CBO recommends ending “concurrent receipt”
Military Times reports that the Congressional Budget Office is back on their concurrent receipt crying jag. They opposed the plan that would let disabled veterans who also retired to collect both their retirement and their disability pay. Before 2003, retirees had their retirement pay reduced by the amount of their VA disability which was returned to them through the VA – basically veterans funded their own disability compensation.
In its argument for eliminating concurrent receipt, the GAO states, “Disabled veterans would no longer be compensated twice for their service, reflecting the reasoning underlying the creation of the VA offset. However, military retirees who receive VA disability payments would still receive higher after-tax payments than would non-disabled retirees who have the same retirement annuity because VA disability benefits are not taxed.”
Actually, it’s not compensating them twice – it’s compensating them for completion of 20 years of service and then again for being disabled at more than 50% and unable to work. It’s two different things. I can only imagine how hard the feds would land on an employer who tried the same thing in the private sector.
Isn’t it odd that all of the government’s plans to save money have something to do with screwing active duty and retired troops?
Category: Politics
There was something back in the 1960s about changing civil service pensions for military retirees: you could have one or the other, in addition to Social Security, but not both. It had to do with so-called double-dipping. I don’t know how that was worked out.
However, at the state level, government workers in Illinois get their state pension plus Social Security, but the pension is reduced by the amount of Social Security they collect when eligible for it.
You used to be able to “buy your military time” into the civil service retirement system, and get a second retirement much earlier.
You can still buy military time into the system, but only if you didn’t make it to a retirement in the military.
Still that way. I became eligible for full fed retirement before 20 actual years, by buying back my active service years, and adding them to my fed time.
Total of 26 years actual fed time, 29 years are paid for. I started collecting within 3 weeks of my final day.
In the 60’s there were still laws making it illegal for some ranks to even work for the feds. Warrant Officers were among the last to be allowed to retire from the Army then join the bureaucracy of federal service. Around 1966, give or take a year or two.
It’s a trick! Don’t fall for it. Get off here now!
“Disabled veterans would no longer be compensated twice for their service….” Huh? It’s not twice. One is for putting in the years for retirement and the other is for a disability incurred during that service. If it were actually twice ALL retirees would be receiving automatic disability pay. But they aren’t and, thus, the qualifiers being separate and distinct, the pay is separate and distinct, one from the other. What am I missing?
What you are missing is the ability to convolute your logic to the point that you accept stupid stuff. Like how it is that reducing the amount of increase in a budget is reducing it.
By their logic, no one should get a retirement check, because you were already compensated DURING your service, which makes the retirement check a second compensation for the same service. Douche bags, the whole lot of them.
Yeah.
This is up again?
Non-military folks hate the fact retirees (honorable at that) get both of what they earned.
The average voter sees nothing wrong with getting their retirement plus SSDI and SS, but let a military veteran get the same thing and its going to bankrupt the world!
Its only vets who cares?
Yes because the election is over.
This is all the result of a particular sort of scum rising to the top in our various bureaucracies.
This is the sort who never received a good enough ass kicking while at the young adult age. Because of that, they believe themselves immune and exempt from any future severe ass kickings and/or curb stompings.
They keep their shit up, they’ll each and every one of them end up rendered to snot bubble machines.
There aren’t words sufficient to describe how despicable and evil this is.
Yes, let’s try to solve the unsolvable budget crisis on the backs of disabled veterans. How about we give pink slips to about half of the federal bureaucracy; that would be a good start.
Roll back the fedzilla to what’s actually allowed for the fed in the Constitution and no more budget issues as well as no more debt increases.
That’s a pretty harsh stretch though. Per the Constitution the only military service “required” is a standing Navy.
I’m sure plenty of squids would be happy with that, but not having an Army would be rough.
Ain’t it funny how the Goddamn DC Pols and bureaucrats want to take all they can from us Vets while they can’t hand out enough fast enough to illegal aliens, ME “refugees” and welfare flunkies. Could it be because they know we Vets don’t blindly vote dhimmirat in every election and carry a grudge over it?
Unfortunately it’s a bipartisan effort. Even the Heritage Foundation recommends the same.
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/11/triple-dipping-thousands-of-veterans-receive-more-than-100000-in-benefits-every-year
When did the Heritage Foundation become a government agency?
It’s not. As you well know it’s a conservative think tank. One would think they’d have different outlook and lobbying effort.
Lobbying effort? The Heritage Foundation is, by law, prohibited from lobbying. As for its outlook on this particular matter, it belongs to one individual who is as hard nosed and staunch a fiscal conservative as one can find. She’s a bean counter and doesn’t much care whose beans she’s counting.
She can come count my balls then, and kiss my hairy white ass while she’s in the vicinity.
” Thousands of Veterans receive more than 100,000 in benefits every year”.
I guess the 2,300 they cited later on in the article is Thousands…
Then they cite that a 54 year old who retired in 1997 shouldn’t get more than 80% of what his salary was back then( 43,000) I guess they figured he never got out and worked afterwards.
There is also a Hard Cap on SS or SSDI benifits, 2700 a month.
FUNNY how not much is said about how cushy of a retirement Senators and Congressclowns get while they gouge us all they can .
Try that for civil service workers. See how fast it gets shot down by their over-bloated unions.
Fuck CBO. Fuck them right in the ass with a cattle prod. Seriously, Fuck them.
I bet it we’d save a shit ton if members of Congress took a retirement pay and benefits cut. Or even, lets cut bennies to CBO workers, see how quickly they bitch and complain.
Fuck them. If I haven’t said it yet, fuck them and fuck them in the ass with a cattle prod. Seriously, fuck them.
Ditto!!! They need to be fired.
So how do we get these jerks to change their minds? What can we do to persuade them from thinking like idiots? They always go after active military, guard, reservist, veterans, military retirees and gs employees to save money on the BUDGET.
Why are they allowed to work for the US government for 8 years or less and get a full retirement? That needs to be changed.
“Isn’t it odd that all of the government’s plans to save money have something to do with screwing active duty and retired troops?”
Isn’t it though!?!?!?
Yes, odd, like matching socks and only three outs per side per inning in a baseball game. Very, very odd.
It would be helpful if those with specific knowledge re the creation of concurrent receipt would weight in with that information. It is my understand that one of the reasons for its creation was that other federal employees were entitled to concurrent receipt and the argument was that this should extend to military personnel as well. Anyone with specifics care to wade in here? If PE Trump is as military friendly as I believe him to be, this law, even if passed, would go nowhere except the veto basket.
I earned what I am receiving, of that I am certain.
Are the gonna grandfather previous recipients of just let them have 1200+ bitten out of their asses every month? This is utter bullshit and will turn into an epic shit show if it ever gains traction.
Lets see – I’m drawing VA compensation for the injuries that were incurred during my 30 years of service to the country. However, because I wasn’t Active after the first 3 year stint, but was Reserve, I won’t draw penny one of my military retirement until I’m 60 – still a few more years away. How about we reduce the retirements of ALL members of Congress and the Senate, as well as the amount that former Presidents draw instead? They’ve already screwed my retirement over several times, reducing the amount that I’m going to get, but they aren’t happy enough with that. I worked the last 3 years of my Federal position with zero pay raises, yet Congress kept raking it in. They can shove this little game up their respective asses!!
If I’m not mistaken I think THE CBO also recommended shutting down the commissary system a few years ago.
My disability pay is deducted from my retirement check and has been since 9/1/82 when I retired from active duty with 28 yrs.
I’m a triple dipper, so fuck this Idea.
100% VA, 20 year retirement and SSDI.
If they didnt want me to draw SSDI or if if had came to it SS they shouldnt have been taking it out of my Check all these years.
I retired and received my pension just like any civilian company would pay out.
As for the VA pension,,,, well If I’m not mistaken if you are injured or become ill because of the job you do your pension and benefits reflect that.
Not even getting into how the government has other agencies that pay out like this.
Truth of the matter is that if you retire As an E-6 and manage to draw a 90% disability rating this will cut your income down to about 24,000 a year.
If you are that disabled you likely can’t work.
I foresee these greedy bastards trying to make Vets select one of the pensions.
Best case scenario if they start cutting is I lose about 12,000 a year, worst case about 40,000.
Triple dippers, especially Retired Enlisted still only manage to make it to middle class .
They wouldn’t “cut” from current members. Why? Because it would effect those that work in CBO, heritage foundation, other lobbyists in DC.
They’d set a year of “grandfathering” on it so it would only fuck with other people. Just like they’ve been doing for so many years. “We’re going to do this because it is important as a budgetary concern. However, it will be implemented in 5 years and by then I’ll be long retired and drawing already.”
Being over 50% doesn’t always mean they are unable to work.I personally know a few that are still in the Reserve and hold a civilian job and still take a PT test with a P2 profile.
I know of someone in the Reserves who’s drawing 90% right now. The VA prorates what you make from the reserves vs your disability pay. So, if you’re getting 300 bucks a month from the reserves for drilling, the VA takes that much from your disability.
There are also two types of 100% disability. The VA says, “you can work with this 100%” and “you cannot work with this 100%”. I know of a couple of each and it is for a variety of reasons, but ‘usually’ the no work 100% is due to psychological problems, but there are also severe physical problems that give the 100% and you can still work.
If you’re getting 100%, you won’t be able to be a cop or firefighter, but there are plenty of jobs you can get that don’t require physical fitness to accomplish.
I believe this is one of over 100 possibilities put forward by thr CBO and has been proposed before. I question whethet this would fly in Congress but the bigger question is what are we doing about it?
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Hi all, well this is happening! I am a 20+ veteran, Iraq and over 15 years jumping from airplanes in the name of serving my country. Well after finally being “awarded” a rating for PTSD after pleading with the VA for 6 years, and hurting my family and loved ones because of my demeanor, VA sends me the letter saying I’ve been awarded compensation, but my case doesn’t warrant retroactive pay, and I must elect to receive either disability, or my pension, all in the same breath. Yet it’s common knowledge that Congress can screw up, or even refuse to agree on a budget for us, and go on vacation, that I’m sure they pay for! Hey well, I know this, I still struggle to work in a corrupt Government Contract world where some of the managers make $120,000 plus, and absolutely hate military retirees. But what gets my attention are the soldiers who I don’t hesitate to tell them how their Government repays them for their service, and their reaction, heartbreaking to say the least, and I know they expected more, because I see the effort and sacrifices that they make! I’m just shaking my head!
We can complain and talk about what veterans SHOULD GET, but no one in congress or the senate will EVER LISTEN!!! It is a damn shame that we as veterans has to WAIT!!! To get something that is rightfully deserves.
I earn $2566 a month in retirement after deducting taxes, SBP, TRICARE, & VGLI. I receive $2177 a month in VA SC disability. I also use the Post 9/11 GI Bill to receive $2701 a month for 9 months a year. Earning $81,243 a year is not bad!
I retired in 2016. I was an E-7 with 24 years/one month and and get a 10% increase in retirement pay due to earning a Soldiers Medal. I was rated 90% by the VA and I am attending UMUC while residing overseas permanently in Europe.
UMUC pays $2301 per month because their zip code is in the Maryland/DC area. It’s a high cost area just like Europe. I also get a “kicker” of an extra $400 per month because I initially enlisted under the Montgomery GI Bill and into a critical skills MOS. Hence $2301 + $400 = $2701. Life is good.
Of course, Congress won’t vote to end concurrent pay because it might interfere with their eternal pursuit of a pay raise.