U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet CRSC APPROVAL, PAY INFORMATION Approval Once  Combat-Related Special Compensation claims are approved, AFPC will send approval documents to both you and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. DFAS will then calculate and begin CRSC payments within 60 to 90 working days of receiving the approval letter. CRSC payments will be effective the date you became eligible for CRSC, i.e., the date the program began, or the date your military retired pay was first offset by VA disability compensation, whichever is later. DFAS will coordinate with the VA on any subsequent percentage increases or decreases to your CRSC-approved ratings and adjust your payments as needed. If the VA makes changes to the diagnosis or coding of your approved condition(s), or the VA awards compensation for new conditions, send copies of those changes to AFPC for review since this may impact your CRSC payments. Inquiries regarding CRSC payments should be addressed to the DFAS Retired and Annuity Pay Contact Center at the following toll-free numbers: (800) 321-1080 for general inquiries and (800) 472-7098 for retroactive pay inquiries. For more information, you can also visit the DFAS Web site available on the CRSC front page. People who receive a new VA disability rating should review the CRSC criteria to determine if the new disability could be combat-related. If you believe it is, send a complete copy of the new rating decision to AFPC and a request for consideration of the new disability. Include any additional documentation that may also support your new claim (such as medical documentation, line of duty incident reports, etc.)  People who receive their CRSC approval letter stating that their disabilities add up to a combined rating of 50 percent may notice a 20 percent differential and add the numbers to equal 70 percent. There are two possible reasons for the difference: a. Your total VA rating is based on a graduated disability scale and cannot be computed by simply adding the percentages for each disability. It is based on the VA Combined Ratings Table that considers the efficiency of the individual as affected by the most disabling condition, then by each less disabling condition, if any, in the order of severity. As this rating system may be confusing, the best option is to call the local or regional VA office at (800) 827-1000, or you can visit their Web site. b. Although your combined rating from the VA might be 70 percent, all of these injuries/illnesses may not be combat-related. The CRSC approval letter will indicate which items were approved, and which were disapproved. Payments CRSC, currently tax-free, will be deposited to the same account where you receive your retired pay. In the event your VA disability compensation offset exceeds your retired pay, CRSC will be deposited to the account where you receive your VA payment. Many variables will affect the amount of CRSC compensation you will receive; however, the monthly amount of CRSC cannot exceed the gross monthly amount of your retired pay. The payment amount will depend on your combined CRSC disability rating. For 2008, CRSC payments range from $117 to $2,772 each month, depending on the severity of the disabilities. Remember, this compensation will not impact what you are currently receiving from your military retirement pay and VA disability compensation, because the same pay scale is used as the VA uses for their disability ratings. You can view this information online by clicking on VA pay scale. Should your CRSC payments stop, this may be due to a change in the coding of your VA ratings. If your disabilities were recently reviewed and adjusted, and the VA changed the codes in their system, this may cause a mismatch between the DFAS CRSC record (developed from the approval information AFPC provided them) and the adjusted VA files. Additional circumstances may affect the amount of CRSC you receive. For further assistance or questions, call AFPC at 1-800-525-0102, Option 5, Option 1.