Every week we send retired veterans a short, plain-English brief on CRSC, retired pay, and the VA benefits news that actually affects your check — sourced, no hype, vet to vet. This is the public archive. Read any past issue below, and subscribe to get the next one in your inbox.
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Subscribe FreeThe adjustment that hits your check next January is being measured right now — and the first of the three readings lands August 12. Plus the PACT Act turns four on August 10, why a presumptive rating can matter more for CRSC than most retirees realize, and the packet mistake that trades records for statements.
Read Issue 10 →Headlines say “5 to 7 percent raise.” That raise is for active duty. Here's what the FY2027 NDAA actually means for retirees, what a July 13 hearing revealed about VA deciding more claims with fewer people, and the one rating-decision mistake that sinks CRSC packets.
Read Issue 9 →August 1 lands on a Saturday, so both checks move up to July 31. Meanwhile the Army is quietly re-reviewing burn-pit PEB cases under a settlement that feeds straight into CRSC — and a use-it-or-lose-it deadline hits August 1. Here's this week's money, one mistake, and one move.
Read Issue 8 →Cooling inflation trimmed next year's projected raise for retired pay, VA compensation, and CRSC — all in one report. Meanwhile the VA's claims backlog fell below 70,000 for the first time in six years. Here's this week's money, one mistake, and one move.
Read Issue 7 →The bill to end the "wounded veteran tax" got blocked in the Senate one more time — so the VA Waiver keeps quietly taking combat-injured retirees' pay, and CRSC stays the one tool that exists today. Plus a new Senate SMC bill, the 2027 COLA outlook, and the one CRSC mistake that leaves money on the table.
Read Issue 6 →Medically retired under 20 years? CRDP leaves you out — so the VA Waiver quietly takes your retired pay and nothing gives it back. CRSC is the door that's still open, with one honest limit. Plus: the "3.8% raise" that wasn't yours, the Richard Star Act's latest Senate block, and your family's Chapter 35 education benefit.
Read Issue 5 →A CRSC denial usually means the packet didn't prove it — not that you don't qualify. How to read a denial like the board does, what reconsideration actually takes, and the travel-reimbursement benefit most eligible vets never file.
Read Issue 4 →"Combat-related" isn't the same as "combat." Four categories qualify — and three of them need no deployment. Plus the PACT Act presumptive list, claims moving faster than ever, and the Hazlewood tuition benefit that transfers to your kid.
Read Issue 3 →The Supreme Court killed the six-year cap; then on May 14, 2026 DoD retracted the limits it had added. Where retroactive CRSC stands now — carefully, no hype — plus the burn-pit settlement and the Texas property-tax exemption.
Read Issue 2 →Bring your branch, retirement type, conditions, and rating breakdown. We'll tell you straight whether CRSC is worth filing — and what a strong packet would need to prove. No cost. No obligation.