If an American consumer doesn’t pay their debts, there are several avenues of recourse including negative credit reporting, small claims court, and a practice known as garnishment.

Garnishment can be applied to wages, retirement pay, or other “countable income” and military members are not exempted from such garnishment where it is warranted.

It’s true that military members have certain protections in place against garnishment, but in some cases even those protections aren’t enough to prevent a creditor or a spouse from seeking legal relief from a lack of payment.

Wage garnishment is not automatic, and military pay garnishment requires specific steps and paperwork that must be filed with the appropriate government agency. There are several considerations both creditor and debtor must be aware of in such cases.

Garnishing a currently serving military member’s pay requires a specific set of steps; so does the garnishment of military retirement pay. The two processes are not identical and it’s a mistake to assume you can get the same legal relief via garnishment for retirement pay as you can active duty pay.

How does military retiree pay garnishment work? As you will see from the information below, much depends on state law, and the applicable dates of a military member’s federal service, marriage and divorce where applicable, and other factors.

---

What Wage Garnishment Is And Is Not

Before discussing retiree pay garnishment, it’s important to understand what happens and what does not happen with wage garnishment.

In most cases, involuntary wage garnishment cannot happen without a court order. For military members, there must also be a request filed with the federal government for the garnishment which is subject to approval or denial by the government.

When retirement pay is garnished, there are specific rules about how and under what circumstances that may occur. Military retiree pay cannot be garnished without the assistance of the court, and even then if proper steps are not taken it may be impossible to collect.

Military Retiree Pay Garnishment Is Not Handled By The Federal Government On Behalf Of The Creditor

Wage garnishment is not permitted in some cases, and garnishment for military people requires payments to go directly to the court or the creditor with no third parties involved.

The military or the federal government does not handle or accept payments of any kind. It will not place the funds into escrow or have any other involvement in the payment portion of the arrangement.

Any such requests for government assistance in collecting or accepting garnishment funds will be automatically denied by the federal government. 

There Is A Difference Between Military Pay Garnishment And Military Retirement Pay Garnishment

Those currently serving are not permitted to have a wage garnishment placed for commercial debts. This does NOT mean that creditors have no recourse; in such cases an involuntary allotment, not a pay garnishment, is used to collect the debt.

But military retirees cannot have their retirement pay garnished for commercial debt; the DFAS official site explains that military retirement pay is exempt. However, military retirement pay CAN be garnished for unpaid child support, alimony, property division, etc.

This is permitted under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act, which explains the limits, rights, and responsibilities under the Act for both creditors and military members.

---

What You Need To Know About Military Retiree Pay Garnishment

Former spouses of retired military members are not automatically awarded or entitled to the member’s retired pay or a portion of that pay.

In order to qualify for military retirement pay garnishment, the ex-spouse must have a court judgment or decision in the ex-spouse’s favor that specifically awards “a portion of a member’s military retired pay as property in their final court order” according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Agency official site.

How Federal Law Affects Garnishment of Military Retirement Pay

The Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act, also known as USFSPA), addresses retirement pay garnishment issues. USFSPA establishes/acknowledges the legal right for state courts “to distribute military retired pay to a spouse or former spouse.”

USFSPA also provides a mechanism for making sure those court orders are fulfilled via the federal government (in this case through the Department of Defense.)

What Court Orders May Be Enforced Under USFSPA

State court orders that can be enforced under the Act include:

• Divorce decrees
• Dissolution of marriage
• Annulment
• Legal separation
• Court-ordered property settlements

Under the Act, in order to be enforceable with the government, the court order “must provide for the payment” of child support, alimony, or retired pay as property, etc. This order must be on behalf of a former spouse, which is a very important point.

There may be no provisions for retirement pay garnishment for a non-spouse, but it is very important to insure that the nature of the relationship in such cases is not addressed by other parts of state law.

For example, how long does a couple have to reside together in the same domicile before they are considered to be in a common-law relationship?

Not all states recognize common law marriages, but if you live in a state that does, it’s best to be familiar with such laws and how they can potentially affect a claim, lawsuit, or related issues. Don’t assume your state does or does not have a common law marriage rule, domestic partnership laws, or something similar to them.

Not knowing could cost a great deal down the road and that is true for both plaintiff and respondent.

What The Federal Government Says About Garnishment Of Military Retirement Pay

The Defense Finance and Accounting System official site reminds creditors, lawyers, and those who hire them, “Retired military members’ pay is exempt from garnishment for commercial debts.” That is the major difference between active duty garnishment and retirement pay garnishment.

Under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA), child support, spousal support, or a property division are allowable if a court chooses to garnish retirement pay for those requirements.

The 10/10 Rule

Military retirement pay garnishment is affected by something known as the 10/10 rule. That rule states that in order to qualify for certain types of military pay garnishment (dividing retired pay as property to be enforced under the USFSPA–see below for more information on that procedure), the service member/military retiree and the former spouse “must have been married to each other for 10 years or more during which the member performed at least 10 years of military service creditable towards retirement eligibility,” according to DFAS at the time of this writing.

This rule does not affect all possible circumstances under which pay garnishment may be justified, but it is an important consideration.

If you are not sure how the 10/10 rule may affect your claim, it’s best to seek legal counsel with experience in both general divorce law in your state, military cases in particular.

Requirements Of The Creditor To File For Garnishment

The creditor must serve the Defense Finance And Accounting Agency (DFAS) with a request for garnishment that meets the government requirements.

Those requirements include an authorization for the paying agency to withhold funds and pay them to the court or the creditor. These procedures must conform to state law. The creditor must send all documents to DFAS at:

Garnishment Law Directorate-HGA
P.O. Box 998002
Cleveland OH 44199-8002

Fax: 877-622-5930

What You Should Know About State Jurisdiction

DFAS states that in order to have authority to enforce state court orders for military retiree pay garnishment, federal guidelines direct the state court to “have had jurisdiction over the member” due to one or more of the following:

• The retiree’s residence is within the jurisdiction of the state court (other than because of military assignment)
• The retiree’s home is located within the jurisdiction of the court, or
• The retiree gives consent to the jurisdiction of the court
• There is consent to the court’s jurisdiction via “taking some affirmative action in the legal proceeding”

Other Important Considerations

For divorces that happened while the service member was still on active duty and not retired, the DFAS site reminds that “the member’s rights under the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA), or, for divorces prior to December 19, 2003” SCRA provisions must be observed by the state court.

In situations where retired pay for military members is being divided as community property or as a “marital asset,” the court award must include a specific dollar amount, or divide the retirement pay in percentages.

In situations where the divorce occurs while the military member is still on active duty, the ex-spouse may be offered a “hypothetical retired pay award.” DFAS states that percentage awards for the retired pay “is automatically construed.”

DFAS also states that something known as a “Qualified Domestic Relations Order” is not required to divide retired pay as long as the former spouse’s award is clearly defined in the court order.

In 2017, federal legislation known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2017 affected how certain aspects of this garnishment process is handled.

The NDAA states that for all applicable divorces filed after December 23, 2016 where the court order becomes final prior to the military member’s retirement, the definition of retirement pay as “disposable income” is limited to “the amount of basic pay payable to the member for the member’s pay grade and years of service at the time of the court order.”

---

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News

---

Related Articles
Military Pay Garnishment	Understanding Military Pay
Military Retirement Calculators	Military Retirement Benefits
States that Do & Don’t Tax Military Retirement Pay	State Veteran’s Benefits

For Reserve and Guard service members, calculating military retirement pay is an important part of financial and life planning. Eligibility to receive military retirement pay is based on service points earned during service. Those points rely closely on the professional choices a service member makes.

Do you need to know how to calculate Reserve or Guard retirement points? Here’s how the process works:

Military Retirement: An Overview

For those serving on active duty, retirement is possible once 20 “qualifying years” of military service have been reached.

There are some cases where early retirement is possible with fewer than 20 years of service, but military early retirement is not an open-ended option. You may only be permitted to opt-into early retirement when the Department of Defense authorizes early-out programs.

These programs are often run to help the various branches of military service meet end-strength goals. In times when the DoD needs to cut the number of troops currently serving, early-out retirement options are often made available to facilitate those goals.

Active duty military members may also medically retire before 20 years of service, depending on the circumstances, but this is not an option the service member chooses. A military medical review board makes the decision (or an equivalent body) at the discretion of the government.

Definition Of Terms

For this article, you will find the term “Reserve Component” used to describe members of both the Reserve and National Guard.

---

Guard And Reserve Retirement

Reserve Components also need 20 years of military service, but calculating years of service differs in active-duty. In this case, it’s 20 years of “good service” and can be any combination of service between the Guard and Reserve. Reservists have a different system of doing this than the National Guard. We will examine the separate Guard and Reserve retirement systems, and what is meant by “good service” below.

Guard and Reserve members are free to retire when they are eligible, but unlike active duty retirement, Guard and Reserve members can not receive their military pay until age 60.

The Definition Of A “Good Year” For Members Of The Guard And Reserve

Since retirement points are a key factor in calculating retirement pay and eligibility for retirement, it’s good to understand the definition of a “good year.”

A good year in the Guard or Reserve represents 50 earned points by the service member. Points are awarded for a variety of activities including simple participation (15 points per year) and additional points for various types of active and inactive service:

• Active Service including Active Duty (AD), Active Duty for Training (ADT), and Annual Training (AT)
• Inactive Duty Service, including Inactive Duty Training (Paid and Non-Paid), membership, and Non-residential correspondence courses.

For active service participation, the Guard or Reserve member earns a single point for each calendar day spent in the Active Service category listed above. No double-dipping on points is allowed, meaning you can earn only one point per day with no other points possible for other activities.

Members on Inactive Duty Service may be able to earn retirement points in paid or unpaid status (depending on the type of military service). Points possible may vary depending on the nature of the duty or training performed.

Inactive Service duties can include honor guard service for military funerals, weekend Drills, attending professional development courses via distance learning or correspondence courses, and other activities.

Weekend Drill periods can earn a service member four retirement points per weekend.

How Many Points You Can Earn In A Typical Year In The Guard/Reserve

A year’s worth of Guard or Reserve service may be worth more than 70 points, including 15 points for participating each year, 48 points for monthly drill activities, another 15 points for annual training which may vary depending on mission requirements) and any extra points earned through continuing education, honor guard detail, being mobilized, etc.

The figures listed above are based on a typical year where the Guard or Reserve member serves the normal one weekend each month and two weeks per year of service.

If your Guard/Reserve unit is not as active in a calendar year, you may not be able to earn 50 points. Conversely, you may receive far more than 50 points in a year if your unit is especially active. Federal law dictates a cap on how many retirement points you may earn in a single year, which varies depending on when you began military service.

What To Remember About Retirement Points And Earning A Good Year

Reserve and Guard members may not always earn enough points (50 points per year) to qualify for a good year in any given year. The points still count toward retirement in such cases but do not increase the number of Good Years on the service member’s record.

Track Your Retirement Points

Your retirement points should be current in your military records at all times. You can access these records the way you typically would via your unit orderly room or on your branch of military service’s official site.

You should, at a minimum, review your service records once per year to make sure you have accurate information listed there. You should also maintain a physical record of your military service as a backup, just in case.

It’s not just that your electronic service records may be subject to errors, glitches, hacking, or other issues. It’s useful to have instant access to your data for both retirement purposes and for any additional benefit or application that may require it.

---

How Much Is Your Retirement Worth?

Active duty military retirement may be worth 2.5% of the service member’s basic pay for every year served, depending on the retirement plan selected.

If you serve the full 20 years, your active duty retirement pay would be worth exactly half of your basic salary.

For the Reserve Component member, determining how much your retirement may be worth can be calculated by dividing total retirement points by 360 and comparing the number to the current military pay charts. Rank and time-in-service will count in this calculation.

Reservists and Guard members may also be eligible for the Blended Retirement System, which became effective on January 1, 2018. Reservists with more than 4,320 retirement points do not transfer and remain in their previously selected retirement pay plan. Reservists who joined on or after January 1, 2018, are automatically enrolled in the Blended Retirement System.

However, a Reserve or Guard member who did not earn 4,320 or more retirement points as of December 31, 2017, has an option to switch to Blended Retirement or stay in the “legacy retirement system.”

---

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News.

---

Related Articles
Military Retirement Calculators	Military Retirement Benefits
Military and Civil-Service Pensions	Retiring or Separating Overseas
5 Tips For a Successful Civilian Transition	Jobs in the Guard/Reserve

The Department of Veterans Affairs offers a Survivors Pension benefit, also sometimes known as a Death Pension, to qualifying surviving spouses and certain qualifying dependents.

This is a tax-free VA benefit intended to help “a low-income, un-remarried surviving spouse and/or unmarried child(ren) of a deceased Veteran with wartime service” according to the VA.

This is a need-based benefit and is not available to all applicants. To qualify, part of the process involves establishing the yearly family income for the household that would receive the benefit if approved.

For those who qualify for this VA death pension, the Department of Veterans Affairs agrees to pay the difference (in 12 monthly installments each year) between the applicant’s countable income and the Congressional pension limit.

Who Qualifies For The VA Survivors Pension Benefit

There is a two-pronged qualification process. The first is based on the VA requirements for the servicemember who died–they must:

• Have a military discharge not characterized as Dishonorable.
• Have served 90 days or more of active military service, with at least one day during a wartime period as defined by the VA. This requirement applies to all who served on or before September 7, 1980.
• Those with qualifying active duty service AFTER September 7, 1980 requires a minimum of 24 months on duty OR the full period for which called or ordered to active duty with at least one day during a wartime period.

Eligible Wartime Periods

As mentioned above, VA Death Pensions may be offered to the surviving spouse or dependents of a military member who died with at least one day of service during a qualifying wartime period.

The VA defines these wartime periods as follows:

• Mexican Border Period (May 9, 1916 – April 5, 1917)
• World War I (April 6, 1917 – November 11, 1918)
• World War II (December 7, 1941 – December 31, 1946)
• Korean conflict (June 27, 1950 – January 31, 1955)
• Vietnam era (February 28, 1961 – May 7, 1975 for Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam at that time; otherwise August 5, 1964 – May 7, 1975)
• Gulf War (August 2, 1990 – through a future date to be set by law or Presidential Proclamation)

Income and Net Worth Limitations

For this benefit the VA must determine the household’s countable income which can include earnings from all members of the household. That includes any eligible dependents, disability payments, retirement pay, etc. You may also find that interest and dividends, income from farms or small businesses are also part of your countable income.

Some things can result in a reduction of the countable income number, which is a big help for those in need of this benefit. Unreimbursed medical bills, and other expenses permitted by the Department of Veterans Affairs may help to lower your overall net worth or countable income.

The VA has set a net worth limit (at the time of this writing and subject to change via legislation or VA program policy modifications) at just over $127 thousand per year.

Applicants must report their entire net worth, described as the “sum of a claimant’s or beneficiary’s assets and annual income” by the VA. You will be required to fully report your net worth in order to qualify for this program.

Who Can Apply For The VA Death Pension

This VA benefit is need-based and the annual household income total must meet congressional limits to qualify.

Unremarried surviving spouses of qualifying service members (see above) are eligible to apply for the death benefit regardless of the spouse’s age. However, there are age restrictions for dependents, who must be a child of a wartime veteran who has died AND:

• Has not yet turned 18 OR
• Has not turned age 23 and is taking classes at a VA-approved school OR
• Has been declared permanently incapable of self-care before the age of 18.

---

How The Death Benefit Is Calculated

There is a Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) calculation, which is subject to change each year depending on legislation, program guideline changes, and other variables.

How these rates are calculated depends on the nature of the household getting the benefit. The VA Death Benefit may be calculated including (but not limited to) the following:

• Without Dependent Child
• With One Dependent Child
• Housebound Without Dependents
• Housebound With One Dependent
• Aid & Attendance (A&A) Without Dependents
• A&A With One Dependent

Increased Survivor Benefits

Some applicants who have a need for VA Aid & Attendance services may also be interested in claiming increased survivor benefits based on that need. Approval for increased VA survivor benefits may be possible for those who meet VA criteria including:

• The applicant has corrected vision of 5/200 or less in both eyes.
• The applicant has a “concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees.”
• The applicant is a patient in a nursing home due due to incapacity.
• The help of another person is required by the applicant to perform personal functions required in everyday living.
• The applicant is bedridden, which is defined by the VA as having a “disability or disabilities requires that you remain in bed apart from any prescribed course of convalescence or treatment. Applicants will be required to prove they are “substantially confined to your immediate premises” because of a permanent disability.

Apply For The VA Death Pension

You can apply for the VA Death Pension by downloading VA Form 21P-534EZ, “Application for DIC, Death Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits.”

Complete this paperwork and submit by mail to the VA Pension Management Center in your state. You can find these centers using an online VA tool called the VA Facility Locator.

What You Should Know Before Filling Out VA Form 21P-534EZ

You will need to provide supporting documentation with your VA form including a death certificate and other proof of service. You may be required to submit proof of legal marriage and other documents as required by VA.

When filling out the form you are asked to submit “all necessary income and asset information”; this may take time to gather and assemble completely for submission.

Never send originals to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Always send copies and be prepared to spend a bit of extra time locating and duplicating your documents. Your documents generally cannot be returned to you once they have been submitted.

It’s best to give yourself plenty of time to accomplish this, especially if you do not have all the required documents at your disposal. If you are trying to meet or beat a deadline, this process may prove to have a will of its own. It is best not to expect the VA to be in a hurry with any single claim or request.

In cases where an applicant may be applying for multiple benefits at the same time, additional requirements may apply. For example, the VA instructs spouses who need to claim a Survivors Pension along with a special monthly pension, the following requirements may apply:

• A completed VA Form 21-2680, Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance.
• In cases where the applicant is a patient in a nursing home, a completed VA Form 21-0779, Request for Nursing Home Information in Connection with Claim for Aid and Attendance is also needed.
• The VA official site advises that surviving spouses will have extra paperwork to gather when claiming benefits “for a child or biological/adoptive parent of the veteran.” For example, a copy of the birth certificate (or adoption records from a court of law) “showing relation to the veteran.”
• If claiming benefits for a child of the veteran (between the ages of 18 and 23), VA Form 21-674, Request for Approval of School Attendance may also be required depending on the benefits you seek.
• When claiming on behalf of a “seriously disabled child of the veteran” any relevant, private medical treatment records that document disabilities before the age of 18 will be necessary.

---

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News

---

Related Articles
VA Survivors Pension	State Veteran’s Benefits
Survivors’ Pension Rate Tables	Money & Finance
VA Benefits for Spouses and Dependents	VA Aid & Attendance

There are many reasons why a military member’s pay might be subject to garnishment. An attempt to collect an unpaid commercial debt is one, an attempt to collect alimony or child support is another.

There is some confusion over the issue of military pay garnishment and if you don’t know your rights and responsibilities this is an aspect of military personal finance that can become a huge worry in certain cases. But knowing is half the battle.

What Is Military Pay Garnishment?

Military pay is subject to a variety of deductions including federal tax, and state withholding where applicable (not all states tax military pay). There are deductions for retirement plans, and allotments.

What’s an allotment? There are several different types but one of the most widely used is the allotment to repay Advance Pay. Service members have the option to choose advance pay in association with a permanent change of station move, resulting in an “allotment” that is deducted from the service member’s pay until the advance is repaid.

Military pay can be garnished if the service member is found to have unpaid alimony or child support. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that this type of garnishment is done without the knowledge of the Department of Defense.

In order for any such type of garnishment the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) will get involved, and that could also mean attention from the service member’s chain of command.

If it sounds like that attention is likely to be punitive, that’s because it IS likely to be so. The Department of Defense takes a dim view of military members failing to meet their financial obligations in general.

The DoD definitely does not gloss over a failure to meet financial commitments where military spouses and dependents are concerned, even if the family is in the middle of divorce proceedings.

---

How Military Pay Garnishment Works

Generally speaking, you cannot simply garnish the wages of a military member even if you have a valid claim that the servicemember owes you or your company money. Procedures must be followed, and they may vary depending on circumstances, current federal law, the nature of the indebtedness, and other variables.

Alimony And Child Support

DFAS will enforce a garnishment order in cases involving spousal support (alimony) and/or child support, but ONLY if there is a court order. That order must contain specific language directing the employer to withhold funds from the military member.

Spouses who need to apply for a DFAS Child Support garnishment will need to contact the appropriate state agency (usually a state Child Support Enforcement office or similar) or seek the help of an experienced family law attorney.

Spouses who need to terminate child support or alimony, a court order is required here as well. The termination order must be issued by an entity with the authority to do so, or the termination date must have been specified in the original court order.

The military member having wages garnished for child support or spouse support can also have the payments terminated by showing proof that the obligation was fulfilled or is no longer applicable. That may be due to the child supported by the payments turning 18, with submitted documentation as proof.

Commercial Debt And Military Pay Garnishment

Technically speaking, for commercial debts you may not have your pay garnished in the same way that it would be in cases where alimony and child support are concerned. But your pay can still be affected.

According to the DFAS official site, commercial creditors including banks and credit card companies may be able to get help collecting via a request to DFAS for an involuntary allotment.

Military members with unpaid commercial debt are at risk just like any other consumer if that unpaid debt gets out of hand. Creditors who take a service member to court and win a civil judgment can petition DFAS to enforce that judgment in the form of an involuntary allotment.

A creditor doesn’t get this support automatically. DD Form 2635, an application for an involuntary allotment against the debtor, is required. In such cases, DFAS involvement does not include collecting or processing payments. The payments must go directly to the court or to the creditor(s).

DD Form 2635

DD Form 2635 isn’t just a request to get the federal government’s help in collecting a commercial debt; the requestor must certify certain things are true or applicable to the case in question.

For example, a creditor filling out DD Form 2635 must certify that, in cases where the judgment was made while the military member was serving on active duty, that he or she was either present at the time OR represented by “an attorney of the member’s choosing in the proceedings.”

In cases where the veteran or service member was not present or represented by an attorney at the judicial proceedings, “that the judgment complies with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.”

The creditor is also required to certify that the debt in question has not been discharged in bankruptcy, and that the military member has not filed for protection under U.S. bankruptcy law.

This form also requires the creditor to certify that in the event that the judgment is overpaid, the creditor will refund the amount of overpayment “within 30 days of discovery or notice of the overpayment, whichever is earlier.”

Those who do not refund any overpayments risk being denied the ability to request involuntary allotments in the future.

Consequences Of Having Military Pay Garnished Or Subject To Allotment

For those in uniform, it should be pointed out that, as described above, pay garnishment and involuntary allotments can lead to attention from your chain of command. That attention could result in a Letter of Counseling, A Letter of Reprimand, Captain’s Mast, or other Non-Judicial Punishment depending on circumstances.

This is a circumstance to be avoided at all costs by those in uniform as the Uniform Code Of Military Justice requires service members to meet all financial obligations and give financial support to spouses and dependents.

What Creditors Should Do Before Filing DD Form 2635

Prior to submitting paperwork, DFAS requests that creditors review CFR Part 112; 113 (1995), Indebtedness of Military Personnel and the Service Members’ Civil Relief Act.

Furthermore, DFAS rules state that 90 days notice is required before any involuntary allotment collection can occur. A servicemember can only have one involuntary allotment running at any given time.

---

What Military Members Can Do If They Are Having Their Pay Garnished Or Receive An Involuntary Allotment

Those in uniform should know that when the creditor sends a petition to DFAS to collect a debt, the military member is not trapped without recourse, even if the legal proceedings have ended in the creditor’s favor.

Those in uniform facing such garnishment or allotment actions have the following recourse that can be used as a defense where applicable. Note that in all cases, supporting documentation may be required to fully develop the claim or defense against the allotment/garnishment:

• The creditor failed to comply with the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act.
• Military duty or mission requirements caused the servicemember to be absent from the legal proceedings that led to the request for garnishment or involuntary allotment.
• Information used to justify the allotment/pay garnishment is false.
• Information used to justify the allotment/garnishment contains errors.
• The court judgment has been satisfied, set aside, or materially amended.
• The servicemember has some form of legal protection against an involuntary allotment.

DFAS states that it is required by federal law to comply with a court-ordered bankruptcy when an “automatic stay” is issued. In such cases, if the military member files bankruptcy the garnishment is removed.

Filing for bankruptcy is something not to be taken lightly; it may require the use of a bankruptcy lawyer and you may be required to liquidate certain assets depending on the type of bankruptcy you file.

Limits To Pay Garnishment and Involuntary Allotments

• Federal law governs how much military pay can be taken in cases of garnishment or allotment. For garnishment (which is related to spouse support and child support) the limit can be as high as 60% of disposable income depending on circumstances.
• The phrase “disposable income” means the garnishee’s gross pay, after taxes and other required deductions. In cases where military retirement pay is concerned the limit is 50% of the disposable income from retirement pay, and for commercial debt and support payments combined the maximum is 65%.
• For commercial debts, up to 25% of the members’ disposable income can be garnished. These percentages are subject to change due to legislation, DoD policy, state law, and other variables.
• DFAS is also limited in cases where a support garnishment (family support as opposed to the collection of a commercial debt) is earmarked for more than 25 percent of the service member’s disposable earnings. In such cases, DFAS will not honor a commercial garnishment; the official state advises creditors, “By federal law, child support has priority over commercial garnishments.”
• DFAS will reject an allotment in cases where the court requires an escrow payment. As mentioned elsewhere in this article, DFAS requires all payments to go directly to the court or the creditor.
• Retired military members’ pay is exempt from garnishment for commercial debts.

What Happens If DFAS Gets Multiple Garnishment or Allotment Requests For The Same Person

The DFAS official site states clearly that under existing guidelines only one allotment or garnishment is allowed at a time.

DFAS pays multiple garnishment requests on a first-come, first-served basis. The remaining requests will be placed in the DFAS system; the ones with no expiration date will, in the words of the DFAS FAQ page about allotments, “retain their priority.”

Requests that have expiration dates will lose priority once the expiration date has come and gone.

---

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News

---

Related Articles
Military Pay Calculator	Military Pay Dates
Understanding Military Pay	Banks That Deposit Military Pay Early
Will The Military Pay Off Your Student Loans?	Historical Military Pay Charts 1949 to 2019

When it’s time to retire or separate from military service, getting your medical records and having your medical issues rated by the Department of Veterans Affairs is an important part of the process.

When you get rated by the VA for possible compensation for service-connected or service-aggravated medical conditions, it’s easy to assume that this is a one-time only process. But if you feel your conditions are improving or getting worse, you may be able to petition the VA for a review of your condition for a revised rating.

There are no guarantees when it comes to pursuing a revised VA disability rating, and there is also potential that the Department of Veterans Affairs may lower the rating based on the evidence. But there are plenty of cases where the review-and an increase in disability rating-is justified and necessary.

---

Should Veterans Apply For Increased Ratings From The Department Of Veterans Affairs?

This is a question best answered on a case-by-case basis. There are no guarantees that the VA will raise your disability rating, and your entire file may be subject to review not just the condition you want to have reviewed.

So the answer is not simple, but there are ways you can get closer to a decision. One of those is to examine the VA Schedule For Rating Disabilities, also known as 38 CFR Book C.

Reviewing this document can go a long way toward helping you understand what the VA is looking for, how the agency rates your specific condition, and what the compensation percentages are.

As mentioned above, the VA is willing to re-examine your medical claim, but if you don’t understand how the VA does this, under what conditions additional compensation may be justified, and what the maximum compensation might be for your condition, you take a big risk in getting re-evaluated.

VA Maximum Compensation Rules

 There are some medical conditions that are assigned a specific percentage of disability. In many cases that percentage cannot be increased. If you are rated at a certain percentage for a given condition, you may not be eligible for more compensation even if the problem gets worse.

If you are already at the maximum amount of VA compensation for that medical issue, a review of the condition will not give you the opportunity for additional payment.

The Tinnitus Example

An excellent example of this can be found in 38 CFR Book C under the heading Impairment of Auditory Acuity. One of the most common types of VA medical claims involves hearing damage. Military people are commonly exposed to loud noises, continuously running engine noise, power tools, etc.

As a veteran you may experience hearing damage with resulting loss of hearing, degraded hearing, or persistent hearing problems such as tinnitus.

Tinnitus is a continuous or prolonged ringing in the ears. The ringing (or other auditory disturbance related to the condition) may be intermittent or it may be continuous. The ringing can get louder over time depending on the extent of the damage or future exposure to loud noises.

The VA medical claims process includes a disability rating percentage for tinnitus. But the maximum compensation amount for this condition is 10% and will never increase beyond that unless the VA revises its’ schedule of compensation and disability ratings for the condition.

That means that if you submit a request to have your tinnitus reviewed and are already collecting the maximum amount, you won’t be awarded more even if it’s demonstrable that your tinnitus has gotten worse since leaving the military. The maximum percentage rate is your “ceiling” for compensation for that condition.

Not All VA Disability Ratings Are Awarded At The Maximum

All that said above, you may not be awarded the maximum amount of compensation for a specific medical issue, or you may have been awarded the maximum amount for an issue “as-is” without added complications.

In those cases, when the condition gets worse or begins showing signs of complications, you may be fully justified in getting your case reviewed by the VA to see if more compensation and treatment are needed.

If you don’t know the maximum VA disability rating for your condition in its current state or whether certain complications may increase your eligibility for more care and disability pay, you should definitely review the VA Schedule For Rating Disabilities at the VA official site to see what your options are.

---

How To Prepare For A Request For The VA To Review Your Medical Conditions

If you feel confident that, after reviewing the VA literature on compensation and maximum limits for your conditions, that you have a case for increased compensation, you’ll need to be careful and methodical about moving forward.

This includes several steps that can help you make the strongest case possible for a review and increase in VA disability percentages.

Know And Understand Your Current VA Rating

As mentioned above you will need to fully understand the VA disability rating for your existing condition and the VA justification for assigning that rating.

For example, tinnitus ratings are a maximum 10%. Do you know why this is? Or understand what VA policies dictate the cap on such ratings?

These are important things to understand going forward as these details can help you decide if you have a case the VA will take seriously or if you should leave well enough alone based on the risk of actually having the rating lowered based on current VA policies.

Gathering Evidence

It’s not enough to proceed with your original medical records from the first time you submitted the claim. VA doctors want to know that the condition has changed and under what circumstances that change has occurred.

The going advice is that you should never assume the Department of Veterans Affairs will do this work for you. It’s your claim, and you will need to be proactive about gathering the documentation to support your claim.

If you do not have any medical records to support the claim that your condition is worse than originally diagnosed, or that your condition has gotten worse since the original claim, you will need to generate those records by getting evaluated and diagnosed all over again.

Getting Evaluated By An Expert

You may need to get re-evaluated by an independent medical authority not associated with the Department of Veterans Affairs before you submit your request for a claim review. What you need is an expert in disability medicine who can help make more sense out of medical issues that are unclear or that may be misinterpreted or misdiagnosed during the VA’s review process.

For example, what is the difference between the symptoms of PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI? Are there any differences in these symptoms? Are medical or emotional problems related to either of these considered “co-morbid” with other medical conditions? Does TBI occur simultaneously with PTSD?

You may not know the answer to these questions, but an independent medical expert with expertise in disability medicine can help you understand what is diagnosable, what is treatable, and when your condition may be complicated by other factors. And if there has been a general worsening of the condition overall, you may be able to get help tracking and identifying such complications.

---

How To File A Request For An Increased VA Disability Rating

 You will be required to fill out ​VA Form 21-526EZ. This form may be a bit confusing at first as it is used for a variety of things including applying for:

• Disability Service Connection
• Benefits Based on a Veteran’s Seriously Disabled Child
• Increased Disability Compensation
• Individual Unemployability
• Special Monthly Compensation
• Specially Adapted Housing/Special Home Adaptation
• Automobile Allowance
• Adaptive Equipment Compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1151
• Secondary Service Compensation
• Temporary Total Disability Rating

Who VA Form 21-526EZ Is For

VA instructions on this form advise those submitting a claim for increased disability compensation or for those who “disagree with an evaluation decided more than one year ago” to complete and submit VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits. But not all can use this form.

Those who disagree with a VA evaluation “decided within the past year and have new and relevant evidence” OR  for those who need to file a supplemental claim, (described by the VA as a claim after an initial claim for the same or similar benefit on the same or similar basis was previously decided) will need to file VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim.

You Can Apply Online

It is strongly encouraged for veterans to apply for VA disability compensation via the eBenefits portal.

This online application process allows you to upload all supporting documentation and file a claim without having to do the initial paperwork in person. The VA also allows you to get help from an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO). You can start looking for a VSO at your state’s Office of Veterans Affairs. A state-by-state guide to these offices is at the VA official site.

It is a very good idea to get the help of a VSO when submitting such claims; these officers have experience working with the VA system and may be able to help you save valuable time, better utilize your resources for gathering medical evidence, and may even be able to advise you on the practicality of your revised claim based on past experience in similar cases.

---

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News

---

Related Articles
Differences Between Military & VA Ratings	State Veteran’s Benefits
VA Disability for Hearing Loss	VA Hearing Loss Claim Rating
How To Win A VA Disability Claim	What To Do After Winning A VA Claim