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ARMED FORCES NEWS |
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Defense undersecretary David Chu has asserted that concurrent receipt ignores the "generous retirement that members earn after 20 years of military service. He added that VA compensation was designed for veterans unable to complete careers due to disability. He also cited a 1996 survey indicating that military retirees with disabilities had the same average income as those without disabilities. He suggested that repeal of REDUX retirement and enactment of Tricare for Life had something to do with concurrent receipt. He also stated that one third of retirees who would gain from concurrent receipt are officers in the top 10 percent of income distribution. Backers of concurrent receipt reply that Chu is simply trying to apply a needs test to earned benefits, and that his claims ignore the fact that the law authorizes service members to be awarded disability compensation and to earn military retirement. |
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