washingtonscene
Retired Pay and Survivor Issues
Military retirement changes MOAA will strive to ensure the military retirement system continues to provide compensation at a level commensurate with the extraordinary demands and sac- rifices inherent in a career of uniformed service. MOAA will resist initiatives aimed at “civilianizing” the military retirement system by delaying the age at which full re- tired pay and medical benefits are provided or initiatives aimed at reducing benefits for those who serve a career to fund increased separation or vesting benefits for those who choose to leave. MOAA believes such proposals are inconsistent with sustaining long-term retention and readiness.
COLA commitments Inflation-protected COLAs are an essential part of the nation’s commitment to protect earned compensation value for military retirees and survivors and other federal annuitants over the course of many years. Proposals to cap annual COLAs below in- flation, or to redefine and depress the CPI for the purpose of geometrically depress- ing successive annual adjustments, would abrogate long-standing statutory commit- ments to them. MOAA will exert every effort to preserve the congressional intent, as expressed in the House Armed Services Committee Print of Title 37, U.S. Code, “to provide every military retired member the same purchasing power of the retired pay to which he was entitled at the time of retire- ment [and ensure it is] not, at any time in the future ... eroded by subsequent increases in consumer prices.”
Disability retirement reform Seek legislation to ensure fair treatment of military personnel forced from ser- vice due to service-caused conditions.
44 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2012
Military disability retirement decisions should include all disqualifying condi- tions and accept VA-assigned disability ratings for those conditions. MOAA believes if a combat-related con-
dition forces a member from service, the servicemember should receive a disability retirement, not a separation. MOAA is pleased Congress authorized a review board to reassess under updated rules the cases of previously separated servicemembers whose service-caused conditions might warrant upgrade to disability retired status.
Concurrent Receipt MOAA supports a plan to phase out the dis- ability offset to retired pay for all disability retired (Chapter 61) servicemembers, with initial priority for those who were pre- vented from serving 20 years solely because they became severely disabled in service. MOAA will work with Congress, DoD, and the administration to advance this proposal as a further important step toward the goal of ending the offset for all disabled retirees.
Eliminate SBP/DIC Offset MOAA will continue to fight for full re- peal of the deduction of VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from SBP annuities for survivors of service- members who died of service-connected causes. MOAA believes when military service caused a servicemember’s death, DIC should be paid in addition to SBP rather than subtracted from it. To the extent funding cannot be obtained for immediate, full repeal, MOAA will seek interim steps to substantially and pro- gressively upgrade compensation for these deserving survivors.
SBP and Special Needs Trusts Current law precludes the payment of an SBP annuity to a special needs trust (SNT), which was established by Con-
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