Concurrent Receipt 2026: Can You Get Military Retirement AND VA Disability?

September 20, 2026 | 8 min read | By Military Life Tools

You served 20 years, you retired, and now the VA rated your service-connected conditions at 60%. Two checks should be coming, right? Sort of — and the details decide whether you're leaving thousands of dollars a year on the table. Here's exactly how concurrent receipt works in 2026, without the legal fog.

The Default Rule: The VA Waiver

By law, you can't draw full military retired pay and full VA disability compensation for the same period. The workaround is the "VA waiver": you elect to give up an amount of retired pay equal to your VA compensation, and receive it instead as VA compensation. Why would you? Because VA money is tax-free and retired pay isn't — swapping taxable dollars for tax-free ones is almost always a win.

So the default outcome is: your total monthly income stays roughly the same, just split across two payments (one taxable, one tax-free). No money is "lost" under the waiver — it's converted.

CRDP: Getting Both in Full

Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments (CRDP) eliminates the waiver entirely, restoring your full retired pay on top of your VA compensation. Eligibility in 2026:

• 20+ years of service (or a legacy disability retirement), and
• VA rating of 50% or higher

The restoration was phased in over a decade and is now fully phased in — if you qualify, you get the entire offset back. Enrollment is automatic: DFAS checks your record and applies CRDP without you filing anything. A 20-year E-7 rated 60% receives full retired pay plus roughly $1,435/month tax-free in 2026 — thousands more per year than the waiver-only baseline.

CRSC: The Combat-Related Alternative

Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) restores the offset too, but under different rules:

CRSC is the only route for retirees with fewer than 20 years — a 12-year member with a combat-related 70% rating can recover the full offset. Because CRSC is tax-free, retirees at lower ratings sometimes net more from CRSC than CRDP even when the gross looks smaller. Run your own numbers with our retirement calculator before choosing.

A Real 2026 Example

Take a 20-year E-7 (High-3 retirement, ~$2,600/month gross retired pay) rated 70% by the VA ($1,804/month in 2026):

That's a $1,804/month difference — over $21,000 a year — for someone who qualifies for CRDP and doesn't realize it. Check your RAS (Retirement Account Statement) in myPay: if you see a line item reducing retired pay for "VA waiver" and you have 20 years and a 50%+ rating, something is wrong and worth a call to DFAS.

The Details People Miss

• Chapter 61 medical retirees: CRDP requires 20 years of creditable service, but DoD disability ratings of 30%+ can substitute in specific legacy cases — worth verifying, not assuming
• Tax planning: if you qualify for both, DFAS generally pays CRDP automatically, but you can request CRSC instead — at lower tax brackets the tax-free advantage can flip the math
• CRSC is combat-related only: Gulf War illness, hearing loss from range time, or airborne injuries may qualify; everyday knee and back wear usually doesn't — but apply anyway, the board decides
• SBP interacts: your SBP premium is calculated off retired pay — restoring offset dollars through CRDP can change your SBP basis

Plan the Retirement Numbers Before You Get There

Concurrent receipt is one of several rules that change your retirement math — High-3 vs BRS, TSP matching, and the final-3-years salary jump all interact. Our free military retirement calculator projects your monthly pension under both systems so you can see the full picture years before your last day.

Frequently Asked Questions