04/21/2024
FYSA
Gray Area Retirees are members who served in the Guard or Reserve, are qualified for retired pay, and have retired from their service (stopped drilling) but are not yet at the age where they can start receiving retired pay.
ALL Gray Area service members must apply for military retired pay to receive it.
Too many (and I mean many thousands in just the Army) are reaching the eligible age but haven’t applied for it. Some, unfortunately, are already deceased.
I would like some help spreading the word that Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) automatically creates a Gray Area Retiree "Future Retiree" pay account when each member of EVERY Service transitions from an active (drilling) pay status to the Retired Reserve.
These accounts now exist in myPay for all Services, BUT THE MEMBER HAS TO GO INTO MYPAY AND UPDATE IT WITH A CIVILIAN EMAIL AND CONFIRM THE MAILING ADDRESS. Only about 25% have done so.
Why is this important??
DFAS and your Service will stay in touch with you during your Gray Area time -- policies and programs change, and you'll want to know about those --and they will remind you when and how and where to apply for the retired pay you've earned.
And when life events happen --marriages, divorces, deaths, births, adoptions -- those impact your benefits, especially the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan that over 90% of you have (and may not even realize it).
To learn more, read this DFAS webpage: https://www.dfas.mil/RetiredMilitary/plan/Gray-Area-Retirees/
