Individually Unemployable Retirees Still Waiting

As of press time, no decision had been made concerning more than 20,000 military retirees who have disability ratings from the Department of Veterans Affairs of less than 100 percent but who are rated 100 percent individually unemployable. Retirees with VA disability ratings of 100 percent are now drawing full concurrent receipt due to a provision of the fiscal 2005 Defense Authorization Act. Legal officials still haven’t agreed on whether the wording of the provision includes individually unemployable retirees. Without a legal decision, Defense Department officials have not authorized the Defense Finance and Accounting Service to make payments. It’s possible that policymakers will pass the problem to Congress. In that case it could take months to pass new legislation to pay the IU retirees, if it’s passed at all.