Medical Retirement

How does a Medical Retirement affect your VA benefits?

You can still receive VA disability compensation after medical retirement along with your medical retirement pay. You do not have to repay any benefits you receive as a result of your disability retirement.

A medical retirement is a Department of Defense program and not a VA program.

Military medical retirement, also known as Chapter 61 retirement, military disability retirement, or DoD disability retirement, is one of several military retirement options available for service members.

To qualify for medical retirement, you must have a disability that prevents you from performing your military duties.  There is no service length requirement.

To qualify for medical retirement, you must also undergo a medical evaluation developed by the DoD and the VA called the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES).

If you have less than 20 years and received a disability rating of 30% or more from the MEB you will get a Medical Retirement.  Also, if you have more than 20 years of service you will get a Medical Retirement regardless of the rating.  The condition must be service-connected.

Service members who are medically separated receive a single lump-sum severance payment.

You will receive two months of basic pay for each year of military service, with a minimum of three years and a maximum of 19 years.

If your disability occurred in the line of duty in a combat zone or while performing combat-related operations, you will be credited with six years of service for payment purposes.

The medical retirement process begins when your physician recommends a medical board because it becomes apparent that your condition may permanently interfere with your ability to serve on active duty.

There are four types of Medical Retirement:

Medical BRS [Calculator] – This is based on DoD disability percentage or years of service under the Blended Retirement System (BRS).

Medical High-3 [Calculator] – This is based on DoD disability percentage or years of service under the Legacy High-3 retirement plan.

Medical Final Pay [Calculator] – This is based on DoD disability percentage or years of service retirement under the Final Pay retirement plan, for those members who first joined prior to September 8, 1980.

Medical REDUX [Calculator] – This is based on DoD disability percentage or years of service under the REDUX retirement plan for those who opted for the Career Status Bonus at 15 years of service but are not yet retired.

See ALL CALCULATOR