Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC)/Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) Open Season

If a retiree is eligible for both CRDP and CRSC, he or she may participate in the CRDP/CRSC Open Season.  This annual open season election period will be from January 1, through January 31, 2007 and allows the retiree to choose which payment is preferred. Federal law states that you can receive CRDP or CRSC; not both.

Beginning in late December, eligible retirees will be mailed a CRDP/CRSC Open Season Election Form.  The retiree needs to return the form only if making a change from CRDP to CRSC or vice versa.  If the retiree prefers to keep things the way they are, they do nothing. The payments the retiree now receives will continue uninterrupted.

To help the retiree make a more informed decision, the form will include a comparison of the CRSC and CRDP entitlement amounts as well as information about the collection actions and taxes to which each type of payment is subject.

If the retiree wants to change from CRDP to CRSC, or vice versa, the form must be postmarked by January 31, 2007. If the form is dated after this date, it will not be processed and the current payments will continue uninterrupted.

The change in the payment will be effective with the first business day of February 2007. Due to a 30-day processing timeframe, the retiree may not receive their first payment until the first business day of March 2007 including a retroactive adjustment for the payment that would have been paid on the first business day of February.

The retiree’s election will remain in effect unless changed from CRDP to CRSC or vice versa in a subsequent annual open season.