The Veterans Affairs department has issued preliminary guidance on a law enacted late in 2004 revamping the way it pays physicians and dentists in the Veterans Health Administration. The law replaces the current physician and dentist pay schedules with a base pay to be determined by length of employment with VA, ranging from $90,000 to $133,000, plus market pay based on the individual’s work experience, the need for that specialty, the market demand and other factors, as well as incentive pay to reward performance of up to $10,000 per year. The guidance said that the new system will be effective January 8, 2006 and that during the transition period, physicians and dentists will continue to receive special pay under preexisting policy. The existing service requirements for considering special pay as basic pay for annuity computation purposes will continue to apply during the transition, it added, but effective with the start of the new system all special pay received under the former provisions will be creditable for retirement benefits.