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We continue to look for ways to make managing your retired pay account (after you apply and start receiving retired pay) easier and more convenient.
We have a group of online tools under the umbrella of askDFAS, which you may be familiar with from managing your military pay. Our tools are grouped within the area of “Ask Retired Pay.” These tools allow retirees receiving retired pay to make some adjustments on their account online, upload a form or document online, or ask a question online.
This year, we undertook a major project to refresh and expand the tools available in askDFAS for retirees.
You can read the articles in this issue for a detailed overview of what is now available. However, since you aren’t yet accustomed to managing a retired pay account, we thought we would spotlight a few areas where these tools will help once you start receiving pay.
Example One: Let’s say you’ve left the gray area and you get your first retired pay statement, but you have a question about your Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) election. With our new online tools, instead of needing to call our Customer Care Center during business hours to ask your question, you can use our new askDFAS “Ask a Question” tool to send a question and get a response via askDFAS. It’s important to note that some account questions will require you to correctly answer validation questions before the information can be provided.
Example Two: Let’s say you’ve left the gray area and you received your first retired pay deposit, and then you move. It’s very important you notify DFAS of your new mailing address. But you don’t have to call or send us a form, you can use our askDFAS online self-service tool to conveniently change your mailing address for your retired pay account online.
Example Three: Let’s say you’ve left the gray area and started receiving your retired pay and you have a new baby. Congratulations! Now you need to make a change to your SBP coverage and beneficiaries. There is a DoD form to make this change: the DD Form 2656-6. In addition, you can upload a PDF of the completed form online via askDFAS along with your supporting PDF copy of the birth certificate.
And, by the way, we also have a new Form Wizard available on our Forms Library webpage, https://www.dfas.mil/raforms to help you fill out the DD Form 2656-6 correctly.
What’s a Form Wizard?
Form Wizards “take the form out of the form” by walking the user through the information needed to help ensure that all necessary fields are completed properly. Some of the Form Wizards also have a helpful link to submit the form through the corresponding askDFAS online upload tool.
Remember, when it’s time to apply for retired pay, you need to work with your Branch of Service to prepare and submit the application package to DFAS.
Whether you’re close to the time you’ll start receiving retired pay, or that’s a few years down the road, when you do reach that milestone, we hope you’ll take advantage of these online tools to make managing your retired pay account easier.
Page Update June 26 2024