eBenefits and MilConnect - Access and Usage

eBenefits is a joint VA/ DAD Web Portal that provides resources and self-service capabilities to Service Members, Veterans, and their families to apply, research, access, and manage their VA and military benefits and personal information through a secure connection.  In order to apply for BDD, you will have to use your eBenefits account.

Services Provided

• Apply for benefits
• Apply for and View disability compensation claim status
• View your VA disability payment history
• Access official military personnel documents (DD Form 214, certificate of release or discharge from active duty)
• View Post-9/11 GI Bill usage and availability (this is actually done through MilConnect, but you can get linked from eBenefits)
• Transfer entitlement of Post-9/11 GI Bill to eligible dependents
• Obtain a VA-guaranteed home loan certificate of eligibility
• Register for and update direct deposit information

Access to eBenefits

Active duty can use their CAC card and Veterans can use their DS Logon

Usage

Veterans must be listed in Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS)

MilConnect gives beneficiaries 24/7 access to personnel information; the ability to update information related to health, education and other benefits; and email notifications about changes in benefits.  It was previously known as the mydodbenefits website.

Services Provided

Transfer Entitlement of Post-9/11 GI Bill to eligible dependents

View details of medical/ dental/ pharmacy coverage

View summary of medical claims

View summary of other dependent health insurance used

View and print medical/dental enrollment cards

View and print DD214

View DODTap forms (DD2648)

View Print immunizations 

Update DEERS contact information

Find nearest DOD ID facility

Access to eBenefits

Active duty can use their CAC card and Veterans can use their DS Logon

Usage

Veterans must be listed in Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS)

Final Pay - Your Last Active Duty Check and other Retirement Pay Considerations

Final Pay Check

I have to tell you the truth, I was a little confused when I came out of the Finance Office about my separation pay.  DFAS says the following on its web-page with reference to your final paycheck in the military:

Regular pay is suspended during the month of separation to ensure that no overpayment exists. On the member's Date of Separation (DOS), the servicing finance office will have a payment sent to the member's bank account using the EFT process. From DOS through the next 20 days, the member's pay account will be monitored and additional pay action will be made for the final pay computation as required. Post separation pay audits are conducted regularly and may identify residual payments that are due to the member. If this occurs, DFAS (or in limited instances, the member's servicing finance officer) will pay the residual payments via paper check to the address that the service member provided during separation processing.


Below is the information that was given to me three months before my separation date, which is supposed to be 30Nov18:

Final Pay Check
1.  Your account will be suspended 10 days prior to your separation date.  If you separate on the 15th or 30th/31st of the month you will not receive your mid-month or EOM paycheck, you will receive a final pay from the Finance Office a week after date of separation
(This sounds confusing to me.  At first I thought that if I separated on 30Nov18, then I wouldn't get my mid-month pay.  Right now that is my separation date, and I checked on the MYPAY web-site and I'm scheduled to receive my mid-month pay, so maybe that was my misinterpretation of the document.  But I asked the lady who gave the brief and she seemed sure that I wouldn't receive my mid-month pay either.)

2.  Finance Office will pay 80% of the final pay on the Date of Separation which will show up in your current bank a week after Date of Separation.
(To me this means I not receive any money on 30Nov18, but on/about 10Dec18, which kind of sucks because I have mortgages to pay.  We'll see.)

3. The remaining 20% is held in case of any outstanding debts, and will be paid 30 to 45 days after Date of Separation.

Accrued Leave
My Finance Office told me that I can sell any unused accrued leave up to 60 days if character of discharge is 'Honorable' or 'General'.  For each day or leave accrued, the Soldier will receive one day's basic pay minus the standard 25% for federal tax and any applicable state tax.  Also, I was told that this 'sold leave' money would be available in my final pay, 80% of which will be available on 10Dec18.  Again, we'll see.

Terminal Leave and PTDY
I was told that while on terminal leave/ PTDY I will continue to receive my pay and I will receive BAH for the location where I am going on leave starting the first day of leave.

Retirement Pay
After speaking with my peers, every one of them who retired starting receiving their retirement pay beginning at the end of the next month.  It's important to note that Retirement pay only comes once a month at the end of the month, there is no mid-month retirement pay.

Veterans Disability Compensation Benefit
As I discussed in my post on the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program, most people who take advantage of the BDD program begin getting their payment benefit as soon as 1-3 months.  However, if you file after you separate, then you can expect it to take 1-3 months after your last appointment.

Summary
In summary, I hope to separate in about 15 days and I'll let you know in future posts how the final pay is actually working for me.

Good Luck!!

RR

The Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) Program

The Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program allows service members to file for veterans disability compensation benefits prior to separation.  This can only be accomplished if the service member files the claim between 90 and 180 days prior to separation, which allows the Veteran’s Administration (VA) to schedule medical exams, review medical records, and evaluate the claim before separation.  The VA fact sheet on BDD claims that most service members can begin to receive their veteran’s disability compensation benefits the day of separation.

Medical Records

The first step is to get a copy of your medical records, either a paper copy or a digital copy, and go through the whole thing identifying your problem lists.  I personally went through my records with a trained member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), of which I am a member, and also the Veterans Benefits Advisers who also have this training.

Next, you need to set up your Ebenefits account if you haven’t already and upload your medical records and a laundry list of other documents listed there such as: marriage certificate, birth certificates for all children, divorce decrees for all divorces.  The veteran benefits advisers at your base should be able to help you with all of this, that is their job.



When I spoke with the VFW adviser, he recommended faxing or mailing all the paperwork, but the base veterans benefits advisers told me that the Ebenefits portal is the new and accepted and faster way.  I chose the Ebenefits portal route, and once I submitted I started to receive emails about my medical and exam appointments.  I also received emails identifying documents that I still needed to upload.

Uploading medical records to the Ebenefits platform is somewhat problematic as they only accept 10mb files or smaller, and my records were 800 pages long.  There is a work around that I tried to use, but ultimately I had to break down the 800 page PDF file that I received on a CD from my clinic into 10mb pieces.

Just be warned, you won’t actually be able to see what your disability rating is until you are finally separated from the military.  After which, if you are not happy with the rating, you can resubmit with supporting documents and try and get a better rating which should be backdated to your date of separation.

So far, since I am still active duty, the only part of this process I have experienced is uploading my documents onto Ebenefits, submitting my claim, and getting the VA exams done.  Now, I am waiting for my separation to see when I get my first payment and what I will have to do next.

From other veterans who have already separated, I have heard the veterans disability compensation benefit taking up to six months to begin, though the pay is backdated to your separation date.  From those veterans who have separated in the last year and used the BDD program, the time to being paid has significantly decreased to within a few months of separation.

In future posts, I will discuss the VA exams for getting your disability rating and how/ when I finally got paid my veteran disability compensation benefit.

RR

Resources:

BDD information: https://www.benefits.va.gov/predischarge/index.asp
Ebenefits: https://www.ebenefits.va.gov
BDD Factsheet: https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/general/BDDFactSheet.pdf

Current VA Benefits Status November 10, 2018

Here’s my current VA benefits situation:

I used the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program to submit my veteran disability compensation benefit claim before my final retirement.  Since I’m not out yet, I don’t no what disability will be assessed by the VA, but supposedly I will receive my benefits soon after I leave the service.  We’ll see.

I also added my family members to the 9/11 GI Bill so I can let them use my education benefits after they graduate high school if they need the money.

I went to the Soldier for Life briefings twelve months before my separation date.

I set passwords for ebenefits, milconnect (both of these use the DS logon), mypay, and myhealthevet.
So now, I’m waiting for my separation to see what happens next.

Future posts will discuss my education benefits, the BDD program, life insurance considerations, health insurance considerations, and Soldier for Life.

I hope that the information I share about my retirement and VA experience helps you with your own experience.

RR

Resources:
BDD information in this blog: The Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) Program

Ebenefits: https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/homepage
Milconnect: https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/
Mypay: https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx
Myhealthevet: https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/home