# Plain Language Summary: Retired Pay Restoration Act

Right now, military retirees who have service-connected disabilities face an unfair choice: they can receive either their earned military retirement pay or disability compensation from the Veterans Affairs department, but not both. If they try to collect both, the government reduces their retirement pay dollar-for-dollar to match their disability payment. This bill would eliminate that penalty for more veterans and allow them to receive their full retirement pay alongside their disability compensation without any reduction.

For over a century, this "offset" forced disabled military retirees to essentially choose between two benefits they earned through their service. Since 1999, Congress has gradually expanded who qualifies for both payments, starting with the most severely disabled veterans (those rated 100 percent disabled) and combat-disabled retirees. This bill would take the next step by extending that same benefit to additional retirees with service-connected disabilities rated below 50 percent—people who currently fall through the cracks and don't qualify under existing rules. The bill would make these changes effective starting January 1, 2021, meaning eligible veterans could receive back payments from that date forward.

The practical impact is straightforward: veterans who spent their careers serving the country and now live with service-related disabilities would keep both their hard-earned retirement income and their disability benefits without financial penalty. This particularly helps mid-level disabled retirees who don't qualify under current thresholds but still deal with significant service-connected health issues. The bill reflects Congress's position that military retirement pay should never be reduced simply because a veteran also qualifies for disability compensation—both are earned benefits that shouldn't require choosing one over the other.

Retired Pay Restoration Act

Bilirakis, Gus M.

Retired Pay Restoration Act This bill allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability. Under current law, only individuals with service-connected disabilities rated at 50% or more receive both without offset. Individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability shall be eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay.