Understanding Your Retiree Account Statement

The Retiree Account Statement (RAS) is a two-page document issued by DFAS to retirees that summarizes the retiree's pay, benefits and deductions at a specific point in time. It is a description of what a retiree may expect in an actual payment on the next pay date. A RAS may be issued throughout the year when changes are made to the retiree's account. However, if no changes are made during the year to the retiree's account, the RAS will only be issued annually.

A RAS consists of several sections, some of which show old and new financial information. Every statement will not contain all of the below items -- only those that apply to the specific retiree.

1. Pay Item Description:

• Gross Pay: Total amount of the retiree's pay.
• Misc Credit: A special payment - a refund or an underpayment of an entitlement usually subject to federal tax.
• VA Waiver: Amount of the retiree's VA Award that is deducted from the gross pay.
• Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Costs: Amount of money the retiree is paying for SBP. SBP provides a monthly annuity payment to a designated beneficiary after the death of the retiree. SBP costs are deducted from the gross pay and reduce the retiree's taxable income.
• Taxable Income: Amount of money that is subject to federal taxation.
• Federal Income Tax Withholding (FITW): Amount of federal tax paid based on the retiree's marital status and number of allowances.
• Additional FITW: Amount of additional taxes that a retiree has voluntarily elected to pay.
• State Income Tax Withholding (SITW): Amount of taxes that a retiree has elected to pay to a state.
• Allotments: Total of payments a retiree is paying for savings bonds; insurances; payments to individuals, savings, loans, etc.
• Tax Levy: Payments to the IRS for back taxes.
• Garnishment: Payments that are directed by a court order.
• Former Spouse: Court-ordered payments made to a former spouse in compliance with the Former Spouse Protection Act.
• Miscellaneous Deduction: Interest and other special deductions.

2. Payment Address:

• Location where the retiree's pay is sent.

3. Year to Date Summary:

• Summary of taxable income from the first payment date to the present.
• Total amount of federal tax withheld.
• Total amount of state tax withheld, if applicable.

4. Taxes:

• Federal tax withholding status for purposes of determining the amount of taxes to be withheld - married or single.
• Total exemptions.
• Additional FITW - voluntary additional amount of federal tax withheld.

5. Survivor Benefit Plan Coverage:

• Type of Coverage: Spouse only, Spouse & Child(ren), Child(ren) only, Insurable Interest Person, Former Spouse, Former Spouse and Child(ren), Declined Coverage, No Eligible Beneficiary.
• Cost: Amount of monthly SBP premium, including Reserve Component (RC) SBP cost if applicable.
• Annuity Base Amount: Total amount from which the designated beneficiary's annuity payment is calculated.
• Date of Birth: Primary annuitant's birth date and/or the birth date of the youngest child.
• Notes: Indicates how many months the retiree has paid toward the 360 month Paid-Up SBP total.

6. Allotments:

• Allotment Type: Details allotment type, payee, and monthly payable amount for all active allotments.

7. Arrears of Pay Beneficiary:

• Name, Share and Relationship: The person or persons designated by the retiree who will receive the retiree's final retired pay entitlement.

8. Message Section:

• Special Messages Regarding the Retiree's Account: May contain a variety of informational and action messages. Examples include annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) information, requests for information missing from retiree's account, helpful hints, etc.

Obtaining a Copy of Your RAS

You can call the Retired and Annuitant Pay Contact Center at 1-800-321-1080 to request a copy of your most recent RAS. Statements for prior time periods are not available through our customer service representatives. However you can access your statements for the entire prior year through your myPay account.