Question about VA recoupment of sep pay v/s sev pay

jonessy

PEB Forum Regular Member
I finally got my letter from the VA today and they gave me a rating of 80%. When I got out in Jan 10 for non-rec of reenlistment I signed up for 3 yrs Reserve to get the sep pay for the amount of years I was in the military. Now the VA is saying they are gonna take that money back. Can they do that? I wasn't discharged for medical reason my commander just didn't let me reenlist.

Anyone with knowledge in this area please help me out.

Thanks
Shalonda
 
It depends. I would need to know what statute authorized the separation pay. However, separation pay is subject to offset in several circumstances. Here is the relevant portion of the VA Adjudications Procedures Manual (Rewrite)-VA M21-1:

"a. Prohibition Against Duplication of Benefits
38 CFR 3.700 prohibits duplication of payments when a veteran receives
· active duty pay for return to active duty, as described in M21-1MR, Part III, Subpart v, 4.C.16.a (TBD – M21-1, IV, 20.25)
· military retired pay; with information on
- restrictions to compensation and retired pay at 38 CFR 3.750, and
- exceptions to restrictions at M21-1MR, Part III,Subpart v, 5.A (TBD – Section 308, PL 108-454)
· lump sum readjustment pay
· separation pay under 10 U.S.C. 1174
· Special Separation Benefit (SSB) under 10 U.S.C. 1174a
· Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI) under 10 U.S.C. 1175, and/or
· disability severance pay."
 
Thanks for the response Jason.

I received my separation pay for involuntary separation because my CC wouldn't let me reenlist and I had 14yrs in the military. The following is what I could find regarding the pay I received:

Department of Defense (DOD) Pay Regulation, Volume 7A (Active Duty & Reserve Pay), Chapter 35 -- Separation Payments. This chapter contains information about the following subjects:
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Accrued Leave Pay
    [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Separation Pay (Nondisability)
    [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Savings Provisions for Readjustment and Severance Pay (Other Than Disability)
    [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Disability Severance Pay
    [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Contract Cancellation Pay and Allowances (Navy And Marine Corps Only)
    [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Miscellaneous Separation Payments
    [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Special Separation Benefit
    [/FONT]
  • [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Voluntary Separation Incentive [/FONT]
 
Shalonda,

It seems like this could fall into the category of pay that the VA would recoup. But, in order to know, you would need to know the statutory basis for the payment. This might be on your enlistment contract or perhaps on the DFAS/mypay account statement or LES. It may state a regulation instead of the statute, but if you know the regulation, you can cross-reference the statute (most likely). The VA might be able to tell you this information, too.
 
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