I'll tell you why:
d. I didn't separate
e. I didn't voluntarily retire
f. I didn't separate

Does that clear things up? This is why there are court cases over this kind of stuff. The AF uses retirement and separation interchangeably except for when it doesn't. A lawyer might say clause e. "retirement or separation" means that retirement and separation are not the same thing. That would mean clauses pertaining to separation do not apply to a retirement unless they specifically say retirement.

The other reason I was surprised is I specifically asked how mandatory retirement would affect my ACP recoupment 2 years before my retirement date. At the time I was told none of those clauses applied to me and the government would not recoup its money. The fact that I was given what turned out to be an incorrect answer means I'm not the only one in the AF who didn't understand the wording of the ACP agreement--*the ACP office didn't understand it in 2010*.

I'm not really expecting to get anything back but I'm hoping to get in touch with the current ACP office on the off-chance they actually made a mistake. The worst that can happen is they'll say no and I'll go on living my life $17,000 poorer than I planned to be this month. The saving grace is that my "plan for unemployment fund" was large enough to absorb the debt and I started a decent-paying job 4 days after retirement.

I do appreciate the replies and the genuine interest. I'm dismayed the default attitude of the AF is (and forever shall be, no doubt) to interpret anything that can be interpreted in the way that has the most negative impact on the member, with no concession that another point of view might actually be possible.

 

I had 9 months (264 days to be exact) between my retirement and my ADSC date. I was assuming they took $25k (yearly payment) * 264/365 to get the amount but that comes out to $18k so I'm not sure why mine is a little less. The actual # is a bit over 17 but I don't have access to it right this second.

Honestly I'm not nearly as mad with them recouping legitimately as provided by the ACP agreement as I am about them completely misinterpreting it when I asked for confirmation. I probably would have made some different choices and been more prepared for the hit if they had given me the correct answer in 2010. I hope it's some benefit to you to know in advance it will be taken back. If I were you I would figure out what percentage of days you aren't serving and multiply that by how much per year you get. Or, you could read AFI 36-3004 and see if it makes sense to you. Just don't ask somebody. The government takes no responsibility for its employees not knowing how to do their job. We are all expected to be Title 10 USC experts.(/sarcasm in case you can't tell)

 

Well, I certainly feel your pain, as I noted in my 2009 post.
Hindsight being 20/20, the best move might have been to take the continuation and stay in 'til your bonus expired.
I would guess a lawsuit based a claim that you did not voluntarily retire would fail, since your retirement does look voluntary to me. Best wishes.