Compensation and Benefits for Service Members and Veterans
TRICARE
TRICARE is the health care program serving active-duty Service members, National Guard and Reserve members, retirees, their families, survivors and certain former spouses worldwide.
To be eligible for TRICARE benefits, you must be registered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). The benefits you are entitled to and how you access them will depend upon your status as an active-duty, National Guard, Reserve, or retired Service member. If you are separated, but not retired, you may still be entitled to some TRICARE benefits. It is important that you speak with your regional managed care contractor or MTF TRICARE Service Center or benefit counselor for more information. Visit the TRICARE website “Plan Wizard” at www.tricare.mil/mybenefit for more information.
You may call the DEERS Support Office at 1-800-538-9552 (TTY/TTD: 1-866-363-2883) if you have questions about your eligibility status in their system. However this office cannot determine your eligibility; your unit personnel office enters that information into DEERS.
Disability Evaluation System (DES) Process
When you suffer a wound, illness, or injury, the doctors and staff of an appropriate medical facility will treat you. For many members, this is the end of the process if they are cured of the disease or fully recover from their wound or injury. For a small number of members, a wound, illness, or injury can result in a permanent condition that may make them unfit for continued duty in their current job. If you suffer a permanent or long-lasting effect from a wound, illness, or injury, the doctor will refer you to the DES.
Generally, the steps are:
Pay and Allowances
Depending on the outcome of the DES, you may receive compensation from the government. Pay and allowances may include:
VA offers a host of programs that you may be eligible for, depending on your situation. A few of the programs you might be eligible for include:
Salute Your Health by registering with the Veterans' Administration Healthcare. The VA's 10-10EZ form is available for download by clicking here.
VA Vet Centers
Vet Centers offer readjustment counseling – a wide range of services provided to combat veterans in the effort to help them make smooth transitions from military to civilian life. Call these centers toll free during normal business hours at 1-800-905-4675 (Eastern) and 1-866-496-8838 (Pacific). You can locate a Vet Center near you by going to their website at www.vetcenter.va.gov. Veterans Benefits and TRICARE: The VA and TRICARE have some similar benefits, but there are some significant differences as well. It is important for you to understand your benefits under both programs to ensure you choose the health program that best meets your needs. It is highly recommended that, after checking with the VA to determine your benefit eligibility, you also check with TRICARE. You can go to TRICARE.mil and create your own profile to tailor information about your specific benefit needs.
A complete Wounded, Ill and Injured Compensation and Benefits Handbook is available for download by clicking here.
Social Security Benefits
Military Service members can receive expedited processing of disability claims from Social Security. Benefits available through Social Security are different than those from VA and require a separate application. Social Security pays disability benefits through two programs:
How does military pay affect eligibility for disability benefits? You cannot engage in substantial work activity for pay or profit – also known as substantial gainful activity – and receive disability benefits at the same time.
Active-duty status and receipt of military pay does not, in itself, necessarily prevent payment of disability benefits. Receipt of military payments should never stop you from applying for disability benefits from Social Security. If you are receiving treatment at a military medical facility and working in a designated therapy program or on limited duty, your work activity will be evaluated to determine your eligibility for benefits. The actual work activity is the controlling factor and not the amount of pay you receive or your military duty status.
TRICARE is the health care program serving active-duty Service members, National Guard and Reserve members, retirees, their families, survivors and certain former spouses worldwide.
To be eligible for TRICARE benefits, you must be registered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). The benefits you are entitled to and how you access them will depend upon your status as an active-duty, National Guard, Reserve, or retired Service member. If you are separated, but not retired, you may still be entitled to some TRICARE benefits. It is important that you speak with your regional managed care contractor or MTF TRICARE Service Center or benefit counselor for more information. Visit the TRICARE website “Plan Wizard” at www.tricare.mil/mybenefit for more information.
You may call the DEERS Support Office at 1-800-538-9552 (TTY/TTD: 1-866-363-2883) if you have questions about your eligibility status in their system. However this office cannot determine your eligibility; your unit personnel office enters that information into DEERS.
Disability Evaluation System (DES) Process
When you suffer a wound, illness, or injury, the doctors and staff of an appropriate medical facility will treat you. For many members, this is the end of the process if they are cured of the disease or fully recover from their wound or injury. For a small number of members, a wound, illness, or injury can result in a permanent condition that may make them unfit for continued duty in their current job. If you suffer a permanent or long-lasting effect from a wound, illness, or injury, the doctor will refer you to the DES.
Generally, the steps are:
- Evaluate Service member’s fitness for duty.
- Authorize a return to duty for those members who are found fit.
- Approve disability separations or retirements, to include making a benefits determination, for those Service members who are found unfit.
Pay and Allowances
Depending on the outcome of the DES, you may receive compensation from the government. Pay and allowances may include:
- Severance pay
- Temporary Disability Retirement List (TDRL) pay
- Permanent Disability Retired List (PDRL) pay
- Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC)
- Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments (CRDP)
- Access to special/partial/casual pays
- Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)
- Pay and Allowance Continuation (PAC)
- Travel for your family
- Family Separation Allowance (FSA)
- Hardship Duty Pay Location (HDP-L)
- Hostile Fire Pay/Imminent Danger Pay (HFP/IDP)
- Combat Zone Tax Exclusion (CZTE)
- Savings Deposit Program (SDP)
- Veterans Administration (VA) Benefits
VA offers a host of programs that you may be eligible for, depending on your situation. A few of the programs you might be eligible for include:
- VA Health Care
- Disability Compensation
- Pension
- Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability
- Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI)
- Traumatic Injury Protection Payment (TSGLI)
- SGLI Disability Extension
- Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI)
- Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance (S-DVI) and Supplemental S-DVI
- Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI)
- VA Education Benefits
- Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance
- Vocation and Education Counseling
- Vehicle Purchase and Adaptation
- Housing Adaptation
- Clothing Allowance
Salute Your Health by registering with the Veterans' Administration Healthcare. The VA's 10-10EZ form is available for download by clicking here.
VA Vet Centers
Vet Centers offer readjustment counseling – a wide range of services provided to combat veterans in the effort to help them make smooth transitions from military to civilian life. Call these centers toll free during normal business hours at 1-800-905-4675 (Eastern) and 1-866-496-8838 (Pacific). You can locate a Vet Center near you by going to their website at www.vetcenter.va.gov. Veterans Benefits and TRICARE: The VA and TRICARE have some similar benefits, but there are some significant differences as well. It is important for you to understand your benefits under both programs to ensure you choose the health program that best meets your needs. It is highly recommended that, after checking with the VA to determine your benefit eligibility, you also check with TRICARE. You can go to TRICARE.mil and create your own profile to tailor information about your specific benefit needs.
A complete Wounded, Ill and Injured Compensation and Benefits Handbook is available for download by clicking here.
Social Security Benefits
Military Service members can receive expedited processing of disability claims from Social Security. Benefits available through Social Security are different than those from VA and require a separate application. Social Security pays disability benefits through two programs:
- The Social Security disability insurance program, which pays benefits to Service members and certain family members for those who not only worked long enough but paid enough Social Security taxes to receive this benefit, in the event of a qualifying disability.
- The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which pays benefits based on financial need.
How does military pay affect eligibility for disability benefits? You cannot engage in substantial work activity for pay or profit – also known as substantial gainful activity – and receive disability benefits at the same time.
Active-duty status and receipt of military pay does not, in itself, necessarily prevent payment of disability benefits. Receipt of military payments should never stop you from applying for disability benefits from Social Security. If you are receiving treatment at a military medical facility and working in a designated therapy program or on limited duty, your work activity will be evaluated to determine your eligibility for benefits. The actual work activity is the controlling factor and not the amount of pay you receive or your military duty status.
