Department of The Army Advance Decision On The Eligibility of Reservists to Receive Retired Pay

A military reservist who met the eligibility requirements for retired pay requested that GAO review the decision by the The Department of the Army to deny retired pay because he had completed the minimum years of service but had failed to meet the additional service requirements. GAO found that the reservist furnished a letter of eligibility as required by law. However, it was subsequently discovered that his service record contained no evidence that he performed extended active duty during any of the periods required by law. An otherwise qualified member or former member is entitled to retired pay if he has completed 20 years of satisfactory Federal service and the last eight years of qualifying service has been performed as a member of a Reserve component. However, there is a prohibition against the payment of retired pay if the individual is entitled to retired pay "under any other provisions of law." The language contained in the law served to limit a member's or former member's eligibility to qualify for retirement to those reservists who had served in wartime or during a specific period of national emergency.