Military Retirement Vs. Disablility

The U.S. miliatry has separate retirement and disability benefit plans.

The U.S. military has a retirement system for those who spent their careers in one of the service branches and a disability pension system for those who suffer from service-related disabilities. These are separate systems, with each having its own rules and requirements.

Qualify

A service member must serve at least 20 years to qualify for the military retirement plan. To qualify for disability benefits, the service member must have an injury or disease that occurred while on active duty.

Retirement

The military uses various factors to decide what amount of retirement benefits a veteran should receive. Veterans who entered the service after August, 1986, typically receive a small percentage of the yearly average of their highest three years of base pay for each year of service. They also receive a cost of living allowance (COLA) based on the annual rate of inflation.

Disability

For disability benefits, the military uses a rating system that establishes the extent of the individual's physical condition and rates his disability on a percentage basis. For example, a service member with a serious leg injury might receive a rating of 50 percent disabled. A person's with a higher disability rating qualifies for more benefits.

References

• Military:The Military Retirement System
• Military:Veteran Disability Compensation
• Disabled World: VCompensationA`