Military Medical Retirement Pay Calculator and Chart

10 U.S.C. 1401(a) computes chapter 61 retired pay from a table. Column 1 takes the retired pay base, and column 2 multiplies it by the member's election of “the retired pay multiplier determined for the member under section 1409 of this title” or “the percentage of disability, not to exceed 75%, on date when retired.” Section 1401(b) adds that if more than one formula applies, “the person is entitled to be paid under the applicable formula that is most favorable to him.”

The calculator follows these steps and prints each one with your numbers:

1. Retired pay base. A High-36 average for a member who first served after September 7, 1980, or final basic pay for one who first served before September 8, 1980.
2. Years-of-service percentage. 2.5% times the years of creditable service, which 1409(c) defines as the years “including 1⁄12 of a year for each full month of service that is in addition to the number of full years of service of the member.” Section 1401 footnote 1 says to “credit each full month of service that is in addition to the number of full years of service creditable to the member as one-twelfth of a year and disregard any remaining fractional part of a month.” The Blended Retirement System substitutes 2 percent: 1409(b)(4) says “paragraph (1)(A) shall be applied by substituting “2” for “2½”,” and the FMR says “The retired pay multiplier is 2 percent times the years credited for percentage purposes under 10 U.S.C. § 1208, for a member who was enrolled in BRS.” The FMR adds: “DoD will not apply CSB reduction factors when computing retired pay for disability retirees.”
3. Rating percentage. The DoD rating, held to 75%.
4. The greater of the two. That is the percentage of the base.
5. TDRL only. Raise pay to 50% of the base if it is lower. The FMR says: “DFAS will pay a minimum of 50 percent of the retired pay base while the member is on the TDRL.”
6. Round down. The FMR says that “the amount computed, if not a multiple of $1, must be rounded to the next lower multiple of $1.”

1401(a) caps only the rating route; the FMR applies no cap to the years-of-service route for retirements on or after January 8, 2011 (75% for earlier retirements). The FMR says “The retired pay multiplier may not exceed 75 percent for a member with 30 or more years of service, retiring on or before January 7, 2011.” and “The retired pay multiplier is not limited for members with 30 or more years of service who retire on or after January 8, 2011,” and the calculator follows it, so the years-of-service route is not capped at 75%. The statute (1409(b)(3)(B)) adds the percentage for years over 30 “in excess of 30 years of creditable service, under conditions authorized for purposes of this subparagraph during a period designated by the Secretary of Defense for purposes of this subparagraph.” Check your service records if you are in that group.

Example only. The chart applies the 10 U.S.C. 1401 formulas to one example: a retired pay base of $5,245.50 a month, the High-36 that this site's calculator estimates for an E-7 on the 2026 DFAS pay table, with 12 years of service and High-36 rules (2.5% a year, so 30%). It is not your High-36 and not a DFAS figure. Ratings under 30% are not listed because, with under 20 years of service, they mean separation rather than retirement.

Swipe to see all columns

At ratings of 80% and up the rating route stops at 75%. At 30% the two routes are equal. The TDRL columns show the 50% floor lifting the lowest ratings. Pay is rounded down to the dollar and is before taxes and deductions. For your own figures use the calculator, or the military retirement pay calculator for other retirement types; the 2026 military pay chart lists the basic pay behind a base.

• High-36 (10 U.S.C. 1407). The retired pay of a person “who first became a member of a uniformed service after September 7, 1980, is computed using the retired pay base or retainer pay base determined under this section.” The average is “the total amount of monthly basic pay to which the member was entitled for the 36 months (whether or not consecutive) out of all the months of active service of the member for which the monthly basic pay to which the member was entitled was the highest.” With under 36 months of active service, section 1407(c)(2) covers a member “who is entitled to retired pay under section 1201 or 1202 of this title and who has completed less than 36 months of active service” and averages basic pay over the months served instead.
• Final pay (10 U.S.C. 1406). It applies to a person “who first became a member of a uniformed service before September 8, 1980, is computed using the retired pay base or retainer pay base determined under this section.” The FMR describes the base as “the monthly basic pay of the grade or rank in which the member was serving when placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL), or the highest temporary grade or rank in which the member served satisfactorily or to which the member was entitled on the day before retirement or placement on the TDRL, whichever is the higher.”
• Reserve component. For retirement under 1204 or 1205 the 1407(d)(2) average is “the total amount of monthly basic pay to which the member was entitled during the member’s high-36 months (or to which the member would have been entitled if the member had served on active duty during the entire period of the member’s high-36 months).”

Type your own base in the calculator when you have it. Otherwise the calculator estimates a High-36 from the DFAS basic pay tables for your grade and years of service; DFAS computes the real figure from your pay records. The military retirement pay calculator uses the same estimate for the other retirement plans.

10 U.S.C. 1201(b)(1) requires that “based upon accepted medical principles, the disability is of a permanent nature and stable.” A member who would qualify but whose disability is not yet determined permanent and stable goes on the TDRL under section 1202 (1205 for members on active duty for 30 days or less or on inactive-duty training): the Secretary acts where the member “would be qualified for retirement under section 1201 of this title but for the fact that his disability is not determined to be of a permanent nature and stable.”

• Pay on the TDRL. Formula 2 applies, and its third column reads “Amount necessary to increase product of columns 1 and 2 to 50% of retired pay base upon which computation is based.” The FMR: “DFAS will pay a minimum of 50 percent of the retired pay base while the member is on the TDRL.”
• Examinations. Section 1210(a): “A physical examination shall be given at least once every 18 months to each member of the armed forces whose name is on the temporary disability retired list.”
• Final determination. Section 1210(b): “The Secretary concerned shall make a final determination of the case of each member whose name is on the temporary disability retired list upon the expiration of three years after the date when the member’s name was placed on that list.” Section 1210(h): “If his name is not sooner removed, the disability retired pay of a member whose name is on the temporary disability retired list terminates upon the expiration of three years after the date when his name was placed on that list.” The time limit is 3 years.
• Moving to permanent retirement. Section 1210(c), for a permanent and stable disability rated 30 percent or more: “…is at least 30 percent under the standard schedule of rating disabilities in use by the Department of Veterans Affairs at the time of the determination, his name shall be removed from the temporary disability retired list and he shall be retired under section 1201 or 1204 of this title, whichever applies.” Section 1210(d), for one rated under 30 percent: “…and if he has at least 20 years of service computed under section 1208 of this title, his name shall be removed from the temporary disability retired list and he shall be retired under section 1201 or 1204 of this title, whichever applies, with retired pay computed under section 1401 of this title.”
• Separation instead. Section 1210(e), for a rating under 30 percent and under 20 years of service: “…and if he has less than 20 years of service computed under section 1208 of this title, his name shall be removed from the temporary disability retired list and he may be separated under section 1203 or 1206 of this title, whichever applies.”

Turn on the TDRL box in the calculator to see the floor and what it adds each month over the permanent formula.

Section 1201(a) lets the Secretary retire a member who “is unfit to perform the duties of the member’s office, grade, rank, or rating because of physical disability incurred while entitled to basic pay.” Section 1201(b)(3) requires one of two things: (A) “the member has at least 20 years of service computed under section 1208 of this title,” or (B) “the disability is at least 30 percent under the standard schedule of rating disabilities in use by the Department of Veterans Affairs at the time of the determination” (with further conditions on the cause of the disability in 1201(b)(3)(B)(i) to (iv)).

For a rating under that threshold the law points to severance. Section 1203(b)(4)(A) and (B) describe the lower-rated case: “the disability is less than 30 percent under the standard schedule of rating disabilities in use by the Department of Veterans Affairs at the time of the determination.” Section 1203(a) then says “the member may be separated from the member’s armed force, with severance pay computed under section 1212 of this title.” Section 1212(a) multiplies the member's years of service (at least 3, or 6 for a combat-zone or combat-related disability, and at most 19) by the highest of several amounts, the first being “Twice the amount of monthly basic pay to which he would be entitled if serving” in the grade held. The years of service are at least “Three years in the case of any other member” (or, for a disability incurred in a combat zone, “Six years in the case of a member separated from the armed forces for a disability incurred in line of duty in a combat zone”), and 1212(c)(2) says “The maximum years of service of a member for purposes of subsection (a)(1) shall be 19 years.” Disability severance pay under 10 U.S.C. 1212 is 2 × monthly basic pay × years of service (3-year minimum, 6 for combat-related, 19-year maximum); this site does not calculate disability severance pay. Severance applies to a member with under 20 years of service (1203(b)(1)); the military separation pay calculator (that page covers non-disability separation pay under 1174, not this payment) may help with other separation pay.

This section reports what the law and the IRS say and does not decide any one person's return. 26 U.S.C. 104(a)(4) excludes from gross income “amounts received as a pension, annuity, or similar allowance for personal injuries or sickness resulting from active service in the armed forces of any country.” Section 104(b) then limits that exclusion to a person described in 104(b)(2), which lists four cases: (A) the person was entitled to such an amount on or before September 24, 1975; (B) on September 24, 1975 the person was a member of the armed forces or under a binding written commitment to become one; (C) “he receives an amount described in subsection (a)(4) by reason of a combat-related injury”; or (D) “on application therefor, he would be entitled to receive disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.” For those persons, 104(b)(4) says “the amounts excludable under subsection (a)(4) for any period with respect to any individual shall not be less than the maximum amount which such individual, on application therefor, would be entitled to receive as disability compensation from the Veterans’ Administration.”

IRS Publication 525 (2025) says: “You may be able to exclude from income amounts you receive as a pension, an annuity, or similar allowance for personal injury or sickness resulting from active service in one of the following government services.” It lists these conditions, among others: “You were entitled to receive a disability payment before September 25, 1975.” “You receive the disability payments for a combat-related injury.” And, for the VA-equivalent route: “You would be entitled to receive disability compensation from the VA if you filed an application for it. Your exclusion under this condition is equal to the amount you would be entitled to receive from the VA.” For someone who joined after September 24, 1975 and whose disability is not combat-related, the exclusion is the amount the VA would pay on application (26 U.S.C. 104(b)(2)(D), (b)(3) and (b)(4)).

On pay based on years of service, Publication 525 says: “If you receive a disability pension based on years of service, in most cases, you must include it in your income. However, if the pension qualifies for the exclusion for a service-connected disability (discussed earlier), don’t include in income the part of your pension that you would have received if the pension had been based on a percentage of disability. You must include the rest of your pension in your income.” On CRSC it says: “If you’re in receipt of combat-related special compensation, you may exclude the amount of your combat-related special compensation from your income.” The VA compensation itself has its own rules, covered in Is VA disability taxable? Ask a tax professional how these conditions apply to you.

• The VA waiver. DFAS: “The law requires that a military retiree waive a portion of their gross DoD retired pay, dollar for dollar, by the amount of their Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation pay; this is known as the VA waiver (or VA offset).” VA compensation therefore lowers the retired pay this calculator shows unless CRDP or CRSC restores it.
• CRDP. DFAS: “A member who was retired under Chapter 61 for disability and who did not have 20 years or more of service creditable under 10 U.S.C. § 1405, or 20 years of service computed under 10 U.S.C. § 12732 at the time of retirement, is not eligible to receive VA Disability Compensation and military disability retired pay concurrently.” For longer careers DFAS says: “A military disability retiree with more than 20 years of creditable service for retirement must still waive retired pay in order to receive VA Disability Compensation. The waiver amount is the amount that the military disability retired pay exceeds the amount of military retired pay to which the member would have been entitled to receive if the member had hypothetically been retired under another law” Section 1414(b)(1) sets the line at 20 years or more. The CRDP page explains eligibility and the amount.
• CRSC. DFAS: “Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) is a program that was created for disability and non-disability military retirees with combat-related disabilities.” For a chapter 61 retiree with under 20 years, 10 U.S.C. 1413a(b)(3)(B) covers the case of a retiree “who is retired under chapter 61 of this title with fewer than 20 years of creditable service” and limits the payment so that it does not “cause the total of such combined payment to exceed the amount equal to the retired pay percentage (determined for the member under section 1409(b) of this title) of the member’s years of creditable service multiplied by the member’s retired pay base.” DFAS says of CRSC: “It is a tax-free entitlement that you will be paid each month along with any retired pay you may already be receiving.” The CRSC calculator estimates the amount.
• Only one of the two. DFAS: “Retirees cannot receive both Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP).”

The sources reviewed for this page cover these benefits of a chapter 61 retirement:

• Monthly retired pay computed under 10 U.S.C. 1401, shown in the calculator and the chart.
• Pay of at least 50% of the base while on the temporary disability retired list, with examinations at least every 18 months and a final decision after 3 years.
• A path to VA compensation alongside retired pay through the VA waiver, CRDP (not for chapter 61 retirees with fewer than 20 years of service) or CRSC for combat-related disabilities.
• A federal tax exclusion for some or all of the pay when the 26 U.S.C. 104 and Publication 525 conditions are met.
• Disability severance pay instead of retired pay for a member with a rating under 30% and under 20 years of service.

Health-care and survivor coverage for medical retirees are not part of this review, so this page makes no claim about them; ask your military department or DFAS.