I received quite a few questions and comments on the earlier blog I wrote about Chapter 61 disability retirement and Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) in military divorce. You may read that blog by clicking here. I need to expand the discussion of Chapter 61 disability retirement and CRDP.
Servicemembers retired by their Military Department under 10 U.S.C. Chapter 61 do not qualify to receive CRDP unless they retire with 20 or more years of creditable service.1 A good number of Chapter 61 retirees fall into this category. For these disability retirees, the pending decision by the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) about whether CRDP is divisible in a Chapter 61 retirement has no meaning since DOHA’s decision will have no impact upon these cases.
Author Jim Cramp is a retired active duty colonel and the founder and principal attorney at the Cramp Law Firm, PLLC. The firm provides a spectrum of family law-related services to clients in the greater San Antonio region, across the United States and throughout the world. The firm specializes in Federal Civil Service and Military Divorce matters.
Note1 – See 10 U.S.C. Sec. 1414(b)(2) (stating that Chapter 61 retirees with less than 20 years of service are not eligible for CRDP).