VA vs. Military retirement

J

jdjohnson

PEB Forum Regular Member
PEB Forum Veteran
Registered Member
I have been reading allot on this site and have talked to other military members that have went through the MEB/PEB process and I'm hearing different answers can someone please clarify. I'm in the AF and have nine years in and have many health issues. So my question I have been asking around work, will I receive both medical disabilty retirement if I get over 30% during my PEB and VA disability. So basically will I get disability pay from the AF and VA.

Thanks
 
no you get whichever one is higher. va pay is tax free. you wont have a 20 yr letter so you wont get concurrent receipt. however if your injuries are combat related you can apply for crsc which will give you an amount thays offsets the two
 
I know that if I received 30% AF medical retirement that I would have tricare for my family. Does the VA offer a tricare or health insurance option for myself and my family if I choose to go with the VA benefits.
 
va only offers health insurance for family if you are 100 percent disabled. youd be better served staying with tricare
 
Medical retirement is not contingent on years of service. As you suggested, it is based on the rating you are awarded by the PEB - if 30% or greater, you are medically retired. Jason (the site administrator) has aptly mentioned in some posts from long ago that it is possible for a soldier with no prior service in basic training to be medically retired.

michigan0782 is on point regarding the DoD retirement pay and DVA disability compensation scheme. In your case, you ought to apply for CRSC once you receive a rating from the DVA. You should apply even if you are unsure as to your eligibility for CRSC, the worst that will happen is that you will be told you are not eligible.

Additionally, it sounds like you and your family will benefit most from TRICARE - and if you're medically retired, you are probably best off sticking with TRICARE.
 
If medically retired you will have Tricare for you and your dependents. You will NOT have the option of using CHAMPVA for your dependents; Tricare is better anyhow. You yourself could still use the VA health care system as well. If you take VA pay you still retain Tricare and all DoD benefits from your medical retirement, 30% or higher from PEB.
 
If you aren't medically retired then you would look into CHAMPVA for your dependents. It's a VA run program, but if Tricare eligible are not entitled to use it. They have strict requirements for enrollment.
 
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