B-116023, JUN. 9, 1960

B-116023, JUN. 9, 1960

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY:

THERE HAS BEEN CALLED TO OUR ATTENTION THE MATTER OF THE INDEBTEDNESS OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL LEONARD B. PLUMMER, ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, RETIRED, BECAUSE OF OVERPAYMENTS TO HIM OF RETIRED PAY UNDER TITLE III OF THE ACT OF JUNE 29, 1948, 62 STAT. 1087. ON APRIL 26, 1960, THE RETIRED PAY DIVISION, FINANCE CENTER, U.S. ARMY, ADVISED US THAT THE LATEST COMPUTATION OF COLONEL PLUMMER'S RETIRED PAY WAS ON THE BASIS OF 25 YEARS, 11 MONTHS, 14 DAYS' SERVICE FOR BASIC PAY PURPOSES, AND 9.43 YEARS' SERVICE FOR PERCENTAGE PURPOSES. ON THAT BASIS, IT WAS REPORTED, COLONEL PLUMMER HAD BEEN OVERPAID $728.22 FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 1, 1951, TO FEBRUARY 29, 1960.

COLONEL PLUMMER ENTERED THE MILITARY SERVICE ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1925. HIS MEMBERSHIP IN MILITARY COMPONENTS WAS CONTINUOUS FROM THAT DATE UNTIL MARCH 31, 1953, WHEN HIS APPOINTMENT AS LIEUTENANT COLONEL, ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, EXPIRED BY OPERATION OF LAW.

COLONEL PLUMMER BECAME 60 YEARS OF AGE ON AUGUST 21, 1951. HE THEN HAD COMPLETED MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF "SATISFACTORY FEDERAL SERVICE" AS DEFINED IN TITLE III OF THE ACT OF JUNE 29, 1948. HE THUS QUALIFIED FOR RETIRED PAY UNDER THAT TITLE ON THAT DATE. HE THEN WAS A LIEUTENANT COLONEL WITH 25 YEARS, 11 MONTHS, 14 DAYS' SERVICE FOR BASIC PAY PURPOSES. ADDITIONAL SERVICE CREDIT FOR COMPUTATION OF RETIRED PAY UNDER TITLE III OF THE ACT OF JUNE 29, 1948, MAY NOT BE EARNED AFTER DATE OF QUALIFICATION FOR SUCH PAY, EXCEPT IN CASES OF RETENTION ON DUTY BY ORDER OF THE COGNIZANT SECRETARY TO PERFORM FEDERAL SERVICE. SEE 38 COMP. GEN. 146, 152, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 6 AND 7. COLONEL PLUMMER WAS NOT SO RETAINED. THUS, ALTHOUGH HE WAS NOT TRANSFERRED TO THE RETIRED LIST UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30, 1951, WITH ENTITLEMENT TO RETIRED PAY BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 1951, SUCH PAY PROPERLY WAS FOR COMPUTATION ON THE BASIS OF HIS CREDITABLE SERVICE ON AUGUST 21, 1951, THE DATE HE QUALIFIED FOR RETIRED PAY.

THE LATEST COMPUTATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY OF COLONEL PLUMMER'S RETIRED PAY IS BASED ON BASIC PAY FOR MORE THAN 22 AND LESS THAN 26 YEARS' SERVICE WHICH IS THE CORRECT PAY. HOWEVER, IN ESTABLISHING THE PERCENTAGE FACTOR TO BE APPLIED (TWO AND ONE-HALF PERCENT TIMES YEARS OF ACTIVE SERVICE, ACTUAL AND CONSTRUCTIVE) THE ITEM OF 9.43 YEARS APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN DETERMINED ON THE BASIS OF ALL CREDITABLE SERVICE THROUGH JUNE 30, 1949, ONLY, NO CREDIT BEING GIVEN FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, AT 15 POINTS PER YEAR, FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1, 1949, TO AUGUST 21, 1951, DATE OF QUALIFICATION FOR TITLE III RETIRED PAY. IN VIEW OF SECTION 2 OF THE ACT OF AUGUST 25, 1959 (PUBLIC LAW 86-197) AND 10 U.S.C. 1333 (3) AND 1332 (A) (2) (C), WE THINK THAT SUCH CREDIT PROPERLY IS FOR INCLUSION AND THAT COLONEL PLUMMER'S RETIRED PAY FROM OCTOBER 1, 1951, SHOULD BE RECOMPUTED ON THE BASIS OF 9.51 YEARS FOR PERCENTAGE PURPOSES, THAT IS, AS 23.775 PERCENT OF THE APPLICABLE BASIC PAY. THIS WILL RESULT IN A SLIGHT INCREASE IN THE RATE OF RETIRED PAY DUE HIM AND A CORRESPONDING DECREASE IN HIS INDEBTEDNESS BECAUSE OF OVERPAYMENTS OF RETIRED PAY FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 1, 1951, TO FEBRUARY 29, 1960. A CREDIT OF $132.13 SHOULD ALSO BE ALLOWED AS RETIRED PAY FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1951. 38 COMP. GEN. 146. APPROPRIATE ADJUSTMENTS SHOULD BE MADE FOR THE PERIOD COMMENCING MARCH 1, 1960.

ON THE BASIS OF OUR COMPUTATIONS, COLONEL PLUMMER WAS ENTITLED TO RETIRED PAY AT THE RATES INDICATED BELOW AND IS INDEBTED IN THE NET AMOUNT OF $471.47. THE AMOUNTS SHOWN IN THE COLUMN HEADED "RATE PAID" ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE AMOUNTS ACTUALLY RECEIVED CURRENTLY FOR THE PERIODS INDICATED, BUT REPRESENT THE AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY COLONEL PLUMMER TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION ALL ADJUSTMENTS MADE BY THE ARMY.

TABLE

RATE RATE

PERIOD DUE PAID UNDERPAID OVERPAID 9/1/51 - 9/30/51 $132.13 $ 0.00 $132.13 10/1/51 - 4/30/52 132.13 137.59 $ 38.22 5/1/52 - 3/31/55 137.41 143.09 198.80 4/1/55 - 6/4/55

152.06 157.97 12.61 6/5/55 - 8/3/55 152.06 163.22

21.95 8/4/55 - 5/31/58 152.06 157.97 200.35 6/1/58 - 2/29/60 161.18 167.45 131.67

------- ------- TOTALS

$132.13 $603.60 LESS UNDERPAID

132.13

------ NET OVERPAYMENT

$471.47

A COPY OF THIS LETTER IS BEING SENT TO THE HONORABLE RALPH YARBOROUGH, UNITED STATES SENATE, WHO IS INTERESTED IN COLONEL PLUMMER'S CASE.