Military Gray Area Retirees Now Have a New Avenue to Stay Connected: A New Kind of myPay Account

For Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve and Air Force Reserve Gray Area Retirees, there is a new avenue to stay connected and informed between the time they stop drilling and the time they start receiving retired pay.

It’s a new kind of myPay account especially for Gray Area Retirees.

If you are a Gray Area Retiree who uses your new myPay account to keep your contact information updated, you will benefit from receiving important information from DFAS and your Branch of Service, such as news about changes in laws or policies that impact your retirement benefits, reminders about applying for retired pay, and your Services’ Retiree Newsletter.

Plus, with a current email address in your new myPay account, when DFAS receives your completed application for retired pay from your Branch of Service, DFAS will send email status notifications to you: when we receive the application, when we begin working on the application, and when we complete it. Note: Gray Area Retirees should always work with their Branch of Service to complete their retired pay application.

Who are Gray Area Retirees?

Gray Area Retirees are members who served in the Guard or Reserves and qualified for retired pay, have retired from their service (stopped drilling), but are not yet at the age where they can start receiving retired pay. The time between their retirement from the service and the date when they are eligible to begin receiving retired pay is the “gray area.” The “gray area” applies even if the member is in the Retired Reserve.

A Guard or Reserve member is generally not eligible to start receiving retired pay until they reach age 60. However, some periods of active duty or active service can reduce the age requirement below 60 years of age (Reduced Age Retirement). The earliest age that a Gray Area Retiree can start receiving reduced age retired pay is age 50.

Find Out More

DFAS has additional helpful information for military Gray Area Retirees and a downloadable “Gray Area Future Retiree myPay Login Tips” with specific instructions at: https://www.dfas.mil/grayarea.


 

Page updated: Dec 15, 2021