Gray Area Retirees: Did You Know There is a New, Special myPay Account Just for You?

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 Service’s retiree newsletter.

Plus, coming soon: 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. Note: Gray Area Retirees should always work with their Branch of Service to complete their retired pay application.

How to Access a Gray Area Future Retiree myPay Account

We have a helpful downloadable Gray Area Future Retiree myPay Login Tips PDF with specific instructions at: https://www.dfas.mil/grayarea

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.

Did You Know? Individuals Can Have More Than One Pay Account in myPay

It’s important to note that the Gray Area Future Retiree myPay account is NOT the same as a Military Pay, Civilian Pay or Retired Pay myPay account. It is a separate account, although it is accessed with the same login and password as a Military Pay or other type of myPay account.

Depending on status, a Gray Area Retiree could see more than one type of pay account once they are logged in to myPay. Just like when you log in to online banking, you may see the option to view more than type of account: checking, savings, credit card, or mortgage. 

If you are new to the gray area, once you log in to myPay you could see the option to view your Military Pay account and your Gray Area Future Retiree account. Or, if you are a civilian employee and a Gray Area Retiree, you could see the option to view your Civilian Pay account and your Gray Area Future Retiree account. And in some cases, you might see both your Gray Area Future Retiree account and your Retired Pay account for a short time.

New Retired Pay Tips Available

If you have just applied for your military retired pay or are about to apply, we have some Retired Pay Helpful Tips with links to the pay calendar, information about taxes and SBP, the VA Waiver, CRDP, CRSC, and more!

The Tips are available to download at https://www.dfas.mil/grayarea

Find Out More

Check out the new, helpful information for military Gray Area Retirees at: https://www.dfas.mil/grayarea


 

Page Updated Jun 29, 2022