DFAS HELPFUL TIPS & TOOLS FOR RETIREES NEW TO RETIRED

DFAS HELPFUL TIPS & TOOLS

FOR RETIREES NEW TO RETIRED PAY

Pay Schedule

Retired pay is paid monthly, on the first day

of the month, unless that day is a weekend or

holiday. In that case, it is paid on the last

business day of the prior month. For example, if

May 1 is a Sunday, payday will be Friday, April

29.

https://www.dfas.mil/rapaycal

Our goal is to pay your first retired pay on

the first business day of month following your

retirement date. However, we can only do

that if we receive a complete retirement

package, including a correct, signed DD Form

2656.

Retiree Account Statements

You are used to seeing a Leave and Earnings

Statement (LES) when it’s (almost) payday.

Once you begin receiving retired pay, you will

see a Retiree Account Statement (RAS),

which is the equivalent of an LES for those

receiving military retired pay.

Your Retiree Account Statements will be

available to view and download from myPay

when your first retired pay is issued and then

each month a few days prior to payday.

When your retired pay account is established

initially, and your first payment issued, DFAS

will mail you a welcome letter with a breakdown

of your pay and deductions. However,

depending on your first pay date, you may see

your pay deposited in your bank account before

your postal mail letter gets there. You may also

see your first RAS in myPay before you get your

postal mail letter.

After that first RAS, if you set the

preferences in your account to receive

statements via postal mail, you will only receive

a mailed monthly RAS if your pay changes. You

will also receive a mailed RAS each January with

your tax statement. However, your pay

statements are available each month in

myPay to view and download.

Tax Statements

After you start receiving retired pay, your

annual tax statement will be an IRS 1099-R

instead of a W-2. Your annual 1099-R will be

available in myPay to view and download,

usually in mid-to-late December.

If you have the preferences in your account

set to receive statements via postal mail, those

statements are mailed no later than January 31

of each year, along with your December RAS.

Military Retired Pay Taxation Tips

Military retired pay is paid for many different

reasons under many different laws. There are

differences in the types of pay a military retiree

might receive and the tax laws that apply to

them. Whether a portion or all of an individual’s

military retired pay is subject to federal income

taxes depends on his/her individual

circumstances.

A military retiree can either use myPay or

send an IRS Form W-4 to change the amount

DFAS withholds for federal income taxes from

their military retired pay.

An individual’s choice to have no withholding

for federal taxes does not impact whether the

individual’s military retired pay is actually

subject to federal income taxes. Ultimately, the

IRS will determine the amount of taxes owed on

the military retired pay.

Please note: the IRS requires any individual

claiming exemption from federal withholding to

provide a new Form W-4 at the beginning of

each tax year certifying their exemption from

withholding.

DFAS cannot provide tax advice. Please

consult a tax professional or the IRS.

Please see our webpage regarding taxation of

retired pay:

https://www.dfas.mil/retpaytax

Apr2023

DFAS Helpful Tips & Tools for Retirees – Page 2

Separation Pay

If you received separation pay during your

military career, it must be recouped upon

retirement, either by VA, DFAS, or both.

DFAS: up to 40% of adjusted gross pay

(Adjusted gross = gross pay, less any

mandatory deductions)

VA: full net pay until separation pay

recouped

(Net pay = amount deposited)

https://www.dfas.mil/seppayrecoup

VA Waiver, CRDP, CRSC

By law, VA disability compensation must be

deducted from DoD retired pay. This is called

the VA waiver.

Concurrent Retired and Disability Pay (CRDP)

and Combat-Related Special Compensation

(CRSC) can lessen the effect of the VA waiver.

https://www.dfas.mil/vawaiver

Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and

Reserve Component Survivor

Benefit Plan (RCSBP)

SBP/RCSBP provides an income to your loved

ones after you pass away. While drilling or

active, RCSBP or SBP premiums are paid by

DoD. When you received your 20-Year Notice of

Eligibility (NOE) you had the opportunity to

elect RCSBP or defer that election until you

applied for retired pay.

• SBP or RCSBP monthly premiums are

deducted from retired pay or from CRSC.

• Even if you filled out a 2656-5 or 1883 when

you got your NOE, you still need to fill out a

DD 2656.

• If you did not defer your election, your

RCSBP election at NOE takes precedence

when retired pay begins.

• If you’ve had life changing events during the

Gray Area, provide copies of relevant

documents (e.g., death certificate, divorce

decree) to your Branch of Service when

submitting your retired pay application.

• If you did not fill out and return a 2656-5 or

1883 when you got your NOE, AND your

NOE date was Jan. 2, 2001 or after, AND

you had a spouse or child on your NOE date,

by law you will be charged for RCSBP

coverage when you retire.

https://www.dfas.mil/providesbp

Retired & Annuitant Pay News

Keep up with the latest news and

announcements on the Retired & Annuitant Pay

main webpage, plus quick links, and how-to’s

for myPay.

https://www.dfas.mil/rapay

Forms Library

Need a form? The retiree and annuitant

Forms library provides quick links to download

forms, Form Wizards, and other helpful form

tools.

www.dfas.mil/raforms

Tools to Make Forms Easier to Fill

Out and Submit

DFAS is rolling out new tools to help retirees

and annuitants fill out and submit forms easily

and correctly. The tools include helpful PDF

Form Wizards, how-to checklists, and how-to

videos.

The Form Wizards “take the form out of the

form” by asking a series of questions and filling

in your answers in the appropriate areas of the

form. The how-to checklists and how-to videos

provide quick tips and walk-throughs of the

forms to help you fill them out correctly and

easily.

Apr2023

DFAS Helpful Tips & Tools for Retirees – Page 3

askDFAS FAQs, Online Forms and

Upload Tools

Start here and choose Retirees and

Annuitants to find links to the helpful resources

below: https://www.dfas.mil/askdfas

askDFAS FAQs

Read helpful questions and answers about

retired pay, or submit a question of your own.

Please note, these are general question and

answers, not those specific to an individual

situation.

askDFAS Online Forms

Send DFAS information or a request via one

of our askDFAS online forms:

• Retirees and annuitants can get 1099-Rs

sent to their mailing address on record or to

a one-time, temporary mailing address by

submitting the request online on askDFAS.

• Use our convenient online form to report the

death of a military retiree.

askDFAS Online Upload Tools

The new askDFAS online upload tools allow

some forms and the required documentation to

be uploaded and submitted through askDFAS on

the DFAS.mil website, which is also accessible

on a mobile browser.

Status Notifications

DFAS is rolling out the use of status

notifications to keep you in the loop as forms or

documents you submit move through the

retired pay processing cycles.

Status notifications are a two-step or three-

step process that will update you when DFAS

receives forms or documents for processing by

mail or fax (or in some specific cases, through

askDFAS).

To receive status notifications for mail and

fax submissions (where available), please

ensure your email address is available and

updated in myPay. Most notifications are sent

via SmartDoc email, which requires a valid

email address in myPay.

myPay

https://mypay.dfas.mil

The quickest and most convenient way to

manage your retired pay is with myPay.

myPay provides convenient access to your

Retiree Account Statement, and lets you easily

update your contact information, your federal

tax withholding, your Arrears of Pay beneficiary,

or download your tax documents.

If you set up your myPay profile with an

email address, you can receive emailed

information from DFAS and from your Branch of

Service. Plus, if you have a current email

address in myPay, we can send you status

notifications for a growing number of

transactions.

myPay is available using the internet from

your computer or your mobile device browser

at: https://mypay.dfas.mil

If you are a Gray Area Retiree, DFAS created

a new kind of myPay account especially for you.

This account will help you stay connected to

important news and updates between the time

you retire from Service and the date you’re

eligible to receive retired pay. Find out how to

log on and update your contact information so

you never miss a message:

https://www.dfas.mil/grayarea

Look for our quarterly

DFAS Retiree Newsletter at

https://www.dfas.mil/retnews

Apr2023