C. 1413a(g)). CRDP is taxable at the retiree's current retired-pay withholding rate. State tax treatment varies and is outside this article's scope; the after-tax illustrations below use a single illustrative 22 percent federal marginal rate, stated wherever it appears, to show the method of comparison. Your marginal rate depends on your total income, filing status, and deductions, and no illustration here is tax advice.

Two qualifications to the table above. First, it describes longevity retired pay. For a Chapter 61 disability retiree, retired pay is taxable except to the extent it qualifies for exclusion under 26 U.S.C. 104 as limited by 10 U.S.C. 1403: if the disability retired pay is based on the disability percentage, it may be entirely excludable if otherwise qualified; if it is based on years of service because that amount is larger, only the portion up to the amount the retiree would have received based on the disability percentage may be excludable, and the rest is taxable (DoD FMR Volume 7B, Chapter 64, paragraph 5.4.2; IRS Publication 525, "Military and Government Disability Pensions"). Second, if you participate in the Survivor Benefit Plan, the portion of retired pay withheld for SBP premiums is not included in income (IRS Publication 525, "Military retirement pay").

The right comparison for an open-season election is always after tax, on your own numbers: a smaller tax-free CRSC payment can beat a larger taxable CRDP payment, and Example D's variant shows exactly that.

Why disability compensation and military retirement cannot simply be added together in every case

Because the waiver sits between them. "Gross retired pay plus VA compensation" counts the waived dollars twice: once as retired pay that was never paid, and once as the VA compensation that replaced it. The correct total is always residual retired pay plus VA compensation plus any restoration — and restoration is never automatic for CRSC, never available for CRDP below 50 percent or (for Chapter 61) below 20 years, and never payable for a month in which retired pay itself is not payable. Two retirees with identical gross retired pay and identical VA ratings can therefore take home different totals: one with a 40 percent rating and no CRSC keeps $2,500.00 (Example A), while an identical retiree whose rating rises to 60 percent keeps $3,935.02 (Example B) — not because the VA table jumped by that much, but because crossing 50 percent switched CRDP on. The rating, the service, the combat determination, and the calendar month all have to line up before the addition works.

Example A: Regular active-duty retirement with a partial residual

The veteran (hypothetical): 20 years of active-duty service, legacy High-36 system, High-36 average $5,000.00 per month, VA combined rating 40 percent, veteran alone, no combat-related determination. All figures from the 2026 VA table, effective December 1, 2025.

Why no restoration: CRDP requires a rating of at least 50 percent (10 U.S.C. 1414(a)(2)); 40 percent does not qualify. CRSC requires a branch-certified combat-related disability (10 U.S.C. 1413a(c), (e)); none is stated in this example. Tax note: taxable income falls from $2,500.00 to $1,704.16. At an illustrative 22 percent marginal rate, federal tax on the retired-pay portion falls from $550.00 to $374.92 (22% × $1,704.16 = $374.92), a saving of $175.08 — the waiver's real benefit even though the gross total is unchanged. Limitation: the $5,000.00 High-36 average is a round hypothetical figure chosen for clarity, not a DFAS pay-table value; a real High-36 average comes from the member's own pay history.

Example B: A CRDP-eligible regular retiree with restored retired pay

The veteran (hypothetical): the same retiree as Example A, except the VA combined rating is now 60 percent, veteran alone. Everything else is unchanged.

Why CRDP applies: 20 years of service and a 60 percent rating satisfy both bars in 10 U.S.C. 1414(a); DFAS pays it, usually automatically. The lesson: compare with Example A. The VA table step from 40 percent to 60 percent is $1,435.02 − $795.84 = $639.18. But the total rises by $3,935.02 − $2,500.00 = $1,435.02 — more than double the table step — because crossing 50 percent switched CRDP on and restored the entire waiver. A retiree whose rating rises from 40 to 50 percent should expect a jump of this shape, not just the table difference. Tax note: taxable income is the full $2,500.00 of retired pay (residual $1,064.98 + CRDP $1,435.02); the $1,435.02 of VA compensation is tax-free. Limitation: if the rating later falls below 50 percent on re-evaluation, CRDP eligibility ends and the waiver returns.

Example C: A Guard/Reserve retiree whose retired pay has not yet commenced

The veteran (hypothetical): 20 qualifying years (each year at least 50 points, 10 U.S.C. 12732(a)(2)), 7,200 total retirement points, legacy system, retired pay base (High-36 average) $4,000.00 per month, age 57, VA combined rating 50 percent, veteran alone. No qualifying active service after January 28, 2008 is stated, so the eligibility age remains 60 (10 U.S.C. 12731(f)(1)).

Reduced-age variant (not assumed above): if this retiree had qualifying active service after January 28, 2008, each aggregate of 90 days in a fiscal year (or in two consecutive fiscal years after September 30, 2014) would reduce the eligibility age by three months, never below 50 (10 U.S.C. 12731(f)(2)). For illustration, 360 qualifying days = four 90-day aggregates = 12 months, giving an eligibility age of 59 — and every figure in the "at age 60" rows would instead apply at 59. Application note: non-regular retired pay is payable upon application (10 U.S.C. 12731(a)); the retiree must apply — commencement is not automatic at the birthday. Limitation: the $4,000.00 pay base is hypothetical; a real retired pay base is the average of the highest 36 months of basic pay, and inactive-duty points in the 7,200 total are subject to the statutory yearly caps in 12733, which this example assumes are already reflected in the point total.

Example D: Why CRSC cannot be treated as automatic or interchangeable with CRDP

The veteran (hypothetical): the same regular retiree as Examples A and B (20 years, gross retired pay $2,500.00), VA combined rating 70 percent, veteran alone — with one branch-certified combat-related condition rated 30 percent, and the remaining ratings non-combat-related. All figures from the 2026 VA table.

Three reasons CRSC is not interchangeable with CRDP here. First, it is not automatic: without a branch-approved application (DD Form 2860), CRSC is $0, and the retiree's total on the CRSC path would be $691.55 + $1,808.45 = $2,500.00 — no restoration at all. Second, it pays only the combat-related share: $552.47 of a $1,808.45 waiver, because the other ratings are not combat-related. Third, electing it means giving up CRDP for the same period (10 U.S.C. 1414(d)(1)): the retiree cannot add the $552.47 CRSC to the $1,808.45 CRDP. On gross pay, CRDP wins by $4,308.45 − $3,052.47 = $1,255.98.

After-tax comparison (illustrative 22 percent rate). CRDP path: taxable $2,500.00, tax $550.00, after-tax total $4,308.45 − $550.00 = $3,758.45. CRSC path: taxable only the $691.55 residual, tax 22% × $691.55 = $152.14, after-tax total $3,052.47 − $152.14 = $2,900.33. CRDP still wins, by $858.12 — the tax-free status narrows the gap but does not close it here.

Variant where CRSC wins. Suppose instead that all of the 70 percent rating were combat-related and branch-certified. Then CRSC = the full $1,808.45 waiver amount, and the CRSC-path gross total ties CRDP at $4,308.45. After tax at the same illustrative 22 percent rate, the CRSC path keeps $4,308.45 − $152.14 = $4,156.31 against CRDP's $3,758.45 — CRSC ahead by $397.86. This is the case DFAS's gross-based first-year default would miss, and it is why the election must be compared after tax during open season, on the retiree's own rating mix and tax rate. Limitation: the 30 percent combat-related figure is assumed branch-certified for illustration; in a real case the branch's determination, not the veteran's belief, controls, and the combat-related ratings would be combined under the VA method before the rate is read if more than one combat-related rating existed.

Limitations: what this article does not do

• It does not compute Chapter 61 retired pay. The disability-percentage computation, its 75 percent cap, severance-pay recoupment, and Temporary Disability Retired List rules are outside this article's scope, and the site's retirement calculator does not model Chapter 61 computation.
• It does not model the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). SBP premiums and annuities are separate from the waiver, CRDP, and CRSC computations. DFAS notes that SBP premiums are deducted from CRSC when retired pay is insufficient to cover them (a practice DFAS dates to April 2018 premiums); retirees with SBP questions should check their Retiree Account Statement and DFAS guidance.
• It does not cover Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) or Individual Unemployability (TDIU) inside any CRSC or CRDP figure. CRSC gross amounts can involve SMC in rare cases under the FMR; this article's examples use schedular rates only.
• It does not address state income tax, former-spouse division beyond one note (DFAS states CRDP is subject to division with a former spouse and CRSC is not, because CRSC is not retired pay), garnishment, or debt collection — all of which can change what is actually deposited.
• It does not cover early-retirement authorities in detail (such as Temporary Early Retirement Authority), whose eligibility rules differ; TERA retirees with a VA rating of 50 percent or higher may qualify for CRDP (the statute contains no 20-year bar for non-Chapter 61 retirees, and the Army's official benefits site lists TERA retirees among those entitled to concurrent receipt), but the computation and conditions are outside this article.
• It is not legal, tax, or claims advice. Eligibility turns on individual service records, VA rating decisions, and branch CRSC determinations. DFAS and VA letters govern over any summary here.

Sources

• 38 U.S.C. 5304 (prohibition against duplication of benefits) and 38 U.S.C. 5305 (waiver of retired pay) — waiver equal in amount to the pension or compensation; "Except as provided in section 1414 of title 10."
• 10 U.S.C. 1414 (concurrent payment) — (a) qualified retiree paid both; qualifying disability rated not less than 50 percent; (b) Chapter 61 special rules (20-or-more-years longevity limit; under-20-years exclusion); (c) phase-in January 1, 2004–December 31, 2013; (d) CRSC-or-CRDP election and annual open season; (e)(4) baseline offset defined as the lesser of retired pay and VA compensation.
• 10 U.S.C. 1413a (combat-related special compensation) — (b)(1) combat-only compensation amount; (b)(2) waiver cap; (b)(3) Chapter 61 longevity caps; (c) entitlement to retired pay plus combat-related disability; (d) application procedures; (e) combat-related definition; (f) coordination with 1414(d); (g) payments are not retired pay.
• 10 U.S.C. 12731 (age and service requirements), 12732 (computation of years of service; at least 50 points per year), 12733 (years computed by dividing 360 into days and points), 1407 (retired pay base), 1409 (retired pay percentage).
• DoD Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7B — Chapter 3, paragraph 2.9.1 (gross retired pay rounded down to the whole dollar); Chapter 63 (CRSC; paragraph 8.1 gross amount, 8.1.1 dependent rates at VA rates, 8.2 waiver cap, 9.2 combining example); Chapter 64 (CRDP).
• DFAS — Concurrent Military Retired Pay and VA Disability Compensation (CRDP): general rule under 38 U.S.C. 5304–5305; non-Chapter 61 eligibility; Chapter 61 under-20-years exclusion; payment usually without a written claim.
• DFAS — Comparing CRSC and CRDP: cannot receive both; initial-year automatic application of the most beneficial gross entitlement; open season usually in January; CRSC non-taxable, CRDP taxable; CRSC retroactive to June 1, 2003, CRDP to January 1, 2004; CRSC not subject to division with a former spouse, CRDP subject to division.
• DFAS — Retired & Annuitant Pay Forms Library: DD Form 2860, Claim for Combat-Related Special Compensation, to apply to the branch of service for CRSC.
• U.S. Army Benefits — Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC): CRSC qualified if the retiree has a combat-related VA service-connected disability rating of 10% or higher and is drawing retirement pay reduced by a VA waiver (source for the 10 percent floor in the comparison table).
• VA.gov — Current veterans disability compensation rates: 2026 table, effective December 1, 2025 (veteran-alone rates used here: 30% $552.47; 40% $795.84; 50% $1,132.90; 60% $1,435.02; 70% $1,808.45; 100% $3,938.58).
• VA — Types of Compensation: disability compensation is a tax-free monetary benefit for disabilities incurred or aggravated during active military service.

This article is educational material from an independent platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense, and it does not provide accredited claims representation. VA award letters, DFAS Retiree Account Statements, and the Code and statutes cited above govern over any summary here.

Try it with your own numbers

These examples use fixed assumptions. To run your own combination, use the site's calculators — they apply the waiver, residual, CRDP, and CRSC rules to your inputs, including the Guard/Reserve commencement rules:

Calculate Retirement + VA Pay Calculate VA Disability Pay

How the numbers are checked: Methodology & editorial standards — how rates are verified, how engines are tested, how worked examples are checked, and how corrections work.

Related: all calculators · pay rates · methodology · bilateral factor worked examples · resources · disclaimer · privacy policy