DFAS HELPFUL TIPS & TOOLS 

FOR RETIREES NEW TO RETIRED PAY

Pay Schedule

Retired pay is paid monthly, on the first day 

of the month, unless that day is a weekend or 

holiday. In that case, it is paid on the last 

business day of the prior month. For example, if 

May 1 is a Sunday, payday will be Friday, April 

29. 

https://www.dfas.mil/rapaycal

Our goal is to pay your first retired pay on 

the first business day of month following your 

retirement date. However, we can only do 

that if we receive a complete retirement 

package, including a correct, signed DD Form 

2656. 

Retiree Account Statements

You are used to seeing a Leave and Earnings 

Statement (LES) when it’s (almost) payday. 

Once you begin receiving retired pay, you will 

see a Retiree Account Statement (RAS), 

which is the equivalent of an LES for those 

receiving military retired pay. 

Your Retiree Account Statements will be 

available to view and download from myPay 

when your first retired pay is issued and then 

each month a few days prior to payday. 

When your retired pay account is established

initially, and your first payment issued, DFAS 

will mail you a welcome letter with a breakdown 

of your pay and deductions. However, 

depending on your first pay date, you may see 

your pay deposited in your bank account before 

your postal mail letter gets there. You may also 

see your first RAS in myPay before you get your 

postal mail letter. 

After that first RAS, if you set the 

preferences in your account to receive 

statements via postal mail, you will only receive 

a mailed monthly RAS if your pay changes. You 

will also receive a mailed RAS each January with 

your tax statement. However, your pay 

statements are available each month in 

myPay to view and download. 

 

Tax Statements

 

After you start receiving retired pay, your 

annual tax statement will be an IRS 1099-R

instead of a W-2. Your annual 1099-R will be 

available in myPay to view and download, 

usually in mid-to-late December. 

If you have the preferences in your account 

set to receive statements via postal mail, those 

statements are mailed no later than January 31 

of each year, along with your December RAS. 

Military Retired Pay Taxation Tips

Military retired pay is paid for many different 

reasons under many different laws. There are 

differences in the types of pay a military retiree 

might receive and the tax laws that apply to 

them. Whether a portion or all of an individual’s 

military retired pay is subject to federal income 

taxes depends on his/her individual 

circumstances. 

A military retiree can either use myPay or 

send an IRS Form W-4 to change the amount 

DFAS withholds for federal income taxes from 

their military retired pay.

An individual’s choice to have no withholding 

for federal taxes does not impact whether the 

individual’s military retired pay is actually 

subject to federal income taxes. Ultimately, the 

IRS will determine the amount of taxes owed on 

the military retired pay. 

Please note: the IRS requires any individual 

claiming exemption from federal withholding to 

provide a new Form W-4 at the beginning of 

each tax year certifying their exemption from 

withholding.

DFAS cannot provide tax advice. Please 

consult a tax professional or the IRS.

Please see our webpage regarding taxation of 

retired pay: 

https://www.dfas.mil/retpaytax

 Apr2023
DFAS Helpful Tips & Tools for Retirees – Page 2

Separation Pay 

If you received separation pay during your 

military career, it must be recouped upon 

retirement, either by VA, DFAS, or both.

 

DFAS: up to 40% of adjusted gross pay

(Adjusted gross = gross pay, less any

mandatory deductions)

VA: full net pay until separation pay 

recouped

(Net pay = amount deposited)

https://www.dfas.mil/seppayrecoup

VA Waiver, CRDP, CRSC

By law, VA disability compensation must be 

deducted from DoD retired pay. This is called 

the VA waiver. 

Concurrent Retired and Disability Pay (CRDP) 

and Combat-Related Special Compensation

(CRSC) can lessen the effect of the VA waiver. 

https://www.dfas.mil/vawaiver

Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and 

Reserve Component Survivor 

Benefit Plan (RCSBP)

SBP/RCSBP provides an income to your loved 

ones after you pass away. While drilling or 

active, RCSBP or SBP premiums are paid by 

DoD. When you received your 20-Year Notice of 

Eligibility (NOE) you had the opportunity to 

elect RCSBP or defer that election until you 

applied for retired pay. 

• SBP or RCSBP monthly premiums are 

deducted from retired pay or from CRSC. 

• Even if you filled out a 2656-5 or 1883 when 

you got your NOE, you still need to fill out a 

DD 2656. 

• If you did not defer your election, your

RCSBP election at NOE takes precedence 

when retired pay begins.

• If you’ve had life changing events during the 

Gray Area, provide copies of relevant 

documents (e.g., death certificate, divorce 

decree) to your Branch of Service when 

submitting your retired pay application. 

• If you did not fill out and return a 2656-5 or 

1883 when you got your NOE, AND your

NOE date was Jan. 2, 2001 or after, AND 

you had a spouse or child on your NOE date, 

by law you will be charged for RCSBP 

coverage when you retire.

https://www.dfas.mil/providesbp

Retired & Annuitant Pay News

Keep up with the latest news and 

announcements on the Retired & Annuitant Pay 

main webpage, plus quick links, and how-to’s 

for myPay.

https://www.dfas.mil/rapay

Forms Library

Need a form? The retiree and annuitant 

Forms library provides quick links to download

forms, Form Wizards, and other helpful form 

tools. 

www.dfas.mil/raforms

Tools to Make Forms Easier to Fill 

Out and Submit

DFAS is rolling out new tools to help retirees 

and annuitants fill out and submit forms easily 

and correctly. The tools include helpful PDF

Form Wizards, how-to checklists, and how-to 

videos.

The Form Wizards “take the form out of the 

form” by asking a series of questions and filling 

in your answers in the appropriate areas of the 

form. The how-to checklists and how-to videos 

provide quick tips and walk-throughs of the 

forms to help you fill them out correctly and 

easily.

 Apr2023 
DFAS Helpful Tips & Tools for Retirees – Page 3 

askDFAS FAQs, Online Forms and 

Upload Tools

Start here and choose Retirees and 

Annuitants to find links to the helpful resources 

below: https://www.dfas.mil/askdfas

askDFAS FAQs 

Read helpful questions and answers about 

retired pay, or submit a question of your own. 

Please note, these are general question and 

answers, not those specific to an individual 

situation.

 

askDFAS Online Forms

Send DFAS information or a request via one 

of our askDFAS online forms:

• Retirees and annuitants can get 1099-Rs 

sent to their mailing address on record or to 

a one-time, temporary mailing address by 

submitting the request online on askDFAS. 

• Use our convenient online form to report the 

death of a military retiree.

askDFAS Online Upload Tools

The new askDFAS online upload tools allow 

some forms and the required documentation to 

be uploaded and submitted through askDFAS on 

the DFAS.mil website, which is also accessible 

on a mobile browser. 

Status Notifications

DFAS is rolling out the use of status 

notifications to keep you in the loop as forms or 

documents you submit move through the 

retired pay processing cycles.

 

Status notifications are a two-step or threestep process that will update you when DFAS 

receives forms or documents for processing by 

mail or fax (or in some specific cases, through 

askDFAS). 

To receive status notifications for mail and 

fax submissions (where available), please 

ensure your email address is available and 

updated in myPay. Most notifications are sent 

via SmartDoc email, which requires a valid 

email address in myPay.

myPay

https://mypay.dfas.mil

 

The quickest and most convenient way to 

manage your retired pay is with myPay. 

myPay provides convenient access to your 

Retiree Account Statement, and lets you easily 

update your contact information, your federal 

tax withholding, your Arrears of Pay beneficiary, 

or download your tax documents.

If you set up your myPay profile with an 

email address, you can receive emailed 

information from DFAS and from your Branch of 

Service. Plus, if you have a current email 

address in myPay, we can send you status 

notifications for a growing number of 

transactions. 

myPay is available using the internet from 

your computer or your mobile device browser 

at: https://mypay.dfas.mil

~ 

If you are a Gray Area Retiree, DFAS created 

a new kind of myPay account especially for you. 

This account will help you stay connected to 

important news and updates between the time 

you retire from Service and the date you’re 

eligible to receive retired pay. Find out how to 

log on and update your contact information so 

you never miss a message: 

https://www.dfas.mil/grayarea

Look for our quarterly 

DFAS Retiree Newsletter at

https://www.dfas.mil/retnews

 

 

 Apr2023