Paying back severance pay
 

Hi All, New to this so please bear with. I separated back in '99 after twice non-selection to O-4. Got severance pay upon separation. Returned to active duty post 9/11 and retired in May 09. I'm back on active through the RRORP, but got a letter from DFAS saying they are going to take back the severance pay (Now over 10 years later) once I retire again at the rate of 40% per month until it is repaid. Anyone else in this situation?? Any advice?? I asked the question before returning back in '02 and swear I was told I wouldn't have to pay it back, but like an idiot, I didn't get it in writing. Thanks. :confused:

was your sep pay voluntary sep pay or involuntary sep pay ie not offered continuation?

My understanding (navy) is that sep pay is always granted under the assumption that you will stay separated. If you return to service (regular AD), they want it back.

If there was some special dispensation to get people back for GWOT or whatever, there should have been something in writing. Maybe research the message traffic?

What does your separation / severance pay paperwork say? Typically, anytime the military pays you to leave, they want it back if they bring you back to active duty and you gain a retirement. This is the same for those who recently received Voluntary Separation Pay (VSP). If they return to active duty and retire and/or gain a retirement through participating in the reserves, you must pay back in full the VSP. The only way you can make out on it is if you invested the money and you ended up with a profit.

If you believe you've been slighted, call your local representatives.

This issue has been discussed on Flightinfo a while back. Search there and you may get some insight. From what I remember, there was talk about attempting to repeal severance payback, but it did not make the legislation. As far as I know everyone that received it, and then retired, will have to pay it back. There is a code in your records that will generate the automatic payback. I'm not sure about 40%. My understanding is that the % is something you select. As low as 10% even. So when you kick the bucket and you still owe something, the debit disappears.

Thanks everyone for the help. Sorry I've been out for a few days. In looking back through what paperwork I have from 11 years ago, I can't find anything that addresses paying back the severance pay. My DD214 calls it severance pay, not separation pay if there is a difference. Looks like I've got some research to do. I guess I wish they would have told me this when I came back in, and not waited until after I was retired. Negligence is no excuse though.

My wife became pregneant with our second son and wanted off of active duty. She went to MPF and they said she could get out but would have to repay her AFROTC scholarship on a prorated basis. We went home, discussed it, allocated funds from our savings to cover the scholarship cost and went back to Personnel the next day. They started the paper work and a few weeks later she went to the MPF to outprocess. After much confusion we were handed a phone number of someone at AFPC and told to call them at midnight (we were in Japan.) When we made contact the person at AFPC wanted to know how much her scholarship was for so she could tally the repayment amount. We had a general idea, but weren't about to do the job for the USAF--it's their job to maintain records, not ours. They could not come up with a number and 9 years later she still has not repaid anything.

My last move from the USAF when I separated from AD, we were well over (about double) the weight limit for TMO. They said that we would have to pay for the amount we were over. I said OK, send me the bill. That was 5 years ago and I am still waiting.

my point is that the military is a bureaucracy and they can't coordinate anything. Get an attorney and fight like hell. It will cost a few thousand but will be a lot less than your severance pay!

I knew a bloke who got forced out (2FOS for O-4), got severance pay...then a few months later got a voluntary 2-year recall to active duty as the Navy was short IP's. Don't think he had to pay anything back...tho he never retired...

When I retired in 1992, the procedure was to send your last paycheck as a paper check mailed to your bank. I waited about two weeks after my retirement date and the check never showed up. Luckily, we were still in the area of the base where we retired. I went to finance and the person there pulled up the check and told me they could void the old check and cut a new check for the amount. Unfortunately, the amount was way too much. They had paid me for 88 days of leave that I had taken as terminal leave. She made some comment about "I wish you hadn't brought this up because now this is going to get complicated." Anyway, I went back to the squadron a couple of times and got the paperwork corrected and resubmitted. It took about 2 months and several visits to finance on my part to get it all straightened out and finally get my last check.
I suppose I could have just taken the 88 days of extra pay, but I wasn't entitled to it. Yes, the military is a large bureaucracy, but doing the right thing with other people's money is an individual thing. I sleep pretty good every night.

My whole issue us there was never anything said/put in front of me that said...It you come back (even though we're asking you to) you have to pay the severance back. I never signed anything to that affect either. Why does this come up 10 years after I was initially separated, and 8 years after I returned to AD. I could have started putting that money away from the start.:mad: